Propane vs Metered Electric

[dandt]

For the first time since going fulltime in the Montana we are at our current job for the summer and have metered electric.
Has anyone figured out which is more economical...running water heater and furnance on propane or using a small electric heater to warmup in the mornings. Electric is running 11 cents a kilowatt and propane is about $2.89 gal. We are on the Northern California coast, so YES we do need to run the heater a little. We have always had free electric so it has never been an issue. Thanks for information. Teresa

[DnDatGrdJct]

We just spent 6 weeks with your same question.

The first 4 weeks we ran with propane, but the water heater was always on electric, just so we did not have to run and refill the propane tanks as often. The last two weeks we used just electric power with heaters etc. We are in CO and all things, temperature, wind etc were pretty constant for the entire six week time.

It cost us about $20.00 to fill a propane tank and electric was 12 cents per kwh. We found that the cost for electric was a bit more than when using propane for most things. However we did not believe it a deal breaker either way. If you have a problem finding easy access to fill propane tanks that may make a difference.

Hope this helps and others will probably have other experiences that will help you.

Dean

[8.1al]

There must be an APP for that. Seriously if there is some way to compare I would like to know too

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

CountryFolk (Skip), I thought knew a formula for this

???????

[bwney]

I made an Excel spreadsheet a couple years ago to compare propane cost to electric. You enter your cost per KWH, and propane cost per gallon. You can also enter your propane % efficiency- since your RV furnace is less than 100% efficient.

Drop me an email and I'll send it to you. It appears you can do that from a profile page.

[pbahlin]

One gallon of propane is the equivalent of 27KWH of electricity. So 27kwh @ $0.11 is $2.97. If you're getting propane at less than $2.97 per gallon you're better off with propane (assuming equal efficiencies in your appliance).

[carlson]

Thanks for the conversion of propane to electric power.
For the last year we have been 50/50 on heat but hot water all propane.
The one thing about propane, just plan ahead and only heat the water before you need it and once heated it stay hot/warm for awhile.
It has made a difference in our monthly energy expenses.
But if we are in a campground and do not pay for electrical, then all electric.
E. Sven and Pat

[Countryfolks]

quote:Originally posted by Mrs. CountryGuy

CountryFolk (Skip), I thought knew a formula for this

???????

The URL changed, had to find it again.

http://www.tigerfuel.com/energysavings.html

[dandt]

Thanks everyone. We are going to run on electric...we have been checking daily and are using about 15 KW. At some point the sun has to come out and we figure we'll be able to stop running the heater in the mornings. Teresa

[8.1al]

Many thanks Skip

[werhapy]

Here is history of cost comparisons courtesy of the DOE and the propane gas producers:
http://www.npga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=914

[ajjoez]

I agree with that cause I've done a not so scientific trial also. How did you get that neat little icon with the time and weather on your site.. thanks Angela Joe

quote:Originally posted by DnDatGrdJct

We just spent 6 weeks with your same question.

The first 4 weeks we ran with propane, but the water heater was always on electric, just so we did not have to run and refill the propane tanks as often. The last two weeks we used just electric power with heaters etc. We are in CO and all things, temperature, wind etc were pretty constant for the entire six week time.

It cost us about $20.00 to fill a propane tank and electric was 12 cents per kwh. We found that the cost for electric was a bit more than when using propane for most things. However we did not believe it a deal breaker either way. If you have a problem finding easy access to fill propane tanks that may make a difference.

Hope this helps and others will probably have other experiences that will help you.

Dean

[clutch]

With electricity at .16 per kwh and propane at $2.87 per gal we used a lot of electricity because the drive to town to get the propane was an extra $3.15 for diesel. If we were going to town for someting else then we would fill the extra tank. We do not use the furnace in the trailer because it is not all that efficient. We have a two panel catalytic for heat.