Heating Costs

[tjthemanto]

If you have electric heating as opposed to natural gas heating its more expensive to heat with electricity.

But your bills are ridiculous !!!

I have natural gas heating in my house and the entire winter my bill is only about 100-120 bucks a month for the whole house.

In summer its only 30-40 bucks a month as the heating is only used for the water heater ( hot water )

Something is wrong !

Make sure you are with the original utility company like Enbridge etc and not with third party resellers /marketers like Direct Energy , Just Energy etc who rip you off with contracts and high rates.

[bargain_hunter_lola]

Like other posters have asked, what kind of heat is it?

Could you be paying for an oil fill up, that will last a few months?

Our old house was awful! It was a big old country house. It cost us around $800 every oil fill up. The first year we lived there we filled up 4 times (almost $3500). DH spent that Summer insulating the basement and cutting wood for the Woodstove and we were able to only fill up 2 times that year.

We now live in a newer house with natural gas forced air and we pay $75 a month with equal billing.

[peacestar]

I hope this is the right area of the forum to post this - for those of you who pay for heat, how much approximately do you pay per month, two months, etc,.? Also what are some ways you try to save $$$ on heating costs.


We moved into a house earlier in 2012, got our first heating bill for $290 or so in November. I got another heating bill on Xmas eve from my landlord for $891. It seems a bit extreme and we try to save on everything. We took a lot of measures to ensure that excess extra heat doesn't get out but we are at a loss for how the bill is this high. We share with two students who live in the basement.

Thanks in advance for any tips, comments, etc, that are posted.

What is the size of the house? what type of heating? This is lot more than average heating cost!!!

[Brynhilde]

Wow!! Thanks fellow SC's for the overwhelming amount of responses!

The size of the house is approx 1650 sq, we have oil heating with Bluewave Energy. I learned a few things from the company after inquiring about this bill... they come to refill automatically so when they receive a notification from the furnace that it's empty, they refill shortly after. Also the billing history of the house shows that they refill the tank on average three times per year and I was told to expect another heating bill next month/early March for approximately the same amount ($891). When we moved in, the tank was almost full and we paid $290 to have it filled to the top in October and did not turn the heat on until November. So from November to Dec 12 (when Bluewave filled the tank), we apparently used 800L of fuel. Bluewave told me that we are almost out of oil again and like I mentioned a few sentences ago to expect another bill next month.

Landlord is cheap, more frugal and unreasonable than anyone who posts here (not to say anyone here is unreasonable but you get what I mean).. he says its our problem despite us discovering in September/early October that there is no insulation in the exterior walls of the house, windows leaking, etc,. He claims he cannot afford to change windows or fix insulation. In other words, he just cares about the $$$$ coming in. Tenants downstairs say their bathroom is very hot while the rest of their unit is semi-warm to cold. We experience the same upstairs except it is mostly cold.

We called Toronto Municipal Standards office to have an officer check out the heat situation and were told that as long as the furnace is on, they cannot do anything We cannot afford to move right now, hubby got laid off just days before we got this bill. From what I know about Landlord & Tenant law, there is not much we can do other than filing with the board to get the problems fixed. Anyone who has experience with Landlord and Tenant Board in ON knows that this can be a lengthy process - landlords are permitted to ask for continuances so it can take months. Only in the most serious circumstances (e.g. house falling in, multiple hazardous situations at once, etc) will the Board order rent to be paid to them directly so Landlords in ON are winners usually when it comes to these situations. Nothing in the LT law says that we have to pay this bill but I believe we can be sued in civil court for not doing so. A very horrible situation to be faced with - I know based on your responses and my own experiences with renting/home ownership that this bill is NOT normal.

[Brynhilde]

DH used to live with a roommate who smoked. There was a heat vent just inside the main door and he would stand in the doorway in the dead of winter and smoke with the door wide open, and the heat blasting. His heating bill was actually less than what you paid, but not by much.

Are there smokers in the house? Rooms/areas that are strangely cold while other areas are warm? Energy saving tips won't help unless you find your main source of energy leakage.

Tenants downstairs are non-smokers, we do smoke but always outside because of our children. We are very conscious about how we live in our home, we do not do any of the things you mentioned.. the last place I lived in for years, it took about three, almost four years to pay heating costs that are $891.

[Brynhilde]

We replaced our furnace about 3 years ago. We went from pays $230 to $45 a month ( not equal billing only from nov-April ) I am sure the cost for the furnace was made up the first year!

We suggested to the landlord to replace the furnace (amongst other things) and he refuses to. We are not sure how to prove that the furnace/thermostat needs to be replaced without spending more money out of pocket ourselves. Landlord is a very cheap person who makes his tenants pay to replace things and drags his feet to reimburse. I definitely love the idea of moving right now but we are just not in a position to financially nor do our children emotional/mentally (one child is on the Spectrum). Eek!

[tjthemanto]

Wow!! Thanks fellow SC's for the overwhelming amount of responses!

The size of the house is approx 1650 sq, we have oil heating with Bluewave Energy. I learned a few things from the company after inquiring about this bill... they come to refill automatically so when they receive a notification from the furnace that it's empty, they refill shortly after. Also the billing history of the house shows that they refill the tank on average three times per year and I was told to expect another heating bill next month/early March for approximately the same amount ($891). When we moved in, the tank was almost full and we paid $290 to have it filled to the top in October and did not turn the heat on until November. So from November to Dec 12 (when Bluewave filled the tank), we apparently used 800L of fuel. Bluewave told me that we are almost out of oil again and like I mentioned a few sentences ago to expect another bill next month.

