Switching from Oil Furnace to Natural Gas - Worth It?

[Culex]

As the title says.

After nearly 10 years of living in my house, the city finally approved a natural gas line to go up my street.

We have an oil furnace/boiler, circa 2006. My brother in law who is a licensed HVAC tech replaced nearly everything minus the boiler 5 years ago.

I've heard this could cost 10-12k, not including removing my oil tank (which takes up so much freaking room in my lower level).

Has anyone successfully upgraded from oil to natural gas?

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Getting rid of the oil furnace will probably increase your home value more than 12k tbh.

 

[gdt]

Almost certainly

 

[FliX]

Go with a heatpump and minisplits instead. teather yourself from oil/gas compeltely and use electric.
Heatpumps are much more efficient these days and you're not burning fossil fuels.
We just replaced our gas furnace with a heatpump and minisplits. It's soooooo much more quiet too.

 

[Transistor]

Go with a heatpump and minisplits instead. teather yourself from oil/gas compeltely and use electric.
Heatpumps are much more efficient these days and you're not burning fossil fuels.
We just replaced our gas furnace with a heatpump and minisplits. It's soooooo much more quiet too.

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Wouldn't that point be moot if their electricity comes from oil / gas burning sources? Heating a home with natural gas is far more efficient than heating it with electricity.

 

[Heynongman!]

Wouldn't that point be moot if their electricity comes from oil / gas burning sources? Heating a home with natural gas is far more efficient than heating it with electricity.

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I don't really know the efficiency difference between an electric heatpump vs. a natural gas heatpump, but either way you go, a heatpump is extremely efficient, especially a geothermal. And you get the benefit of cold AC if you need it with electric at least.

 

[Ostron]

Getting rid of oil is great, can't speak for gas though.

Regarding the tank you can remove it yourself with maybe the help of a friend. You need a reciprocating saw, a pump and hose, a couple empty barrels for oil, and saw dust for the last remnants of oil in the bottom. Then you can sell the oil and metal for scrap value. My first time using a reciprocating saw and it wasn't at all hard or that time consuming, takes a couple hours tops disregarding preparation.

We went for geothermal though, expensive investment and not guaranteed you can get it where you are. And if you can't heat your chimney you might be in for a heap of other issues with ventilation and moisture.

What about air/air or air/water heat pumps? Where are you located?

 

[butalala]

Wouldn't that point be moot if their electricity comes from oil / gas burning sources? Heating a home with natural gas is far more efficient than heating it with electricity.

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Even if your electricity comes from burning stuff, you're getting that stuff out of your house and you're future-proofing your house for a time when more electricity comes from renewables.

 

[Deleted member 8257]

Wouldn't that point be moot if their electricity comes from oil / gas burning sources? Heating a home with natural gas is far more efficient than heating it with electricity.

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You might luck out and your electricity might be sourced from a nuclear plant. Besides, you are technically reducing your carbon footprint even if it's a miniscule percentage.

On topic, I heard electric heatpumps take long to heat up your water/shower?

 

[Culex]

You might luck out and your electricity might be sourced from a nuclear plant. Besides, you are technically reducing your carbon footprint even if it's a miniscule percentage.

On topic, I heard electric heatpumps take long to heat up your water/shower?

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Cannot be longer than my on-demand oil burner. That takes a good 15-20 seconds.

 

[Deleted member 15666]

We just went through this. Do not pay the contractor more than like 10% upfront and only provide the rest of the payment upon full completion of the work (including final inspection approval from your city/township). Our first contractor bailed on us after he only did like half the work. And it was a massive headache finding a second one.

Also make sure the contract clearly lays out all the terms including chimney liner, appliance hookup for any gas connections (for your range or dryer), type of hearing equipment being used, etc. Be very detailed. And it would be good to have a timeline by which work is expected to be completed. Contractors can take months for what should have been a few weeks.

