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The price of energy in the region where you live
is the most dominant influence on total heating costs. For
example: The installed cost of an electric heat system may look
attractive, but when you calculate the annual operating cost of
electric power in particular, you find the savings vanish.
For the past four years the cost of Oilheat has
been consistently lower than comparable natural gas costs. In
climate regions of the country where Oilheat is dominant, the
cost to a homeowner for utility supplied natural gas in 1995 can
be as much as 40% more than Oilheat! Energy analysts do not
forsee that the price advantage for Oilheat will deminish any
time soon. The best way to compare energy prices is to calculate
the price per BTU, a unit of heating value, for each fuel. Take a
look at the figures
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Heating Oil contains
138,690 BTU's per gallon.
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Natural Gas has 100,000
BTU's per therm. It takes 1.4 therms to equal the heat
content of one gallon of heating oil.
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Kerosene has 131,890
BTU's per gallon; 1.05 gallons equals the heat content of one
gallon of heating oil.
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Propane has 91,500
BTU's per gallon; 1.52 gallons equals the heat of one gallon
of heating oil.
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Electricity has 3,413
BTU's per kilowatt hour (kwh); 40.6 kwh equals the heat
content of a gallon of heating oil. Energy prices can vary
widely across the country.
Your Oilheat dealer can provide you
with the information to accurately compare energy prices in your
area. Heating oil prices are 2.5 to 5.5 times
lower than elecricity. Converting from electric to Oilheat can
substantially reduce energy costs. Electric water heaters are
very inefficient (about 29% AFUE). The potential savings for
converting an electric water heater to an oil-fired unit range
from $101 to $467 or more a year depending on your electric
utility's rates. There are many old gas heaters operating at less
than 70% efficiency. In the majority of cases, converting to
efficient Oilheat would provide a very good payback. Conversely,
switching from Oilheat to gas does not offer an attractive
payback. In most cases it can take longer to recover your
investment than the life expectancy of the new gas heater. Data
from the Consumer Energy Council of America Research Foundation
showed that changing from oil to another fuel over the last
twelve years did not make economic sense; the cost of conversion
is highly unlikely to be recovered. |
