I just updated all the unit prices. This is in excel so it is a very simple calculation to run.
Added in edit: See corrected table below.
Charter Member
I just updated all the unit prices. This is in excel so it is a very simple calculation to run.
Last edited by Dave Grubb; 01-13-2023 at 07:51 AM.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
Registered Member
Methinks something is wrong with your natural gas figures. I can't imagine it being at $7.32 / therm. Maybe /MBTU.
The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible - Arthur C. Clarke
Charter Member
You are correct, the decimal is in the wrong place, I'll correct it in the morning.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
Charter Member
Corrected numbers:
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
Registered Member
Much better. Scared me for a second!
The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible - Arthur C. Clarke
Charter Member
There was more than a simple decimal problem. When I grabbed that price from PECO (Philadelphia Electric Company) it was only the gas portion of the bill without delivery charges.
Sorry for the error
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
Registered Member
Thanks.. and you did scare me at first..
We converted from fuel oil to natural gas 30 years ago.. we had always thought we made the right decision.. (development down the street had gas line installed in front of our house)..
Registered Member
I have an electric heat pump, with electric strip back up. So as long as the weather is moderate I'm in good shape. A heat pump would be virtually unusable and very cold areas during the winter. When it goes well below freezing those strips are running numbers like the stock market.
OPINION....a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
Charter Member
That is no longer the case, some can operate at temperatures below zero. There is some degradation of efficiency at low temperatures.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
Charter Member
something seems off (probably me!)
i have heated with coal for many years. had wood before that, and it was more expensive and time consuming. tried propane, before the wood and it was very expensive and not very warm. last year i spent $690 for 2.5 tons of coal (coal was $275 a ton last year vs $410 this year) when i burned wood it took 8 cords @ $160 a cord (wood here is at $225 a cord now)
when i tried propane 12 years ago i spent $1700 in propane and never got over 63* (heaters never shut off) in the house and it was in the 50's if it was below 10* outside.
heating season for me starts in late sept. and ends in late may. with wood and coal i keep it about 72* to 74* in my living room and it is about 67* in the bedroom.
wood was too much work, even getting it delivered cut and split. i was constantly bringing wood in, stacking wood, loading the stove (4 to 6 times a day) and cleaning the chimney bi-weekly. i figured i touched/moved each piece of wood 5 times until it went in the stove. now i get my coal delivered in 50lb bags. i can get the whole winters supply in the basement and only handle the bags 3 times, load the stove twice a day and i only clean the chimney twice a year!
overall, i find coal cheaper and easier than wood to heat with. if i included how much labor/time is involved from wood to coal there is at least 4 times more labor/time with wood. the only benefit to using propane was no labor/time involved, just several layers of clothes and lots of blankets.
thanks for the info, it actually made me go through my old records to see what i spent in the past.
it's time to change the air in my head
Charter Member
Your "failure" with propane was not due to "propane". All fuels have a heating value (BTU/unit). The amount of BTUs required to heat a house is not a function of the fuel. The amount of fuel required to satisfy that demand is a function of the heat value of the fuel and the efficiency and the output rating of the "stove".
We heat primarily with propane with some electric resistance. Years ago we heated almost entirely with wood. We have an airtight wood stove in the LR which heated the entire house---but not evenly, it is a large house. The average winter took 7 cords. Our previous house was smaller but took a min. of 11 cords.
I did have to add a propane heater (wall IR) in the basement to prevent possible freeze up since the floor is heavily insulated.
There is no problem maintaining temperature with the propane. The unit has a rated output which is slightly higher than the calculated heat loss (@ zero) for the house. The heating unit is 99% (claimed) efficient.
Total cost of LP in 2022 was $715 and prices ranged from $2.59 to $2.89/gal. We also use LP for cooking, grilling and cloths drier.
Added in edit: One thing that I remember from heating with coal as a kid was that it was a very even heat. We had a hot water heater in the basement. Once a year we would go to the mines and get 6 tons of "stove" coal. We had a coal bin near the heater that would hold all six tons. The price (maybe) was $15-$20 a ton at the mine.
Last edited by Dave Grubb; 01-14-2023 at 10:12 AM.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
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