 

[Replicant]

Natural Gas is more efficient, cheaper, doesn't need to be refilled and will increases the value of your home

 

[Captain Tuttle]

Natural Gas is more efficient, cheaper, doesn't need to be refilled and will increases the value of your home

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And the price tends to be more stable. If I was OP I'd switch without question

 

[Patryn]

There's also the advantage of no longer having a worry about an oil tank leak. If your oil tank ends up with a bad enough leak, it can condemn the house due to ecological contamination.

My house is oil but the only way I could get natural gas is to pay probably $100k+ to get a line run to my dead-end street.

 

[oakenhild]

Go with a heatpump and minisplits instead. teather yourself from oil/gas compeltely and use electric.
Heatpumps are much more efficient these days and you're not burning fossil fuels.
We just replaced our gas furnace with a heatpump and minisplits. It's soooooo much more quiet too.

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Depends on where you live though. Heat pumps don't work great in extreme cold temperatures (one i looked at could go down to -31F, which wouldn't cover 100% of our winters). I also wouldn't be able to trust losing heat for any amount of time during a power outage, which can definitely happen in the winters here (ice storms, etc), natural gas has been a lot more reliable here (obviously i don't live in TX!).

Would be nice to use electricity though, as more of it goes renewable, and the option of putting up solar panels and batteries for more reliability and cost savings.

Going from oil to natural gas has to be cheaper too, right? Efficiency of natural gas is really high, but I don't know anything about how well oil works to compare.

 

[FliX]

Wouldn't that point be moot if their electricity comes from oil / gas burning sources? Heating a home with natural gas is far more efficient than heating it with electricity.

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I pay (extra) for renewable energy. Also we want to get solar next year making us even more independent.

 

[Sayre]

No question switch when you are able to. Oil furnace is not great. The tank doesn't last forever and will eventually leak. You're lucky you have someone that can service it.. otherwise the maintenance on that can be expensive. Someone mention that it will increase the home value and that is true, but even HAVING an unused oil tank can deter buyers so it's something to keep in mind.

 

[Ostron]

Depends on where you live though. Heat pumps don't work great in extreme cold temperatures (one i looked at could go down to -31F, which wouldn't cover 100% of our winters). I also wouldn't be able to trust losing heat for any amount of time during a power outage, which can definitely happen in the winters here (ice storms, etc), natural gas has been a lot more reliable here (obviously i don't live in TX!).

Would be nice to use electricity though, as more of it goes renewable, and the option of putting up solar panels and batteries for more reliability and cost savings.

Going from oil to natural gas has to be cheaper too, right? Efficiency of natural gas is really high, but I don't know anything about how well oil works to compare.

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Geothermal pumps switches to auxiliary electric when it gets cold enough during those edge cases, so you still get heat just not as efficient. Depending on where you live it doesn't need to be an issue.

 

[Damaniel]

If you have the choice, natural gas is always cheaper. On top of that, underground tanks are still an issue in older houses here, even if the house has been on natural gas heat for decades. A leaking tank will cost thousands to remove and perform soil remediation, and if you have one in Oregon (even unexpectedly), you might not even be able to sell your house until it's been removed. Oil tank searches are generally done with every home inspection for sales of pre-1970 homes.

In my new house, we use a heat pump with auxiliary electric heat. It rarely gets cold enough to require it though (we only average 5-10 days a year where the temperature drops below freezing, and only goes below 20 a couple times a decade). Combined with cheap hydroelectric power from our local power co-op (roughly 5.5 cents per kW/h), heating and cooling our house costs very little.

 

[smisk]

Dude just get a heat pump. Will probably be a similar cost and you won't be burning fossil fuels.

 

[CitizenVectron]

A note to people recommending heat pumps: they are great as long as you don't get cold below -15C. If you do, then your house and pipes will freeze.

 

[Tater]

Another recommendation for a heat pump. It's often cheaper than natural gas, but efficiency depends on the outdoor temperature. Depending on the climate in your area, you can have a gas backup installed. My thermostat has a mode where I can enter the cost of the electricity / gas, and it will pick whatever is most economical based on the temperature.

