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| Heat Source | Gallons / Kilowatts | Annual Cost | Savings (Notes) |
| Electric Storage Tank | 36,425 kilowatts | $4,038 | You would spend more than $2,091 to heat your house with an electric tank than our most efficient boiler! |
| Gas Storage Tank - Gravity Vent | 1,700 gallons | $2,975 | You would spend more than $1,028 to heat your house with a gas tank than our highest efficient boiler! |
| Gas Storage Tank - Power Vent | 1,525 gallons | $2,668 | You would spend more than $725 to heat your house with a gas tank than our most efficient boiler! |
| Cast Iron Boiler - Older Hi Mass | 1,675 gallons | $2,931 | You would spend more than $985 to heat your house with an older Cast Iron Boiler than our most efficient boiler! |
| Cast Iron Boiler - New Med Mass Gravity Vent | 1,412 gallons | $2,471 | You would spend more than $524 to heat your house with a new Cast Iron natural draft Boiler than our most efficient boiler! |
| Low Mass Boiler - New Hi Efficiency Direct Vent | 1,112 gallons | <$1,946 | This is the best way to heat any house with a BTU Heat Loss of Greater
than 30,000 BTU. It will save the most money now and more money in the future
as energy prices go up. Pay Now or Pay More Later! |
| Heat Source | Burn Efficiency | Tank Loss (Daily) | Flue Loss (Daily) | Combustion Loss | Steady State | Effective Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric Storage Tank | 99.50% | 8 to 10% | N/A | N/A | N/A | 90.5% |
| Gas Storage Tank - Gravity Vent | 80% | 8 to 10% | 72% to 80% | 15% | N/A | 37% to 45% |
| Gas Storage Tank - Power Vent | 80% | 8 to 10% | 0% | 15% | N/A | 55% |
| Hi Efficiency Gas Storage Tank - Power Vent | up to 95% | 8 to 10% | 0% | 0% | N/A | 86%* |
| Cast Iron Boiler - Older Hi Mass | 75% | N/A | N/A | 15% | 20 to 24 min | 40 to 47% |
| Cast Iron Boiler - New Med Mass Gravity Vent | 84% | 8 to 10% | 0% | 0% | 5 to 6 min | 64% |
| Cast Iron Boiler - New Direct Vent | 84% | 8 to 10% | 0% | 0% | 5 to 6 min | 77% |
| Low Mass Boiler - New Direct Vent | 84% | N/A | 0% | 0% | 1 to 2 min | 83% |
| Low Mass Boiler - New Hi Efficiency Direct Vent | 95(+)% | N/A | 0% | 0% | 1 to 2 min | 94(+)% |
| Burn Efficiency Or AFUE | This is the steady state efficiency of the burners - this assumes an 8 to 24 minute burn rate for Cast Iron Boilers and 2 to 3 minutes for Stainless Steel Cooper Low Mass Boilers. |
| Tank Loss | Tank loss is the actual per day heat loss from the tank into the space where the tank is located. (Note: If the tank heat loss is into a non-heated space or an unwanted heated space - this consider this number when performing a heat loss calculation. If the tank is in a location that is also heated, then do not use the tank loss number when performing a heat loss). |
| Flue Loss | Loss only to gravity vent tanks - 3 to 4% per hour depending on flue size. The bigger the flue size - the higher the heat loss. Also, the higher the BTU of the tank - the higher the heat loss. |
| Combustion Loss | This is due to the amount of inside air that is required to furnish the burners with oxygen in an average house with average insulation. This will be higher in tighter houses and lower in looser houses. (Example - an average 80,000 BTU gravity vent boiler would require 4 times additional make up air from outside per hour than a similar direct vent heater.) |
| Steady State | Steady State Efficiency measures how efficiently a furnace converts fuel to heat, once the furnace has warmed up and is running steadily. |
| Actual Efficiency | This takes all the above in to consideration. (For Example - if you think that a gas storage tank has an efficiency of 80% - you would be wrong - it is more like 37 to 45%. Terrible! Ugh! In addition, it would be 50% less efficient than a low mass direct vent high efficiency boiler.) |
This chart compares the cost "per unit of electricity" (measured in KWH) to the "cost per unit of propane" (measured in GALLONS) while both are compared with same amount of energy.
