Using this calculator, it tells me that straight electric heat costs me only about 9% more than LPG. Does this look right?
My costs Electric $0.0975/KWH and LPG $1.96/gallon
I think it points to an electric heat pump being a lower operating cost option than either LP or electric resistive heating. A heat pump also gives you A/C.
Yes I know a heat pump is much more efficient but I'm not sure it is worth the initial cost being that it is to heat the garage which only needs heat sporadically.
One possibility is getting a new AC/Heat Pump for the house and using the old AC unit and resistive heating for the garage. And for emergency heat in the new unit for the house, with the cost of electric resistive heat being only 9% higher that LPG, the cheaper unit with resistive heating would probably even out in the long run.
Don't forget to factor in the cost of a suitable large LPG tank in your comparisons. Buy or lease, those big tanks aren't especially cheap, and they have a finite service life until requalification and eventually replacement.
Sounds about right. About the only thing that would vary is the efficiency of the furnace. I know of at least three people who traded older single wide mobile homes and got new doublewides. All the old ones were propane, and all of the got the new ones all electric (non heat pump) and have no regrets. I replaced my propane water heater with electric about 14 years ago, and my only regret was not going electric on the previous switchout. From what I can figure, it seems to cost about half as much to operate, plus this one cost about half as much to buy as the propane, and is still working with one $10 element replacement, while the propane started leaking at about 7 years, and leaking badly at about 8 when I replaced it. I have dual fuel heat pumps
--but I already had the furnaces when I switched to the HP's about 9 years ago. Besides that, I would have to upgrade my electric service to go all electric. The only time the furnaces fire up is when the HP's go into defrost. There are a few days each year that they really struggle to keep up, but so far it hasn't gotten cold enough that they didn't-- and these are both about 25 y/o approx 10 SEER takeouts that I put in. I've been toying with replacing them with new 16 SEER 410A units, but as long as they are still chugging away, I'll probably just keep them. BTW, you are getting screwed on your propane. I just filled my tank two weeks ago and I only paid $1.95/gal (: Hopefully this tank will last several years-- I do have a propane cooktop also. Larry
If you really want to save money, you absolutely must buy a "HeatSurge" miracle fireplace that has a real Amish made hand rubbed wood mantle and a "Flameless Fire"--or is it a "Fireless Flame." Check out the double page ads in your newspaper, or the ads and infomercials on tv. You'll want to order two of them. Larry
Let me guess.... it puts out a FULL 5,200 BTU per hour on a
15 amp circuit?all electric homes are totally screwed during power failures. no anything..........
the first hour rating and recovery of propane is far superior to electric for water heating.
meaningless in a single person home where outdoor temps rarely get below freezing......
critical in a busy home with 3 kids and parents trying to get off to work first thing on a 20 degree morning
I see the ads on TV all the time. Some Amish people with electric are making a bundle! Actually I already save money the same exact way those amish heaters do. They turn down the heat in the whole home and use the portable heater to warm the room they are in. Would you believe it works even without the Amish touch? The Amish are getting a very bad name with all the crap they sell these days. I suppose the "real" Amish do quality work, but they only do it for themselves these days.
I'd never go to electric water heater. Hot shower brings back life, during a power cut.
Collect all the ads you can, and burn them in a real fireplace.
OK was that a joke or a mistake? Actually the $1.96 I quoted was if I take my own tank there to get filled, or call them to come here when I want it filled (when the price is low). If I sign up for automatic delivery it's 6 cents less/gallon.
I was joking about getting screwed on the price, but I really did pay $1.95. I called around for prices for 200 gallons, and that was the best price I got, by nearly a dime a gallon. Larry
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