Energy Rates and TV costs

[FDNYLiberty]

Thanks to BOSTON for opening this new forum topic.

I was wondering if anyone can tell me about home heating costs. Obviously I will get at least one wood-burning stove in the house to supplement whatever house heating system I have. (is it hard to get good wood for it if you live somewhere other than a wooded area?)

Question; Which is cheaper out there to heat with, gas (propane) or electricity? I am sure both rates are a helluva lot cheaper than here in "Con Edison" (note the word "Con") NY.

Also what are the satelitte TV monthly rates like and how is the reception. Can you pretty much get alot of the chanels? I am a BIG TMC classic movies fan and if I can't get that then I will not move to WY. (Only Kidding . Thanks folks.

FDNYLiberty

[Crappiewy]

In most places that you would want to live there is firewood available. Generally around $120 per cord but varries. Firewood permits are available from the forrest service for about $5 per cord.
In Crook county Electricity is about $0.05 per KWH. It is pretty cheap. The cheapest way to heat your house is with a Heat pump. Strip heat and Propane are about the same as far as price goes. Even with a heat pump you will need something else for those really cold days or when the power fails. A propane gravity heater works good and doesent require electricity to operate.
Whatever you can get on satillite there you can get here. It is all the same.

[FDNYLiberty]

Thanks crappiewy. Hate to sound like a complete dope, but what the heck is a heat pump? I use (fan) forced hot air gas heater (natural gas piped in from street). I expect the extreme cold weather out there warrants a few extra emergency heating modes. You mention loss of electricity. How does that affect a heat pump? Here weher I am presently, loss of juice means that my heater can't run either.

[Crappiewy]

A heat pump is an airconditioner that pushes the warm air inside instead of outside of the house. They have what is called a COP Coefficient of performance. These range from 2-5 one that hs a COP of 4 will use 25% of the energy of a electric strip heat would. One that has a COE of 2 will use half of the power.

[MANUMIT]

... (natural gas piped in from street WYOMING).

There fixed it for ya 

MANUMIT

[Old Ironsights]

The CHEAPEST way to heat your house is with Passive Solar.  We built Loop Solar homes (and businesses/town offices) all over WY in the 80s that will hold a constant 55+ when it is sub zero with no energy expenditure whatsoever.

No Electricity needed to run fans/pumps.  No Petrol needed to cut/haul firewood.

And now that insulation & fenestration is even better than it was in the late 70s/80s, it's even easier.  

And what is this "TV" thing of which you speak?  

[FDNYLiberty]

Thanks for the " lesson" crappiewy. I suspect "strip heat" is -  as we eastern dopes call it - electric baseboard?

LOL manumit   You're a funnny F$*& !

Old Iron Sights: YES!!! I will definitely invest in some form or other in solar energy. It is one reason that I have excluded looking in areas where houses I am interested in have HOA's. They seem pretty restrictive, and I do'nt want anyone telling me what I can or can't do. If I want to take a piss off my back porch so be it.
As far as "TV" is concerned, I was wondering if you can give me a heads up on the basic costs? Here in NY they nickel and dime you to death for everything. If you also give me some info on what internet access is likeout there (High-Speed available via satellite? Just modem phone?) I would be grateful.

Thanks everyone.

[MamaLiberty]

I have excluded looking in areas where houses I am interested in have HOA's.

Not too many HOAs out here, at least not where I live. Maybe in Jackson or Cheyenne. Don't know. Where I live there are no building codes at all. If you build it and it falls down, that's your problem. No legal obligation for a seller to disclose defects in a house you buy either, so you need to have one inspected before you close the deal. If you build, you must have a state permit for the septic and if you drill a well. I'd suggest buying something with proven water... Lots of dry wells drilled out here.

Oh, and if you want to grow things, make sure you find a place with some actual soil. And fence. You are legally required to fence OUT any stray livestock or deer. They have the run of the place.

As far as "TV" is concerned

No idea. Have not had a TV in nearly 15 years. Lots and lots of satellite dishes all over the place, however. I'm sure you can look it up on line. Just put "satellite TV" in a search engine and pick a company with service in Wyoming.

what internet access is like out there

This varies widely, though DSL is pretty much available in most areas. I pay $30. a month each for DSL and basic telephone service. With tax and the other nonsense it comes to about $72. a month. Terrible, but I was paying $65. for combined phone and dialup. I've been told that dialup won't even be available much longer. Here in Newcastle, we also have a good wireless company that doesn't cost any more than phone DSL, but is just slightly less reliable.

[FDNYLiberty]

Thanks for all that good info MaMaL, especially the building codes and seller disclosure. I will definitely keeop those facts in mind.  BTW, the HOA house I was looking at was in Carlile (? spelling). Nice place but very small (5) acreage.  I'm looking for about 10 acres at minimum. I figure my garden will be either raised beds, cold beds /covers (?) or a greenhouse (if I am lucky).  MaMaL !!! NO TV ?    My wife and I watch TV only for the Turner classic movies station (TCM) and the Fox News channel.  Everything else I'm sure you would agree, is just utter garbage - esp. MSM news and other MSM political propaganda.

DSL and Phone for $30 that goes to $70?? Geez Loius!! Those Taxes and 'other fees" are ridiculous - even in WY. That one is a shocker. I thought it was bad here. I pay $38 a month for (long-distance) phone (Vonage) and $49 a month for cable high-speed internet. Cable TV (seperate charge) is an utter rip-off at $78 a month "basic cable channels" - forget about HBO etc. Don't need them anyhow. Thanks again MaMaL.

[Old Ironsights]

..  MaMaL !!! NO TV ?    My wife and I watch TV only for the Turner classic movies station (TCM) and the Fox News channel.  Everything else I'm sure you would agree, is just utter garbage - esp. MSM news and other MSM political propaganda. ...

I haven't had TV (antenna or "other" for about 15 years now.  Now, especially with HuLu, Netflix etc, there is no reason at all to pay for MSM mind rot.

[FDNYLiberty]

MaMaL; I do the Netflix thing myself. It's pretty good, esp for old movies.  I live near one of their distribution depots and it takes oly two days turnaround time once I send one DVD back till I get my next one. I have not tried HuLu yet. Will take a look at it.

BTW, do you use a water sioftener for your well water?

[FDNYLiberty]

OOPS, sorry! My last post was meant for Old Ironsights. 

[Old Ironsights]

...
BTW, do you use a water sioftener for your well water?

I don't.  But I'm on Town Water.  Still high in minerals, but not too bad. 

[FDNYLiberty]

Old IronSights, does the (hard) water tend to screw up your pipes or other plumbing fixtures???

[Old Ironsights]

Old IronSights, does the (hard) water tend to screw up your pipes or other plumbing fixtures???

Makes cleaning fixtures a pain, but my place is running PEX piping, so no buildup there.