Nowadays I rent a floor in an old Victorian home converted into a duplex, still running a boiler (single loop for both floors) going to radiators and convectors. Real noise from the basement from the pump, banging of pipes, and the air quality monitors clearly show VOCs rising — sometimes to really crazy levels (250+, sometimes 400-600!) if upstairs cranked the heat to hell and back.
Where I live now has mediocre insulation at best, and an uninsulated three-seasons room on the 2nd floor that might as well just be open to the outside air. In 2017 when I left, my electric bill was only about $45/mo (1BR, all electric appliances, though elec was half the price back then), and that included in-line water heating (with 3gal tanks for the bath and kitchen). Meanwhile, my landlord currently pays about $7000/year in fuel oil to heat this duplex and its water.
Granted, it’s far from an apples-to-apples comparison as where I lived for ~9 years was ultra-modern construction with no corners cut, and I didn’t share heat/hot water with neighbors that have a far more demanding “standard of comfort”. If only I lived here, might only be $2000/year since my standard of comfort is a lot lower than upstairs, but it really shows the difference that construction, insulation, maintenance, HVAC system choices, and just lowering your standards a bit makes.
House across the street just sold. Had vents and forced air, but still a boiler. New residents haven’t moved in yet, but they IMMEDIATELY removed a fairly new boiler, plus the 375 gallon fuel tank. Putting in a heat pumps and a hybrid water heater. Don’t blame them for both the long-term savings, plus reclaiming floor space in the basement.