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Electric Vs. Propane Heating
Q. Due to space and teenagers! we are in the process of selling our present home and buying another. We are in the fortunate position of being able to choose what type of heat we want installed in the home. It is a large bi-level with 2 fireplaces, so we know we won't have to rely solely on the furnace, but will have it installed with ductwork, etc. as part of the purchase agreement. I am looking for information and cost analysis on electric versus propane (no natural gas in the country). I think the propane will be cheaper, but my husband has concerns. Any resources or suggestions?
I may not be the most versed in the area of heating differences but I can tell you our experience. We bought our farm 8 years ago and it had electric heat. It was always cold. We ended up using 2 kerosene heaters most of the winter just to keep warm. You could wear all the sweaters ect. you wanted but your nose and toes were always cold. One February our electric bill was 350.00 - and we were cold the whole time. We saved our money and 5 years ago had propane installed. The propane company sold us the furnace and then did all the labor for free. I even had them run pipes to the stove and water heater so when they needed replaced I had a choice of what type to get. Our house is now very warm, and My heating bills are less than half of what the electric was. I had a large propane tank installed and have it filled about late June or early July when prices are low. If you wait until Aug. or Sept. the price starts rising and during winter it is much higher. Watch oil prices and the propane (a by-product) prices will soon follow suit. K.
I was an engineer for an electric utility for 20 years and know that propane or oil are the way to go. Personally, we have oil and If you can install the tank in ground or offsite you will not have to deal with the smell when they fill the tank. Ours is in the basement and the oilmen just don't get it! they overfill every time! >Unless the price of oil is at or above $1.00 per gallon, BTU to BTU it is the most economical (given the same furnace efficiencies). Propane and Natural gas are both good and safe sources provided you know the rules. The best thing to do is to read up on the safety rules of propane. It's really quite simple and safe. If you will have a forced air system you will prefer the cleanliness of the propane as oil makes for much more cleaning. If you have the idea of going with a radiant heating system you may be more frugal to install an oil furnace. Just remember TANK PLACEMENT. Engineer
My feelings are that propane is comparable to heating with natural gas, and is FAR (did you hear that...)FAR less expensive that electric. Electric heat is THE most expensive way to heat a dwelling, unless you car producing the electricity, by say solar or wind generation. I live in rural New Mexico, and we have a 250 gallon propane tank, that cost me $190 to fill in fall, and I am on a top off schedule for February, which means they come in February no matter what and fill up whatever the tank can hold. This last February isn't a fair call because the winter was so mild, but in years past, this fill is generally not higher that $80 or so. That's for the whole year. We do have a woodstove, and we do use it, but I wouldn't think we'd spend more than another $100 in the year without it. On the outside that would come to $370 - 400 in the event of a hard winter and no wood to burn. That's FOR THE YEAR!!! You can expect a monthly electric billing somewhere near half that per month if you're lucky heating with electric. A downside that is worth a mention, but has never been a problem for us so far The electric company service is constant as long as they receive a check. With propane you're relying on a delivery to your remote location, and trucks do break down, supply can be interrupted, or weather can prevent delivery (typically when its the coldest). None of these things have ever happened to us out here in the 7 years we've been here, but I am aware of this possibility.
Editor's Note: With changing prices each person needs to evaluate their specific needs, to aid in this manner please consider the following formulations:
- Multiply the oil heat price per gallon by 0.663 to give the equivalent price per gallon of propane
- Multiply the natural gas delivered price per therm by 0.92 to give the equivalent price per gallon of propane
- Multiply the electricity price per kWh by 27.0 to give the equivalent price per gallon of propane
for more details on comparisons visit www.energykinetics.com/savingsHeatingFuelComparisons.shtml#comparePropane
Those who are blindly recommending propane here are not giving you anywhere near the whole story: What KIND of electric heat? Baseboard? Resistance? Of course those are expensive! But a 12-14 SEER or higher heat pump will destroy every single propane cost model. Not even close. And Geothermal goes well beyond that.
A good compromise, if you are in a climate that regularly goes below freezing in winter, would be a "Dual fuel" system: Propane furnace coupled with a good high-efficiency heat pump (which also gives you central air). The heat pump will save you HUGE dollars in the "fringe" heating months of September, October possibly November, and then March/April. On the coldest days the propane may in fact be more efficient at times (see earlier reference to low temps).
