Off topic perhaps, but I switched from oil/steam to gas forced hot air last year. Between the 96% efficient furnace and new gas hot water heater (compared with

Off topic perhaps, but I switched from oil/steam to gas forced hot air last year. Between the 96% efficient furnace and new gas hot water heater (compared with the 75% oil / steam with super inefficient continuous hot water attachment) and the fracking boom, I can report that gas is much, much cheaper: for me $3500 -> $700 / year for a 1100 sq/ft apartment near Boston. http://theenergycollective.com/lindsay-wilson/307486/heating-cost-comparison-oil-heat-vs-gas-heat-vs-electric-heat-prices http://theenergycollective.com/lindsay-wilson/307486/heating... A heat pump with ground heat-sink may be a better long term option, but it's much more expensive. Also I'm pretty sure the gas is more efficient when considering the power plant and transmission line losses. Even better would be a home gas co-generation plant. Honda has such a thing, but again not cheap: http://world.honda.com/powerproducts-technology/cogeneration/ http://world.honda.com/powerproducts-technology/cogeneration...