TrinaForest

Hello,

We're renting a new place at the end of the month (small cottage by Lake Simcoe) 3 tiny bedrooms, all open plan, very small kitchen, living room is 7.11 x 3.3 meters, kitchen 3.16 x 2.36 m, eating area 2.55 x 2.6 m, bedrooms: 2.76 x 2.39m, 2.6 x 2.3 m, and 2 x 2.4 m. Crawl space. This home does not have gas heating - I saw an 8ft baseboard heater in the living room and the cottage was recently renovated, new windows, insulation etc. It also has an electric water heater. We've been renting an all inclusive property since we moved here three years ago, so never had to hook up hydro.. My question is: how much should we expect our monthly hydro bill to be in the winter months with the baseboard heater that we will keep on low? Is Hydro One our only option? I was looking at their website where they list all of the rates based on the time of the day etc. it will cost around $23 to just bring the hydro to my home. Any advice or examples would be appreciated.. thanks

Siouxie

Ouch. Is that the only heating in the place? Is it winterised? Unless you have an alterative source of heating I believe you are likely in for some substantial bills. You won't be able to keep the heater on low if that is your only source of heating!

If you go to the Ontario Energy Board website, there is a calculator you can see what other companies would charge you based on usage.

http://www.ontarioenergyboard.ca/OEB...city%20Utility

I believe Horizon may be in that area as well.

Can you contact the owner and ask if you can see what the bills were for last winter?

Novocastrian

+1.

Get a wood burner.

R I C H

I've a 3,000sq/ft house at a ski resort with 3 bedrooms on the main floors, 2 additional in the separate basement suite. Hydro rates in BC may be different, but FWIW, the whole house is heated by electric baseboards, each with their own thermostat. Hot water and both kitchen stoves are also electric.

The equalized monthly payment for hydro is $300. The property is lived in year round. I don't find that unreasonable for 2 dwellings

TrinaForest

Thanks for the info. Do you think an 8ft baseboard heater might not be enough to warm a small cottage? We could buy a couple more to spread the heat evenly around the house. $200 a month wouldn't be considered bad, $300 is okay too... I'd just be slightly disappointed if it was a whopping $600 per month. It is a winterized cottage, as I mentioned in my previous post, it has been completely renovated, new insulation and windows. The owner was only using it in the summer, so our needs would be slightly different.

R I C H

I think it's doubtful a single heater is going to be adequate for a whole cottage. I've 15 in my property.

Siouxie

That's an equalised payment though - meaning you pay the same every month, all year. What is the actual cost for heat and hot water during the winter months? Equal billing is generally only available if you have a already been paying for a while, not from the outset either.

BristolUK

That might vary. We went onto equalised payments from the second or third month after we moved in.

I think they based it on the couple here before us and probably over estimated given the reduction at the subsequent review.

Siouxie

I doubt very much that an 8ft baseboard will be enough to heat the whole place, particularly when it gets really cold.

Do you know if they insulated under the main level floor where the crawlspace is and into the roof? Any idea what R value they insulated to? (it will make a difference) Is there a fireplace you could utilise?

Novocastrian

Again, +1. I googled and could only find a 7 foot baseboard heater and that one was wired into 240V and delivers a meagre 1750W.

No way that going to heat even a small cottage in winter (on Lake Simcoe).

Probably OK in Bournemouth.

TrinaForest

no fireplace, unfortunately. The real estate agent did tell us that they insulated all of the house, top and bottom as well. I only saw one baseboard heater in the living room under the window - I don't remember seeing any more, but I suppose we could buy some more if necessary. I called hydro one and the rep looked at the location and quoted around $200 per month. Who knows. We've already signed the lease for a year and provided the first and last month.

Siouxie

Was that on an equalised billing scheme? I'm not sure how they could tell you 'remotely' though, without knowing what the R value etc., is.

What is the square footage of the place, do you know?

TrinaForest

I'm not sure either, she just provided a ballpark figure. It's around 800 sq ft. I wrote down the measurements from mls.ca which I included in my original post. It's on the small side, for sure.

Siouxie

You can apply for the Ontario energy and property tax benefit, it might help!

http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/credit/oeptc/index.html

You should check out any other credits/benefits you can get - click the calculator - you can still get some of them even if you are renting.

dbd33

I think they're having you on about the $200. It's $140/month to deliver electricity to our house (rural low population density), not including the cost of the power, so I'd guess it's the same there. I had a house with baseboard heaters in one room (far from the wood stove) and that ran about $500/month for electricity, I'd think you're in for a cost similar to that if there's good insulation.