"Coals vary in quality, but on average, a ton of coal contains about as much potential heat as 146 gallons of heating oil or 20,000 cubic feet of natural gas, according to the Energy Information Administration. A ton of anthracite, a particularly high grade of coal, can cost as little as $120 near mines in Pennsylvania. The equivalent amount of heating oil would cost roughly $380, based on the most recent prices in the state - and over $470 using prices from December 2007. An equivalent amount of natural gas would cost about $480 at current prices. "
When did a BTU of NG get to be 125% the cost of a BTU of oil? Around here NG is about 1/2 the cost. [not to mention the 'efficiency' thing]
I think he might be a Texan, too, so even if old enough I'm not sure coal was a big deal in TX even 50 yrs ago. And hey- not just the city. In my rural elementary school you could tell who still had coal furnaces at home by the soot and smell. [and playing in the 400 cubic feet of the basement dedicated to coal storage was fun once-- the beating and long bath/scrubbing that followed took a lot of the fun out of it]
Plus there's the whole 'efficiency' thing again-- and, god, what a lot of work a coal furnace used to be. [thank goodness dad went to oil before I was old enough to bank fires, shake clinkers and empty the beast. I just had to carry the ashes to the driveway once they were cool]
But, that said, I think clean burning coal *should* be where the research money gets spent first. We've go plenty of it right here in the USofA-- and most of it in the most economically depressed areas of our country. Find the right way to extract and burn it- and we're the new middle east. [us and our neighbors to the north]
Ditto that, with so much of the nasty stuff here, and so much electricity generated by it's use, spend money to figure ways to burn it cleanly and efficiently
Maybe I'd consider it if I was 30 or 30 years younger. I used to burn wood until about 5 years ago. I find it much easier to write a check for oil than haul all that wood and ash around. Coal is even worse with the ash ratio.
I do recall the coal bin when I was a very young kid and the ash truck that came around once a week to empty the cans. I imagine technology has helped, but for now I'll pass.
You will have to just trust me on this: There is a really, *really* good reason that Pittsburgh is renowned world wide as the best place to get medical treatment for any lung disease. North West Indiana around Gary and over into Chicago, IL could be a very close 2nd place.
Particulate air pollution from "soft" coal is really nasty. Few homeowners could afford the air scrubbers and filters to make coal heating healthy for their own family or near neighbors.
A key point is "near mines in Pennsylvania". A major cost of coal is transportation. So if you are not near mines in Pennsylvania prices are going to be a lot higher. (and in most places in the country it is very difficult to find retail coal nowadays).
I live in the anthracite coal region and it is even an issue here. There are some small mines close to me and they produce big box quality coal that is ~ $120/ton. If you want good quality coal you need to have it trucked in from nearby areas that are selling good coal for an additional $40-50/ton transportation cost.
I trust you and I'm not an advocate for coal. I'm in Texas: 1) We don't have any coal to speak of, 2) Heating is not as big a problem as it is in the northern climes (I'm at the same latitude as Cairo), 3) We've got lots of oil and gas, and 4) Air conditioning is a bigger issue than heating in my neighborhood.
Still, I thought the article was interesting and might give people an idea or two when weighing their options.
Of course you never lived with coal heat, I did as a kid, it was dirty. There are places like London that had few days of sun till coal was banned. Why do you think fish have Mercury poisoning that we cant eat here, its from coal. If all power plants spent money for the best technology to burn it clean it would be a bit different, didnt Bush stop that?
I'll wait for the coal gasification. Coal gas is a much better fuel. In the 1800's and early 1900's some eastern towns had public coal gas piped right to their houses. I don't know why they stopped it other than the occasional explosion. Today's technology would reduce the safety issues.
Considering that they still can't make natural gas service safe, I certainly wouldn't want to consider yet another killer fuel piped into unsuspecting people's homes. Seems I've seen a report of a residential gas explosion with fatalities every few days lately.
I live in an area that had coal gasification used mostly for lighting. It disappeared for very clear reasons. It was messy and inefficient and the much better electric lighting became available.
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