Are my pilot lights really costing me this much?!

[SecondMonkey]

I did a google search and found a few things that said gas pilot lights usually burn about 600-1200 BTU/hour. Does that sound right to anyone else?

Because if that's true, my fireplace and water heater waste between 100-200 therms in a year...wasting between $120 and $240! Is my math correct here?
(600-1200 BTU*2 = 1200/2400 BTU/hour * 8,760 hours/year)

If that's the case can you convert pilot appliances to spark ignition like my heater?

 

[moribundman]

My heater's pilot light cost me about $1.25 per month last summer. That's a half inch high, puny flame.

 

[SecondMonkey]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
My heater's pilot light cost me about $1.25 per month last summer. That's a half inch high, puny flame.


Hmmm...what are you paying per therm? If it's close to mine ($1.20) then your pilot would only be about 140 BTUs.

Does anybody *actually* know how much gas a normal pilot burns?

 

[moribundman]

Right now I pay 84 cents for one therm.

 

[NJC]

Seems high. Are you able to adjust the flame height? As long as it is heating the thermocouple and able to ignite the fuel.

I pay for gas in Gigajoules.

 

[oilyriser]

You can turn off the pilot on your heater during the summer. In winter, it helps to heat the place, so it doesn't matter.

 

[mechtech2]

My gas heat is included in my condo assessment, but I turn the pilot light off anyway in the warm months.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: SecondMonkey
I did a google search and found a few things that said gas pilot lights usually burn about 600-1200 BTU/hour. Does that sound right to anyone else?

Because if that's true, my fireplace and water heater waste between 100-200 therms in a year...wasting between $120 and $240! Is my math correct here?
(600-1200 BTU*2 = 1200/2400 BTU/hour * 8,760 hours/year)

If that's the case can you convert pilot appliances to spark ignition like my heater?


Seems high unless they are old. Older appliances had bigger pilot light flames.

During the summer we use about 15 therms per month which would be 180 therms if stretched out for a year. But, that includes a gas stove, water heater and gas dryer that runs a few loads of clothes a week. Of those 3 appliances, only the water heater has a pilot light.

Something else to consider is that your water heater pilot light isn't a complete waste. I helps keep the water warm.

A fireplace should be a reasonable candidate for conversion to spark ignition, but be prepared to pay a tech some real money.

For the water heater you would probably be better off buying a new heater with good insulation and a small pilot light.

 

[JustinH]

For a water heater you are best off buying a tankless unit.

I turn the pilot light off on my furnace in the summer.

 

[moribundman]

I leave my pilot light usually on in the summer, because the heater is over 40 years old and the pilot light is not very easily lit. It can take over a minute until the light stays on. Not only do I not enjoy lying on the floor and reaching into the dirty heater to light up the pilot light, but I don't want to drive my neighbors nuts by noisily removing the grille in the middle of the night. It can get suddenly cold, and it does happen here right by the ocean. The ambient temperature often drops 40°F over night. My pilot light gets blown out on average once every other week, and there are periods when I don't bother lighting it. However, I always come to regret this, because I need the heater usually in the middle of the night. Since the pilot light costs me very little, I see no reason to turn it off, especially because it gets blown out anyway. There is no turn-off switch for the pilot light, by the way.

 

[JHZR2]

for your situation, why not get an electric heater to augment to save the issue? Looks to me as if electric heat is getting close to or cheaper than fossil-fuel heat, as of late...

JMH

 

[moribundman]

Thanks for trying to save me $1.25 per month.

My place is too large to be heated by one electric radiator heater. The 40 year old wiring is already overly stressed with all the electric devices that I am using. A second radiator would cause the fuse to blow.