Also be sure to check out incentives that your state and / or energy supplier might offer. In MA for example, there's a $10k rebate on installing a heat pump.

 

[Transistor]

I pay (extra) for renewable energy. Also we want to get solar next year making us even more independent.

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Def do the solar. It's pricey, but it's a long term investment. My current generation outweighs my usage slightly, so when the panels are paid off, I essentially won't have an electric bill.

 

[UltimateHigh]

definitely ditch oil. (heat pump might be best)

I would if I could.

 

[CatAssTrophy]

The natural gas industry has pushed a ton of propaganda about it's efficiency/cost/green-ness so I'd say to do your research as thoroughly as possible to avoid getting bamboozled and into a situation it would cost you even more to get yourself out of.

 

[Deleted member 8257]

A note to people recommending heat pumps: they are great as long as you don't get cold below -15C. If you do, then your house and pipes will freeze.

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I guess Chicago is out of the question then 😭

Was looking to get one installed after the current one basically died this winter.

 

[animalcrosser]

I'm in the same boat with the nat gas already installed at the house. When we got the line installed to the home (outside), the cost was just the price of a permit (like $100). The plumbing for the gas lines being routed in your home to any necessary appliances will likely cost a few grand.

About 5 years ago I received an estimate for a conversion of around $12k including a new water heater, but we did not pull the trigger. My Oil tank is above ground outside, so I can't comment on the cost of removal (not included in the price quote). Also, my burner is in a crawl space so it's a tougher install.

My advice to you is do it if you can afford it. HVAC costs are much higher now than they were. Natural gas hookups are wonderful and it should be much cheaper to heat your home. There are also excellent financing programs available depending which state you're in.

For those telling you to go with a heat pump, geothermal or mini splits: they are fine options but maybe not for you (digging a well for geothermal alone is expensive). A lot of people go with those options because of the lack of a nat gas hookup. I installed a minisplit in a converted sunroom and would love one in every room of my house, but it would cost just as much as a new forced air system (and require an electric upgrade). If you are concerned about burning too much natural gas, I have researched hybrid systems that use both a heat pump and nat gas to heat your home. From my understanding your cost will probably be the upwards of $20k for something like that.

Good luck on the conversion. Natural gas is a good choice. We upgraded everything (dryer, water heater, stove) but the HVAC and don't regret it at all. I'll be trying to convince my wife to upgrade the HVAC in the next few months, she wants to wait until it breaks…

 

[animalcrosser]

There's also the advantage of no longer having a worry about an oil tank leak. If your oil tank ends up with a bad enough leak, it can condemn the house due to ecological contamination.

My house is oil but the only way I could get natural gas is to pay probably $100k+ to get a line run to my dead-end street.

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Are there other houses on your street? If you can talk your neighbors into hooking up, gas companies may run the line for little-to-no costs. I have a friend who had this done down his road.

Fortunately some rich guy spent the $$ to run a gas line to his mansion where I live and I tapped in.

 

[Deleted member 10384]

In the same boat here, have natural gas at the house for cooking only, thinking about switching to a gas burner, we have steam radiators, but I don't think they care about what type of fuel is used. Shit like this is always a little scary, but tending to my oil burner sucks, adding water, draining it, maintenance, refills.

OP, quick thing, if you decide to have your oil tank removed, be extra extra sure your oil delivery company knows - heard a horror story around her about someone that took the tank out, left the nozzle on the house, and didn't tell the oil company, automatic delivery comes along and just fills the basement with oil. "Boy this tank sure was empty…."

 

[FliX]

A note to people recommending heat pumps: they are great as long as you don't get cold below -15C. If you do, then your house and pipes will freeze.

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Modern systems work down to -10F/-25C

Also this just popped up in my recommendations

 

[CitizenVectron]

Modern systems work down to -10F/-25C

Also this just popped up in my recommendations

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Good to know. Still not useful for the northern states and Canada, unfortunately. Where I live we get a few weeks of -35C each year (we have natural gas heat).