Equivalent Energy Prices

[mtnbiker727]

This is an Energy Selector tool developed by Penn State back in 2008 (my senior year there!). The only thing that might be different now is the energy efficiency of new furnaces.

Wood pellets are on the back side, so I set it at $260 per ton, which is what I paid this summer. The equivalent in energy for fuel oil (on the front side) is $2.20. My coworker said he paid over $4.00 per gallon for fuel oil this year, so I'm saving a ton of money compared to him. My other coworker said he's paying $1.22 for natural gas, which according to this chart shows he's getting his heat a cheaper than I am, but natural gas isn't available here without a huge expense of running it to the house.

Overall this tool confirms to me that I made a good decision to get a pellet stove.

If anyone is curious about comparisons for your specific situation, I can slide the slide and show you how the numbers compare.

 

[hockeypuck]

I don't want to steal any of your thunder, but I have found this helpful in the past.

Residential Heating System Cost Calculator | Efficiency Maine

Our heating cost comparison calculator can help you estimate your annual home heating costs for different heating systems.

www.efficiencymaine.com

It would be interesting to see how they compare numbers. The nice thing about the web site is you can change your efficiency numbers.

 

[mtnbiker727]

I don't want to steal any of your thunder, but I have found this helpful in the past.

Residential Heating System Cost Calculator | Efficiency Maine

Our heating cost comparison calculator can help you estimate your annual home heating costs for different heating systems.

www.efficiencymaine.com

It would be interesting to see how they compare numbers. The nice thing about the web site is you can change your efficiency numbers.

That tool is complicated, and I can't figure out how to use it to compare the price of an equivalent amount of BTUs across all energy sources.

I don't care what people use to figure it out. Right now, with energy prices the way they are, according to my chart, wood pellets are one of the cheapest options. If you have access to Natural Gas, then that's probably always going to be your cheaper option.

 

[Washed-Up]

Agree with mtnBiker, where I am, pellets are less than half of the propane we are limited to

 

[bogieb]

That tool is complicated, and I can't figure out how to use it to compare the price of an equivalent amount of BTUs across all energy sources.

I don't care what people use to figure it out. Right now, with energy prices the way they are, according to my chart, wood pellets are one of the cheapest options. If you have access to Natural Gas, then that's probably always going to be your cheaper option.

Here is a calculator with the btus displayed with totals for mbtu. Although it can be a lot to take in (it displays way more options than I'll ever come across), it makes comparisons and total differences easy to spot. I'm not sure what area it is from, but they have a line for geothermal electric heat instead of the standard air-source heat pump (versus resistance heat). That's okay, I found that they convert about the same as far as efficiency.

Last year costs between using my mini split and wood pellets ran about neck and neck so I used the mini split when the weather permitted. This year - not even close. To be fair, I did use a cheaper price per bag than is probably available out there. However, I have about 8 tons that I paid way less for, so $5.50/bag is my compromise. I did put in $8.00/bag, and it would still be almost $1k less

I did not fill in the other costs shown just because I don't know and don't care. My only other option is propane and would cost over $5k so is not even a consideration.