Okay, the house we currently rent has a forced hot hair heating system, which uses a #2 heating oil/K-1 mix fuel.

One of the houses we're looking at renting is a hot water baseboard heating system, with #2 heating fuel only.


Generally, a hot water baseboard system is more efficient than forced hot air, right? By a lot? The sizes of the houses are comparable. I know already that not having to use K-1 at all is a big help financially, but I'm hoping the heating system itself is more efficient, too. I'm pretty new to this stuff- our house in Wyoming was propane heat, as was our last apartment, and everything else before that was heat included so I didn't have to deal with it. I'm on a learning curve with the heating stuff.

My dad, the hvac guru, says that as long as they are in good working order there is not much of a difference, but that hot water baseboard heating is slightly more efficient.

You should be able to get the last year of utility bills for the property to review. Compare the amount used and the average daily outside temperature, don't bother with the costs, at they'll be useless. But, with the average use, you should be able to get a rough estimate of the monthly cost, using guesstimates for fuel costs.

I'd also contact the utility company and see if they'll allow you to 'average' your bills. This spreads the winter cost out to the summer months, meaning you pay closer to the same amount year round, instead of having really high bills in the winter.