LOVETTSVILLE RELOCATION PACKAGE, Welcoming folks to Loudoun County, Virginia. Page 14 of 20. Utilities and Costs.
LOVETTSVILLE IS A RURAL COMMUNITY WHERE THE UTILITIES ARE SUITED TO THE NEEDS OF THE RESIDENTS and resources available. Utilities vary between urban and rural communities. Lovettsville is a rural community in Western Loudoun County.
UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HOMES IN RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES. Many new and resale homes in Lovettsville are sold to relocating families from more urban areas where the home heating fuel was natural gas. So often, I get a phone call from a prospective home buyer who give me their “criteria” and request that I provide them with suitable listings of homes for sale in Loudoun County that match the features on their list. So often, the home they describe is not available in this geographical area. I had request for a list of homes for sale with Stucco exteriors and tile roofs from folks moving from Arizona. I often speak with buyers from California or Florida who take for granted that there will be many homes for sale with in-ground swimming pools. Swimming pools are only used in this area on average about 4 months beginning in June and ending in September. Often the cost of operation limits resale opportunities. Swimming pools add little to no additional value to real estate in Lovettsville. We can, of course, help our relocating families locate homes of lots that will accomodate a swimming pool.
WHAT BUYERS WANT IN A HOME TO BUY. The most popular request involved lot size and heat source. I have 
had hundreds of buyers from urban areas who have homes on small lots and gas heat. When they consider relocating to the rural areas of Loudoun County or any rural area in this part of Maryland or Northern Virginia, they ask for 2 acres or more and natural gas heat. Coming from an urban community where natural gas is popular, where the county installed or permitted private installation of gas lines, home buyers do not always understand that the cost of installing natural gas lines is expensive and adds to the tax base. Few municipalities have the resources to install gas supply lines to rural areas and fewer home owners can or will pay the cost of bringing the gas supply lines to the homes. There are a number of homes with oil as the heat fuel supply. However, few new home builders offer this option. While a number of existing, usually older homes, have oil burners, there are fewer and fewer oil burners. Environmental concerns about the buried oil tanks is a concern for some. Also, the cost of fuel oil is a consideration when less expensive alternatives are available. About 19% of existing homes in Lovettsville have oil heat. 4,000+ sq. ft. all electric. Av. Elec., $170 a mo. per year.
NEW HOME BUILDERS IN LOVETTSVILLE offer two types of homes, small lot home sites in the town of Lovettsville and large lot home sites outside the town but with a Lovettsville address and Zip Code of 20180. These homes are generally 3 acres or more. There is one builder offering home sites of 3/4 acre on “clustered” lots. There are three builders offering new homes to-be-built or inventory homes on lots of average 1/4 acre that have natural gas supplied to the homes. That “natural gas” is Propane. It is not natural gas supplied from the street provided by a utility service. New homes in Lovettsville on small lots include a Propane tank on the lot. On larger home sites, the tank will usually be buried and filled automatically just as oil has always been supplied by commercial suppliers. Service is efficient and timely.
HEATING SOURCES: BUILDERS IN LOVETTSVILLE OFFER THREE TYPES OF HEAT, BOTTLED GAS (PROPANE), HEAT PUMPS AND GEO-THERMAL (one builder).
Most builders offer homes with a Heat Pump or Propane Gas alternative. One builder in Lovettsville offers radiant heat with a geo-thermal source along with a heat pump.
Lovettsville In-Town Homes Lovettsville homes on acreage.
LOVETTSVILLE VIRGINIA HOMES, ELECTRIC SERVICE AND THE MYTH ABOUT HEAT PUMPS.
I LOVE MY HEAT PUMP. I know the rumors and old wives tails about heat pumps.
- Myth #1. They’re expensive to use to heat a home.
- Myth #2. They’re only good to about 25 F.
- Myth #3. They require more maintenance than an oil or gas heat source.
DON’T BELIEVE IT. Without going into the thermodynamics of how a heat pump works, some of the reasons I love my heat pump are related to personal preference:
- Comfort,
- Low Maintenance,
- Cost of Operation
- SAFETY.
COMFORT - Heat Pumps, unlike air heated by burning gas, delivers heated air at a temperature only a few degrees above the ambient room temperature, about 4 degrees higher. The delivery is the same as gas heated air, forced hot air duct work and grates that deliver the warmed air into the rooms. The difference is that, since the air is heated only a few degrees at a time, air delivered is not as dry as gas heated air. Many folks complain that they can’t “feel” the hot air, meaning that they enjoy feeling the hot air distributed to rooms that has been heated by burning gas. For many, having an almost constant room temperature with little less reduction in normal humidity without the necessity of humidifiers, which can cause problems if not maintained properly.
LOW MAINTENANCE - Heat Pumps have more moving parts than most gas fueled furnaces and are therefore more in need of maintenance contracts and regular service. We recommend a home warranty to cover equipment following expiration of the manufacturers warranty.
COST OF OPERATION- Electric Heat is, indeed, expensive. However, while electricity is the heat source for heat pumps, the heat pump does more than just heat air and distribute the heated air. Below is the whole house cost for my home in Lovettsville for the first 21 days of January. This is a home of 4,600 square feet of heated living space. The thermostat is kept at a comfortable 72 degree setting.
High and low temperature in January during this billing period for Lovettsville, Virginia 20180.
| Date |
High Temp |
Low Temp |
Date |
High Temp |
Low Temp |
SAFETY - HEAT PUMPS, NATURAL GAS and PROPANE.
HEAT PUMPS are safe. There is no combustible fuel source. As long as the electricity is available, the heat pump will deliver heat.
NATURAL GAS AND PROPANE SAFETY. Over the years, while the incidence of explosions in homes with a gas heat source, it is rare and usually confined to new construction. Propane gas also has the added danger that, unlike natural gas supplied by municipalities, Propane is heavier than air and caution should be used to make sure that there are no leaks in the supply lines. While natural gas is “scented” to make leaking gas easy to detect, there is evidence that the tanks that store Propane cause a diminution of the “odor” added and 
lower level in homes can have an accumulation of Propane gas without emitting an odor.
Map Lovettsville, Virginia
Click image to enlarge
ENJOY OTHER ARTICLES ABOUT RELOCATING TO LOVETTSVILLE, VIRGINIA. WE CAN HELP.
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 1 of 20. Lovettsville Real Estate Market
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 2 of 20. Service Companies in Lovettsville
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 3 of 20. Commuting from Lovettsville
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 4 of 20. Employment in Loudoun County
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 5 of 20. Horse Farms in Lovettsville
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 6 of 20. Adult Living in Lovettsville
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 7 of 20. New Construction in Lovettsville
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 8 of 20. Development in Western Loudoun County
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 9 of 20. New Homes in Lovettsville Ready to Move In.
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 10 of 20. Lovettsville Italian Restaurant, Pizza and Subs
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 11 of 20. Lovettsville Real Estate Foreclosures
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 12 of 20. Farms, Lots and Land in Lovettsville
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 13 of 20. Lovettsville Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company
Lovettsville Relocation Package. Page 14 of 20. Utilities in Lovettsville homes.
Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-Mail.
