Which fuel is cheaper to heat with in Huron County

Recently the Bruce Grey United Way announced that they went through all of their $9,500 set aside to assist people with Electric bills, the very first day.

So, which fuel is cheaper to heat with? To start, we must figure out what the actual cost per KWH and Cubic Meter of natural gas is. To do this we simply get the total of the bill and divide by the number of units used (kwh/m3). This takes into account all the delivery charges etc, and represents the actual cost you are paying.

This was done with several utility bills for a residence in Wingham ON, and the results are, electricity is 12.4 cents/KWH and Natural Gas is 49 cents per cubic meter. For heating oil, we used 79 cents per litre. Online you can find out how many btu’s are in each fuel. With this data we can figure out what it would cost for 1,000,000 BTU’s delivered into your home.

1 Million BTU from a 94% efficient natural gas furnace would cost $14.21
1 Million BTU from a 85% efficient oil furnace would cost $25.35
1 Million BTU from an electric heater would cost $36.33

As you can see, electric heat is 2.5 more expensive to heat with than Natural Gas.

Oil Heat is almost twice as expensive as Natural Gas.

All electric heaters are 100% efficient since they do not vent outdoors. A 1,500 watt electric heater will produce about 5,000 btu/hour, no matter how much you pay for it. This means that all 1,500 watt electric heaters cost the same to operate and produce the same amount of heat for the same electric cost.

A new plague of energy savings claims are hitting the area, the latest being the EdenPure electric heater, costing up to $600. This heater which is promoted as a infrared heater, does not actually emit infrared rays, making it relatively useless in applications that require infrared heat (garages etc.). Another claim is that you can save 60% on your heating bill. This claim is based on turning your furnace down and heating only the room you are in, they hide this in the fine print. If this claim is true, then any electric space heater would do exactly the same thing.

A quick search on the internet reveals many families that are in crisis because they fell for their advertising and followed their advice. EdenPure has convinced people to turn their natural gas furnace down, and heat with electricity at 2.5 times the price, for the same BTUs.

Before you buy an electric heater, please keep in mind that all 1,500 watt heaters produce the same amount of heat, even a $20 heater from your local hardware store. Hot air blowing out of a vent or box, is just that, hot air. Salespeople will try to tell you their hot air is better, some how, and therefore worth more. The best one I have heard is it is a warmer heat”

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