# Gas line being laid outside, is the cost worth it?



## yrock87 (Oct 1, 2014)

Hey everyone,  so i have an oil fired boiler for baseboard heat and DHW, and i just installed a pellet stove to suplement.  but this week the NG Co is installing a line outside of my house!   unfortunantly i did some price checking and they are charging $2.44 a therm (it is all trucked in over 300 miles).  in my teens my parents had NG and it was great for DHW and laundry. 

the issue is that at this price, it is cheaper than fuel oil, but not cheaper than pellets to heat the house.   do you think it would be worth it to make the switch for DHW only?    also maybe pipe for laundry and kitchen range?


----------



## BrotherBart (Oct 1, 2014)

What is the tie in charge?


----------



## Enzo's Dad (Oct 1, 2014)

I just saw your in Alaska...Yes, get natural gas...My cousin has it in a 3000 square foot house. 85 to 100 a month to heat( that was last winter polar vortex and all) and he has a natural gas stove generator and fireplace...I would do it in a heart beat.


----------



## RAVinMetrowest (Oct 1, 2014)

I just did this to my mom's house here.  No charge for connections under 100' and the gas company works with you on the location and path to the house to minimize the distance and plan for the internal runs to your furnace location.  My co-worker is in the process of this now, may be slightly over 100' and I think they are not going to charge him for the few extra feet.

They required a $1000 deposit - refundable within a year - as long as you installed a gas appliance.

We started the process two months ago and have had the furnace installed now - done in late August - and we have the returned deposit back already.

Nice job by NSTAR and their associated contractors.


----------



## yrock87 (Oct 1, 2014)

tie is is $100 for the first 100 feet.  my neigbor and i are 15 feet apart so we are going to see if they will give us a discount.

my issue is the price per unit.  gas is cheap everywhere, except here.   would it eventually pay for itself over using oil to supplement my stove and heat DHW?  yes,  but the ROI is a LONG way off.  and my boiler is only 10 years old and had $2500 dropped on it a year ago by the previous owner so it isnt like I need to replace the burner gun yet. 

what is everyone paying per therm?


----------



## NE WOOD BURNER (Oct 1, 2014)

http://www.nh.gov/oep/energy/energy-nh/fuel-prices/index.htm

Are you sure its NG and not LP piped from source. I thought NG was mainly trucked for commercial/industrial?
The upside to gas appliances is that they have less maintenance, but need gas certification  to work on the appliance and piping here in NH.


----------



## yrock87 (Oct 1, 2014)

sorry, 2.36 per therm...  http://www.fngas.com/calculate.html  you can also see the cost calculator with fuel prices for up here. they are accurate within about 5% as of today.


----------



## yrock87 (Oct 1, 2014)

absolutly sure it is NG.  LP does not work in Alaska.  too cold!  it wont gassify once it gets too cold.    they are trying to build a NG pipeline from the north slope, but that is 10 years off at least.  until then the NG is shipped up from the lower 48, then trucked up the highway in liquid form.


----------



## Michael Golden (Oct 2, 2014)

They are pulling plenty of it out of the ground here in Ohio!


----------



## velvetfoot (Oct 2, 2014)

LNG tanker trucks?.   Cool!  Well, literally as well.
You could also power a standby generator.
Maybe see how well the pellet stove heats the place, now that you've bought it.  Maybe you won't be using that much oil to make it pay at all.


----------



## yrock87 (Oct 2, 2014)

velvetfoot said:


> LNG tanker trucks?.   Cool!  Well, literally as well.
> You could also power a standby generator.
> Maybe see how well the pellet stove heats the place, now that you've bought it.  Maybe you won't be using that much oil to make it pay at all.


 yeah, the trucks are masive, a foot if foam insulation outside of the metal cylinder.  they also drive like a bat out of hell.  scary to be on the road with them.

im gonn a see if they will give me a break on the install now since they are already working on the line on the street.  but i dont plan to convert anything right now. i have 250 gallons of oil that i hope to make last for the winter that would go to wast if i converted.  sadly i would consider a new NG water heater to cut my oil entierly in the summer except i have no way to vent it.  :-(


----------



## NE WOOD BURNER (Oct 3, 2014)

yrock87 said:


> sadly i would consider a new NG water heater to cut my oil entierly in the summer except i have no way to vent it.  :-(


Pick up a used Munckin boiler and vent it with PVC. You will be all sorts of ready to buy whatever is cheaper with multiple back ups. I here its cold up there!


----------



## mass_burner (Oct 3, 2014)

We had a gas line installed last year and only use it for cooking now. Nat grid is currently applying for a rate increase, many more to come I reckon.


----------



## blades (Oct 4, 2014)

Around here NG is cheap, but the associated distribution charges and such tend to exceed my use therm wise of NG- can't win.  Last year in Oct I used $5 of NG - course it cost me $15.00 to get it here. Even if I was to shut the line off completely I would still get charged the fees. Been down this road with the utility before on a different dwelling- had to have them pull their meter to get away from the charges. Even then there was much ado about nothing. They do not see my logic- If I do not use there gas why should I be paying all those charges.  
The next 2 hikes on the electrical side of distribution might just put me in the position that running a genny off NG would be cheaper than the electrical supply grid charges. ( neither solar or wind are viable alternatives at this location) The most irksome part is the portion of the charges to reimburse the power company for deadbeats.


----------



## potentialburner (Oct 25, 2014)

Assuming you know the efficiency ratings of your applicances, use this spreadsheet compare the cost of different heating methods: http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/heatcalc.xls

$2.36 a therm, yikes that's high.  In NC it's $1 a therm.


----------



## yrock87 (Oct 26, 2014)

potentialburner said:


> Assuming you know the efficiency ratings of your applicances, use this spreadsheet compare the cost of different heating methods: http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/heatcalc.xls
> 
> $2.36 a therm, yikes that's high.  In NC it's $1 a therm.


Yeah, I used a calculator. NG is cheaper than oil, but not cheaper than Pellets at$297 a ton vs. $2.36 a therm.


----------