Example:
If you were paying $0.04/KWH to operate an electric appliance, then if you changed that same appliance to an equivalent propane appliance, you would pay $1.07/gallon of propane for the same amount of energy consumed. The average price for ELECTRICITY is approximately $0.09/KWH. The average price for Propane is $1.19/gallon. Notice the price per gallon of propane that corresponds to "$0.09/KWH" below.
| $ Per Kilo Watt Hr Electricity |
$ Per Gallon of Propane Gas |
||
| $0.04 | Per KWH Would Equal | $1.07 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.05 | Per KWH Would Equal | $1.34 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.06 | Per KWH Would Equal | $1.61 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.07 | Per KWH Would Equal | $1.87 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.08 | Per KWH Would Equal | $2.14 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.09 | Per KWH Would Equal | $2.41 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.10 | Per KWH Would Equal | $2.68 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.11 | Per KWH Would Equal | $2.94 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.12 | Per KWH Would Equal | $3.21 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.13 | Per KWH Would Equal | $3.48 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.14 | Per KWH Would Equal | $3.75 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.15 | Per KWH Would Equal | $4.01 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.16 | Per KWH Would Equal | $4.28 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.17 | Per KWH Would Equal | $4.55 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.18 | Per KWH Would Equal | $4.82 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.19 | Per KWH Would Equal | $5.08 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| $0.20 | Per KWH Would Equal | $5.35 | Per Gallon of Propane |
| Note: This chart does not reflect the relative efficiencies of various appliances. Sources: U.S. Department of Energy; Mark's Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers | |||
When propane is sold and when it is delivered, it is measured in gallons. However, it is easy to convert to cubic feet, which is how natural gas is measured for delivery. The cubic foot unit of measurement pertains to both natural gas and propane in their vapor forms. If 1 cubic foot of propane contains 2,516 BTU and 1 cubic foot of natural gas contains 1,030 BTU, it is accurate to say that propane contains over twice the usable energy content per cubic foot (2.44 times more). Applying these numbers to compare the energy values in real-world examples, we will use a 100,000 BTU/hr furnace to demonstrate the comparison.
Propane (95,000
BTU/gal)@$1.55 per gal= $16.25 per million BTU
Oil (140,000 BTU/gal)@$2.00 per gal= $14.30 per million BTU
Elect (3410 BTU/ KwHr) @ $.10 per KwHr=
$29.00 per million BTU
Nat Gas is a little more complicated to compute but
most gas companies NOW sell it on a $ per million BTU basis or they can give
you this value.
2007 Representative
Energy Costs March 21, 2007 |
||
| Energy Source | Cost in common unit of measure | Cost per million Btu |
| Electricity | 10.65 cents / KWh (kilowatt hour) | $31.21 |
| Natural Gas | $1.218 / therm (100,000 Btu) or $12.53 / MCF (1,000 cubic ft.) | 12.18 |
| No. 2 heating oil | $2.22 / gallon | 16.01 |
| Propane | $1.87 / gallon | 20.47 |
| Kerosene | $2.63 / gallon | 19.48 |
| . | 1999 Representative
Energy Costs as published in the Federal Register, Jan 5, 1999 |
|
| Energy Source | Cost in common unit of measure | Cost per million Btu |
| Electricity | 8.22 cents / KWh (kilowatt hour) | $24.09 |
| Natural Gas | 68.8 cents / therm (100,000 Btu) or $7.07 / MCF (1,000 cubic ft.) | 6.88 |
| No. 2 heating oil | $0.89 / gallon | 6.42 |
| Propane | $0.77 / gallon | 8.43 |
| Kerosene | $1.04 / gallon | 7.70 |