I state without hesitation that propane by itself is wildly expensive when compared to other alternatives. To be fair, so are electric baseboard and straight resistance heating. But those really are not good alternatives, and are RARELY installed as stand-alone systems today. It simply is not done.
As for the guy who was a utility engineer, I would ask: What kind of engineer? I spent 15 years in the electric utility industry and spent a great deal of time on this question. There is simply NO WAY that propane is the most efficient or least expensive home heating method/fuel. Pure, complete nonsense. Mark my words: Propane is used as a primary heating fuel ONLY in areas where natural gas is not available.
I used to hear anecdotal stories from field member services reps; they reported that propane salespeople would stop at new construction homesites and ask what type of heating was being installed. When the answer was "geothermal" they would not even get out of their vehicle!
Please give strong consideration to a dual fuel system. If you must use propane, this will save you a huge amount of money over the life of the system.
Finally, make sure you get a qualified, licensed HVAC person to PROPERLY SIZE whatever system you choose. Many a good home has been badly (and expensively) heated by a botched size and install.
a 101 year old victorian farm house. We had central air and "heat"
installed about 8 years ago, and have been freezing ever since. It does get rather chilly here in east tennessee, and we are considering having a dual fuel system put in. We have 2 units, one upstairs and one downstairs. We are only replacing the downstairs unit. Many people in this area say we don't need propane, however an old home like this just does not warm up well with just a heat pump. Thank you for explaining this so well.
The best suggestion, whether propane or natural gas, is to us a hybrid system......use the gas in the months when the temperature drops below 42-45 degrees, and use the heat pump for all other days, including for the cooling, for which it is really designed and unmatched.
Finally, if one has the funds, getting the most up-to-date and efficient gas furnace and heat pump will be expensive, but will certainly pay for itself in 6-10 year of savings in fuel costs.....of both fuels. And, with the current federal tax credits and the various manufacturers rebates, this could be the best time to make the move.
I stick to electric , much less effort than dealing with greedy propane suppliers
'build it solar dot com." he sells nothing and has every calculator you may need to make a decision..
Agree- Geothermal is highly efficient, and cost effective (cheap) to operate. But, what is the cost to have the wells, either vertical or trenches for horizontal storage, drilled or excavated. In our area, it would be $50,000 plus to have a geothermal system engineered and installed, according to our local heating contractors and PA public utility people. I don't want to be perceived as disrespectful, but the payback on that is too long for me.
Ugh.
Forgot to mention that each room has its own thermostat and individual heater.
If it has an electric water heater, will it help the situation by much? The house has dishwasher, washer/dryer, and one bathroom.
I wanted to get a practice run before I purchased a home, but now I don't know that it would be worth it.
Have a relatively new forced hot water oil furnace but with the cost of oil, it's still prohibitive.
I installed a 60,000 btu coal burner in the center of my basement, and have used that exclusively for the past three years. With the addition of a reciprocating fan and registers cut in the floor of each room, it is adequate, but a pain to keep up with, and, of course, I can't GO anywhere lest the fire go out.
I'm thinking about putting some propane units in the basement. My first thought was to use two or three, 30,000 BTU, blue-flame, wall-mount, ventless units, strategically placed, but wonder if this is the best/safest/most efficient approach.
Cost is definitely a factor - I need to keep the installation cost under $1k.
Something that will operate without electricity is also preferable, since we often lose power during the winter, though I can always supplement with the coal/wood burner.
Speaking of which - I do have a double-wall, stainless steel chimney in place for the coal burner, which might or might not be usable for some kind of propane unit.
Thanks in advance.
Joe
We did some research and installed a wood stove the next year. It cost us about $2000 to get it installed and that year we used only 1 and 1/ 2 cord of firewood for the whole winter at the cost of $160 per cord.
For us, wood stove is the most efficient way to heat the home. The drawback of course, is you have to add firewood every 4 to 6 hours during the use.
Second, consider a pellet stove in your primary living area. I heat most of my house with a small pellet stove. One winters' worth of pellets costs about as much as one month's worth of propane heat.
I use my high energy efficient propane furnace on those rare occasions (usually in January) when the pellet stove just isn't enough, and at all other times as backup. Set to 55 degrees, it comes on if the pellets run out at night or I'm away from home.
Good life to everyone!