- Nov 27, 2012
- 0
Question:
hi! for the last 2 years i have had electric power outages for extended periods. i am seeking an emergency heat source. i live in a rural area of Washington State. my home, 1100 square feet, is totally electric. my electric costs are $.0515/kwh propane costs are $1.02 per gallon. the cost of installing a leased 250 gal. tank is $250 and i must agree to use 500 gal/yr or face a low use surcharge ($80). a free standing propane stove starts at $1300. if i install the propane setup, how long will it take to amortize the installation costs? are there less expensive alternatives available? what would you do under these circumstances? would a smaller tank (120 gal tank needs no permit and can be installed next to home.) or another heating device like a wall heater be more effective? help!
Answer:
Your electric rates are quite low, but a comparison of rates at the page:
http://chi.hearth.com/addcalc.html
Shows that the LP is only about 10-15% cheaper than electric at those rates. At this small difference, it would be many years before the difference was paid.
You could definitely use a smaller tank and a less expensive appliance. There are wall mounted direct-vent LP heaters (non-decorative) that sell for $400.-$700.
Since this includes the chimney (vent), it is much less than the stove alternative. The only thing you'll miss is the style since most of these units do not have realistic logs/fires in them.
Link: Rate Comparison Program
hi! for the last 2 years i have had electric power outages for extended periods. i am seeking an emergency heat source. i live in a rural area of Washington State. my home, 1100 square feet, is totally electric. my electric costs are $.0515/kwh propane costs are $1.02 per gallon. the cost of installing a leased 250 gal. tank is $250 and i must agree to use 500 gal/yr or face a low use surcharge ($80). a free standing propane stove starts at $1300. if i install the propane setup, how long will it take to amortize the installation costs? are there less expensive alternatives available? what would you do under these circumstances? would a smaller tank (120 gal tank needs no permit and can be installed next to home.) or another heating device like a wall heater be more effective? help!
Answer:
Your electric rates are quite low, but a comparison of rates at the page:
http://chi.hearth.com/addcalc.html
Shows that the LP is only about 10-15% cheaper than electric at those rates. At this small difference, it would be many years before the difference was paid.
You could definitely use a smaller tank and a less expensive appliance. There are wall mounted direct-vent LP heaters (non-decorative) that sell for $400.-$700.
Since this includes the chimney (vent), it is much less than the stove alternative. The only thing you'll miss is the style since most of these units do not have realistic logs/fires in them.
Link: Rate Comparison Program
