Home Ownership Energy demand is increasing and it's likely to continue as Canada's population increases. Even after considering the massive switch away from heating oil, Statistics Canada expects the demand for domestic heating oil to increase at least three and a half per cent annually.

If you heat with oil now, you'll be competing with many other families for supplies and paying a higher price every year. In the face of ever-increasing prices, the push is on for alternative fuel sources.

When choosing a new or secondary heating system, you'll want to know what the least costly system is now, and will be in the future.

Several questions have a strong bearing on your choice:

• What fuels are available in your neighbourhood?

• What heating systems are suitable for your existing home?

• What are the fuel costs now (and projected for the future)?

• How much will the new system cost to purchase and install?

• How efficient is it? Knowing the answers to these questions tells you what the pay back will be — that is, how soon the new system will cost less than the old system. In many cases, government assistance under the Canadian Oil Substitution Program (COSP) is available.

For island dwellers, rural families and inhabitants of remote regions of Canada, piped natural gas is an unlikely choice. Oil and electricity are the mainstream alternatives. Where wood is available at reasonable cost, it can be used to fuel a furnace, stove or hot water heater.




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October 6, 2008