Comments on: Electric bill higher in the winter with oil heat, is this normal?

By: Billie Jo

Billie Jo — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:39:59 +0000

yes it will be more because your furnace kicks on and that effects the electric.
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By: Jrbott

Jrbott — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:57:59 +0000

Your furnace has a big fan in it that draws a BIG slug of power each time it starts up. Once running the current draw drops way back. Whether you burn gas or oil doesn’t make any difference in the electric bill. In fact you get more heat from oil than gas so the fan should run less. Some folks run the fan all the time so that start-up power draw doesn’t take place. You could turn everything off in the house, go outside and observe the power meter, is it still turning?? If so you missed something. Observe how fast it is spinning, then start turning things back on. Does any one thing cause it to spin fast, if so that one is drawing a lot of current. While doing this make sure the furnace is off, then turn it on (fan on) and watch for that spike in meter spin. You could do all of this with current meters but you should get a good feel as to what is drawing the current. Don’t forget to turn on the dryer, run the hot water so it comes one, etc. Have fun….. And yes, the furnace is to blame for the spike……
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By: J@HG

J@HG — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:40:59 +0000

The spike is caused by the furnace running. It uses electricity for the fan, even though it is oil heat. That seems like a big spike just for the fan; you're not using space heaters or bathroom heaters, are you?
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By: boy boy

boy boy — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:56:59 +0000

im a builder in the uk ...over here oil fired heating is the most expensive you can get ..if you average say 70$ per month x12 that's only 840$ per year you would double that in uk if it was oil and maybe £800 per year for gas your not doing too bad
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By: Barber Girl

Barber Girl — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:49:59 +0000

that’s not normal. i’d get your furnace checked and turn your computers and/or monitors off when you’re not using them, make sure lights aren’t getting left on too long…. it seems like maybe it would go up a little since it gets darker out earlier in the winter, (and you don’t us a/c in summer)… is your stove electric too? maybe get that looked at if it is… good luck
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By: scoutma53

scoutma53 — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:19:59 +0000

If your furnace is running a lot, its electric pump will also be churning away night and day. You will also be using the lights more though this should not be a big part of the cost. Using your oven a lot also runs away with a lot of power and also the clothes dryer is a heavy user. But I don't have an oil furnace, I use gas.
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