Landlord is cheap, more frugal and unreasonable than anyone who posts here (not to say anyone here is unreasonable but you get what I mean).. he says its our problem despite us discovering in September/early October that there is no insulation in the exterior walls of the house, windows leaking, etc,. He claims he cannot afford to change windows or fix insulation. In other words, he just cares about the $$$$ coming in. Tenants downstairs say their bathroom is very hot while the rest of their unit is semi-warm to cold. We experience the same upstairs except it is mostly cold.

We called Toronto Municipal Standards office to have an officer check out the heat situation and were told that as long as the furnace is on, they cannot do anything We cannot afford to move right now, hubby got laid off just days before we got this bill. From what I know about Landlord & Tenant law, there is not much we can do other than filing with the board to get the problems fixed. Anyone who has experience with Landlord and Tenant Board in ON knows that this can be a lengthy process - landlords are permitted to ask for continuances so it can take months. Only in the most serious circumstances (e.g. house falling in, multiple hazardous situations at once, etc) will the Board order rent to be paid to them directly so Landlords in ON are winners usually when it comes to these situations. Nothing in the LT law says that we have to pay this bill but I believe we can be sued in civil court for not doing so. A very horrible situation to be faced with - I know based on your responses and my own experiences with renting/home ownership that this bill is NOT normal.

I guess oil heating must be expensive just like electric heating

Too bad natural gas heating is not available everywhere in Canada , its the cheapest and cleanest heating option of all

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/equipment/heating/3713

[Brynhilde]

I guess oil heating must be expensive just like electric heating

Too bad natural gas heating is not available everywhere in Canada , its the cheapest and cleanest heating option of all

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/equipment/heating/3713

Agreed

Thanks so much for the link! Lots of handy info on there about Heating!!

[Tweets77]

I live in a 5 year old, 1400 sqft home that we built ourselves. We have a ground source heat pump and it cost us about $900 a winter to heat the house, pre-heat the hot water, heat the basement floor and heat my DH's workshop in the back of his garage. I would be telling the landlord that you have to see these bills before committing to anything!!!!

[i_forget]

What does it say in your lease with regards to heat?

You said your landlord presented you with the bill, so I am assuming it is in his name?

Why are you responsible for paying for all of the heat when part of it is rented to students?

I seem to think that unless there is separate billing/ control for the units, that the landlord has to include the heat in the cost of the rent and then charge an appropriate amount of rent accordingly....been a long time since I rented though.

[blueeyetea]

Landlord is a very cheap person who makes his tenants pay to replace things and drags his feet to reimburse.

I thought Tenants' rights allowed for the tenant to deduct those amounts from the rent... Why would anyone wait for a reimbursement?

[Brynhilde]

I may have not mentioned in my prior post but we pay 60% of utilities.. still too high especially with another one coming soon! That will be almost $2000 for only 4 months using heat? I am fairly positive that in order to rent your home in Toronto, you have to have separate meters for things like Hydro if you have separate units but it doesn't seem to be enforced.

[Brynhilde]

I thought Tenants' rights allowed for the tenant to deduct those amounts from the rent... Why would anyone wait for a reimbursement?

Our landlord got really p'd when we did that... left us paying for a plumbers bill a week before rent was due then expected us to pay full rent when he owed us money. What is Tenant's right? Do you mean from the Residential Tenancies Act? While hubby and I believe 100% that we should just take it off the rent, by law I have not read anything that says we are permitted to do that. Tricky waters to be in because a landlord can go to the Landlord & Tenant Board and say that we owe him that amount in rent, not sure how successful a landlord would be in getting awarded that when he owed but who knows.

[blueeyetea]

Our landlord got really p'd when we did that... left us paying for a plumbers bill a week before rent was due then expected us to pay full rent when he owed us money.

And why did he get p'd? Why were you paying the bill in the first place and not him? Because he didn't authorize the repair? Did he tell you to take care of it and he'd pay it back? If you called a plumber because of an emergency, the law does cover the fact that you can deduct repairs from the rent, but if challenged, you will eventually have to prove the repairs were, in fact, necessary and that you went ahead with the consent of the landlord.

As a tenant, you have the right to have the premises you're renting in good repair. Did you look at this info here? If it's $900 for heating because the furnace is too old, make your request in writing to have the furnace in good repair. Beging looking after CYA. Stop paying for repairs and start a trail and document your requests in writing. He wants you to pay, get it in writing. Find out if it's legal for you to pay utilities when the bill is not in your name. Even if it's spelled out in your lease, it doesn't mean it's necessarily legal.

At worst, consult a lawyer to see if there's anything you can do to force his hand. Contact the law society and get a referral for a free consultation. In big companies, this is available through employee assistant programs (EAP). Maybe you qualify for legal aid.

[blueeyetea]

Our landlord got really p'd when we did that... left us paying for a plumbers bill a week before rent was due then expected us to pay full rent when he owed us money.

And why did he get p'd? Why were you paying the bill in the first place and not him? Because he didn't authorize the repair? Did he tell you to take care of it and he'd pay it back? If you called a plumber because of an emergency, the law does cover the fact that you can deduct repairs from the rent, but if challenged, you will eventually have to prove the repairs were, in fact, necessary and that you went ahead with the consent of the landlord.

As a tenant, you have the right to have the premises you're renting in good repair. Did you look at this info here? If it's $900 for heating because the furnace is too old, make your request in writing to have the furnace in good repair. Beging looking after CYA. Stop paying for repairs and start a trail and document your requests in writing. He wants you to pay, get it in writing. Find out if it's legal for you to pay utilities when the bill is not in your name. Even if it's spelled out in your lease, it doesn't mean it's necessarily legal.

At worst, consult a lawyer to see if there's anything you can do to force his hand. Contact the law society and get a referral for a free consultation. In big companies, this is available through employee assistant programs (EAP). Maybe you qualify for legal aid.