FEB. 2011 vs. FEB. 2012
- Thread starter yooper81
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
- Status
yooper81 said:It's been a bit milder this year but I'll take it!
I don't know much about pellet stoves but they need electricity to run? If so does it erase any gain from heating with it vs oil, natural gas or propane?
The juice a pellet stove uses is not much more than leaving a couple extra lights on.... My home is all electric heat so the pellet is obviously a no brainer. Can't speak for oil/LP/NG......
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
RORY12553 said:yooper81 said:It's been a bit milder this year but I'll take it
I don't know much about pellet stoves but they need electricity to run? If so does it erase any gain from heating with it vs oil, natural gas or propane?
Most oil and gas units have several electrical motors on them and a lot of folks find their electrical usage drops running a pellet unit.
Pellet stove electrical consumption is all over the place depending on the motors in it. I changed out both blowers on my unit and the replacements use less electricity combined than one of the ones replaced.
I've seen figures from 35 watts (low, no auto start) on up.
Usually the biggest wattage hog on the stove is the igniter which isn't on all that long, some of the central heat units have fairly large convection fans and the boilers have their circulator pumps.
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
yooper81 said:It's been a bit milder this year but I'll take it
Ouch, I wouldn't want either one of those bills.
ALL electric home, middle of winter, I will take a $200 bill any day! I don't pay an oil/LP company, or the NG company so I receive 1 bill per month for utilities. Point being, I've seen considerable savings from shutting off my electric heat and burning pellets. More than I even anticipated.
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
yooper81 said:
Oh, I understood your point. What is your electrical rate there it currently works out to $0.151 / kWh here and my electrical usage was 466 kWh on the February 2012 bill.
mepellet
Minister of Fire
yooper81 said:
I think that is still high if you are using your stove as your primary heat. My electric bill runs about $70-80 in the winter. Ive seen a slight drop in th electrical bill from last year when we did not have the pellet stove.
I do burn oil for my domestic hot water. I use about 150 gallons of oil for hot water per year. At $3.50/gallon that averages out to under $45/month for hot water. Therefore, $80 + $45 = 125/month for electric & hot water combined. Just to give you some reference....
I couldn't begin to figure out what these A$$-wholes charge me! between Facilities, distribution and energy optimization charges, then you have supply charges at @ 2 different rates, depending on what time of day you use the most electricity, then you have 5 more charges on top of that! Then they tax me 4% on everything. Honestly, I don't know how they get away with it. Renewable energy charge? Seriously? WTF is that? With all these additional charges they are charging me about .15 per kwh. I do my best to be "energy wise" but i am alone on an island in this house, with all the lights, tv's, showers, baths, washer/dryer, etc..... In my world, I'll take a $200 utility bill. 1/2 a days work as I look at it.... The bills used to be as high as a lot of peoples Mortgages.......
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
cold front said:
Just so you understand the rate I quoted is the fully loaded rate. None of this your delivery cost is, electricity supply cost is, taxes are crap, designed to mislead you.
Electricity is useless if it doesn't reach your house and one must always pay the political hacks.
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
yooper81 said:
I hear you, first thing to do is get a kill a watt meter and check out your entire house for ghost loads and eliminate them, then start looking for what you can change out for better things.
On the ghost load front you will likely be surprised exactly how much is being just wasted doing nothing except waiting for you turn the darned thing on. These loads add up because of the 24 x 365 multiplier that is possible.
There are plenty of ways to reduce that usage and not give up much if anything.
- Status
Similar threads
