Check my math?

[OntMont]

It being an unusually cool Sunday afternoon here in the RGV, I got thinking about the relative costs of electricity and propane for heating.

This is how I have it figured, anyone have any other thoughts?

In our present situation these are our costs:

Electricity: 15 cents per kW/h
Propane: 50 cents per lb.
(both are delivered prices)

1 kW/h = 3,412 BTU
1 lb propane = 21,600 BTU

Therefore 1lb propane is equivalent to 6.33 kW/h of electricity.
and that much electricty would cost us about 95 cents compared to the 50 cents for propane.

Our furnace efficency is not really known to me, but I guessing it is not very high, say in the 50 to 70% range.

If we apply assumed efficiency factors of 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7 to the calculation of the cost of propane, we end up with a propane cost of
50% efficiency: 1.00
60% efficiency: 0.83
70% efficiency: 0.71

I am not very optimistic about our furnace efficiency, therefore it is looking to me like there is very little difference in the cost of heating with electricity or propane.

It is long time since I had to make these kinds of calculations, am I on the right track?

[Wrenchtraveller]

You sound pretty accurate to me and I read where propane is about 60% efficient where electricity is 100% efficient.
I have ordered a new Harman pellet insert for our stick house because we want to do an 8 week trip in April and we have heated with a wood/oil combination furnace for the last 28 years.

We have only used the wood part of the furnace and when my oil tank turned 25 years old, the insurance company will not allow us to use it , even though it has been in a heated basement its whole life.

Wood Pellets are 85% efficient and supposed to be very safe because we don't trust the kids to use the wood furnace as you should be home if you have a hot fire in it and the power goes out , you have to open a big side panel to give cooling and kids are always on the go.

I hope this pellet Fireplace insert works because it is setting me back 5000 bucks.

There are small pellet stoves approved for trailers. I wonder if anyone has ever put one in a Fiver.

[harleyrider]

It sure sounds like you really did your home work on this.But i`am the type of guy that pulls out the calculator to add single digit numbers.

[Broome101]

Never heard of wood pellets.

[jrgwdenner]

Sounds good, John. I'm getting out our electric space heater!

[Montana Sky]

Don,
You are going to love the way your new pellet stove works. The hardest part is lifting the 50lb bag of pellets to dump into the insert. I have 3 neighbors who have pellet stoves in their basement, I have the wood stove insert in mine. On Tuesday night my furnace went out, took the repair company 3 days to get the parts in and have me up and running again. We got down here to -21 degrees Wednesday nite and -16 on Thursday nite. I had that wood stove going nonstop, keeping my basement which is 1,650 sq ft at a warm 70 degrees. I had closed the door to the upstairs as I wanted that heat to stay down here, and the upstairs still stayed in the high 40's. The neighbor directly next to me runs his pellet stove from Nov-April and uses it as the main source of heat to keep his house warm. He claims it is still cheaper for him to run the stove than the furnace all winter. Best of luck on your new insert, I hope it works out well for you.

[Wrenchtraveller]

Thanks Dave, I didn't realize Spokane could get cold winters like that.

We are used to wood heat and we have been in houses that are heated by heat pumps. 72 degree air on the move is a cool breeze to me and I like the way wood heat feels. Here on Vancouver Island it is colder than normal going down to 26 F at night and we are going through the firewood pretty good.

Donna and I usually go out into the bush and cut it up ourselves but the splitting by hand is starting to be hard work for me and the last two years we have been buying mill ends from a sawmill . They are kiln dried hemlock and very hot so we have to keep the fires small in the wood furnace. My brother just got a pellet stove a month ago and heats his whole house with it.

Take care Dave and hope your weather warms up soon, Don

[Garin1]

And,,,how many jellybeans are in that jar?

[DHenry]

Don (Wrenchtraveller), you can install a propane or natural gas forced air furnace that is 96% efficient and not have to lift a bag of pellets ever again. Check them out at your local HVAC dealer. We installed Lennox and Bryant furnaces and both brands are very good. Carrier is also the same as Bryant.

[Wrenchtraveller]

Well, I will replace the old combination wood/oil furnace one day and we have natural gas right up to the front yard so I will probably go for a gas furnace down the road. Here on Vancouver Island, natural gas and propane are more than wood pellets and after 28 years of sawing, chopping , and hauling firewood , 40 pound pellet bags are my modern move up. In a few years maybe I will go to a more modern system yet. Take care, Don

[Bill and Ann]

Ontmont: John, you have too much time on your hands. Better go to Mexico or DonWest to relax your mind. Or, better yet, come visit us.

[OntMont]

Hi Bill,

Mexico and Don West are on the agenda for tomorrow. We hope to get by to see you folks shortly after that. (We have had Texas Colds, and were trying to keep away from other folks to avoid spreading the bug, but we seem to be recoverd now.) ...besides, it is warm again now, so I can forget about heating concerns.