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Even With a 40% Increase Natural Gas is Still a Steal

natural gas in ontario

News outlets around Ontario are all reporting the outrage that Natural Gas will increase by 40%.

Even with a 40% increase Natural gas is still a steal for home owners. Here is Why.

Home owners in Southern Ontario who have natural gas heat their homes cheaper than anyone. Propane, Oil, Electricity are the main alternatives and they are easily all 5-8 times more expensive.

  • Fuel Oil – A lot of homes still use fuel oil as a heating source. It’s an older source and more and more homes are migrating away from it. The January 2014 cost per liter is roughly $1.37. Most homes use between 3000 and 6000 liters of fuel oil per year. That’s over 4000$ a year for heating.
  • Propane – Most homeowners that migrate from fuel oil switch to propane in hopes if reducing home heating costs. Unfortunately propane prices spiked this year and it is now just as expensive. Prices have gone from around 60 cents a liter to over a dollar, basically doubling. Home heating with propane can cost anywhere from 3-6 thousand a year, and even more in cold winters like this one.
  • Electricity – The true cost of electricity is much higher than the 8-12 cents your bill says you’re paying. Deliver, debt retirement, line losses, taxes all add up to a significantly higher cost. If you think you’re saving money by heating only certain rooms in your house with an electric heater you’re sorely mistaken. Some homes also employ electric forced air furnace systems, home owners with these systems easily receive $500+ a month bills.
  • Natural Gas – The biggest part of your natural gas bill probably isn’t even the natural gas you have used, it is the 20$ customer fee that Enbridge charges customers every month. Natural gas is charged by the cubic meter, and current prices are roughly 11-12 cents per cubic meter. Most customers are paying roughly 50-100 dollars a month; this is so much less than any other home heating source. Add that 40% increase that has been proposed… you’re still paying less than half of any other fuel.

 

 

Are you thinking about switching?  I would seriously consider thinking again.

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Purchasing A New Water Heater

When your conventional tank-type water heater fails, it’s usually not catastrophic.  The failure usually produces a small little leak that is caught in a drip pan or trickles across the floor into a drain. This slow leak usually gives you some time to think about the issue and plan a replacement strategy.  You have an opportunity to shop around, get quotes from water heater installers, and research new technologies. You may opt to simply replace your system with an equivalent water heater or you may look at upgrading to a new tankless water heater with a much higher efficiency.  Once thing you should do is examine your water heating rental fees, most people are shocked at how much they pay.  Really look at the cost to benefits of renting verse owning your system, remember most homeowners in cities throughout Canada and the US for that matter don’t rent their systems.tank size verses tankless

If your leak is causing damage to surrounding equipment, floors, ceiling or you’re going without hot water; it may be considered an emergency.  In my house a “no hot water situation” is frequent and often (because I continually test different manufactures systems) and usually just results in some harsh words from my wife.  In your home no hot water is probably a result of some type of mechanical failure, a circuit board, igniter, pressure sensor etc.  It’s a good idea to replace a troublesome system before it causes too much stress on your relationships.  So it may be time to do a bit of research.

A whole house tankless water heater won’t sit on your floor; it will mount to the wall. The tankless system will use either natural gas or propane as a fuel source.  The system will likely need you to upgrade your gas lines and change the venting from your old water heater.  If you’re considering a tankless and have any question, don’t hesitate to ask.