Comparing cost of oil and electricity for heat

[Glendale Deli Boy]

I’ve always used oil furnace to heat our home but this year installed Mitsubishi Splits with heat pumps for main floor and upstairs master bedroom. Basement is unfinished.

I keep the home at 50 degrees in the winter and sadly am rarely there.

What is the best solution (most efficient manner) to keep my home heated at 50 through the winter? Use the Splits exclusively? If super cold, somehow have it set up so that oil furnace kicks in?

I just can’t quite get my head around the optimal thermostat setup and how to balance use of both the Splits and oil heat to most efficiently heat the house. Got the Splits primarily for AC but included heat pumps to give me options for the winter.

Thanks for any wisdom you all can share.

[BroadHopper]

Originally Posted by Glendale Deli Boy

I just can’t quite get my head around the optimal thermostat setup and how to balance use of both the Splits and oil heat to most efficiently heat the house. Got the Splits primarily for AC but included heat pumps to give me options for the winter.

Now that requires a little 'rocket science'. You would have to take in the factor of efficiency of the appliances in cold weather, cost per btu etc. It can be done to determine the 'crossover'.

[ITD]

Originally Posted by Glendale Deli Boy

I’ve always used oil furnace to heat our home but this year installed Mitsubishi Splits with heat pumps for main floor and upstairs master bedroom. Basement is unfinished.

I keep the home at 50 degrees in the winter and sadly am rarely there.

What is the best solution (most efficient manner) to keep my home heated at 50 through the winter? Use the Splits exclusively? If super cold, somehow have it set up so that oil furnace kicks in?

I just can’t quite get my head around the optimal thermostat setup and how to balance use of both the Splits and oil heat to most efficiently heat the house. Got the Splits primarily for AC but included heat pumps to give me options for the winter.

Thanks for any wisdom you all can share.

For me that question would be a strict decision of cost. Unfortunately, figuring it out accurately is a bit of a chore. Electricity costs more than oil. The heat output of heat pumps varies with outside temperature so the efficiency varies also.

Honestly, without having done this calculation recently and assuming your oil heat is in the 80 to 85% range, I wouldn't worry too much about it and just do what made me feel best.

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by Glendale Deli Boy

I’ve always used oil furnace to heat our home but this year installed Mitsubishi Splits with heat pumps for main floor and upstairs master bedroom. Basement is unfinished.

I keep the home at 50 degrees in the winter and sadly am rarely there.

What is the best solution (most efficient manner) to keep my home heated at 50 through the winter? Use the Splits exclusively? If super cold, somehow have it set up so that oil furnace kicks in?

I just can’t quite get my head around the optimal thermostat setup and how to balance use of both the Splits and oil heat to most efficiently heat the house. Got the Splits primarily for AC but included heat pumps to give me options for the winter.

Thanks for any wisdom you all can share.

I don't think you will need any oil (but it would be foolish to bank on that, haha).

My guess is that you have these on two separate controllers. If that is correct, you could set the mini splits at 50 and the oil at 45. Also, if you put the oil on a Nest, it's easy to control remotely.

[mswlogo]

Our previous house was a modern 2x6 construction with oil heat.
So I used to keep it at 40F.

It was a HUGE difference, heat didn’t even come on until around January.

I had multiple alarms that would call me if temp dropped below 40F.
It didn’t give much buffer in the event of a power failure but I never had a problem.

We used about 200 Gallon oil a year.

[root1]

..... I have an oil-fired boiler at my vacation home. I employ several methods to monitor the heating system & temperature of the house.
I recommend (for those with a modern Honeywell R7284 controller on their burner) a little-known Honeywell Alarm Module (#W8735S3000). It closes a contact if it detects any system faults on the data bus. It's pretty cheap (around $45) and gives you a few hours advance notice before the house temperature drops. I have mine integrated into the house alarm system which notifies me of any number of adverse situations. Solid and reliable.
The Carlin controller (#70200) has the contacts already built in; making life a little bit simpler.
J

[mswlogo]

Originally Posted by root1

..... I have an oil-fired boiler at my vacation home. I employ several methods to monitor the heating system & temperature of the house.
I recommend (for those with a modern Honeywell R7284 controller on their burner) a little-known Honeywell Alarm Module (#W8735S3000). It closes a contact if it detects any system faults on the data bus. It's pretty cheap (around $45) and gives you a few hours advance notice before the house temperature drops. I have mine integrated into the house alarm system which notifies me of any number of adverse situations. Solid and reliable.
The Carlin controller (#70200) has the contacts already built in; making life a little bit simpler.
J

I had an Industrial type Electric Heater with a blower in the cellar. Set at a few degrees lower in case Furnace failed. Furnace never failed in 20 years.

If house is calling for heat and doesn’t get it, it doesn’t take long to know something is wrong.
Some smart Thermostats have that built in.