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Posted: Sat 22:31, 12 Oct 2013 Post subject: jordan How To Compare Fuel Costs Of Various Fuels |
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Let's imagine a homeowner that has just added on an addition to their home or have finished off their basement. How should this new space be heated ? Maybe the existing furnace is [url=http://www.mnfruit.com/airjordan.php]jordan[/url] not sized large enough or it's too difficult to install baseboard heaters or vents in the new room. What other methods can be used to heat this new room ? Is it cheaper to heat with propane or wood pellets ? How does a wood stove compare to electric heat ?
Comparing fuel costs between different fuels can be a little tricky. The difficulty lies in the fact that the price consumers pay is [url=http://www.moncleroutletosterblade.com]moncler outlet[/url] not consistent between fuels. [url=http://www.achbanker.com/hollister.php]hollister[/url] Fuel oil and propane are usually purchased by the gallon. Natural gas is purchased by volume [url=http://www.rtnagel.com/airjordan.php]jordan pas cher[/url] (ccf or mcf). Wood is purchased by the cord. Wood pellets are purchased by the bag or ton. Electricity is purchased by [url=http://www.gotprintsigns.com/abercrombiepascher/]abercrombie pas cher[/url] the kWh.
We need to way to standardize the costs between the different fuels sources. The way we do this is to compare the costs/BTU. The BTU or British Thermal Unit is a measure of the amount of heat a product can produce. By determining the BTU's of each type of fuel source we have a means to compare costs.
Let's look at electric heat as an example. Electric heat contains 3340 BTU/KWH. If you pay 14 cents/kWh then electric heat costs .0000419 $/BTU. Most fuel cost [url=http://www.mnfruit.com/doudounemoncler.php]moncler[/url] comparisons are based on the cost/million BTU. So the cost for electric heat is $41.9/MBTU
Now let's take a look [url=http://www.thehygienerevolution.com/barbourparis.php]barbour paris[/url] at fuel oil. #2 fuel contains 138,800 BTU/gal. If you are paying $2/gallon then it appears fuel oil is $14.40/MBTU. However oil furnaces have a typical efficiency of 80%. By factoring in the efficiency the cost will rise to $18/MBTU.
From these two examples you can see that using fuel oil costs less than half the cost of using electri cheat. What happens if fuel oil rises to $2.50/gallon or $3/gallon ? The [url=http://www.mquin.com/saclancel.php]lancel[/url] benefits become less.
Here are the BTU conversions for the major fuel sources.
Fuel Oil - 138,800 BTU/gal
Electricity - 3340 BTU/KWH
Wood Pellets - 16.4 [url=http://www.mquin.com/gzparis.php]giuseppe zanotti sneakers[/url] million BTU/ton
Firewood - 20 million BTU/cord
Propane - 91,200 BTU/gallon
Natural Gas - 1.03 million BTU/1000cf
Let's do another example propane assuming the cost is
$1.25/gallon [url=http://www.ilyav.com/uggsoldes.php]boots ugg pas cher[/url].
($1.25/91,200)*1,000,000= $13.70/MBTU
If we assume the burner operates at 80% efficiency then the cost becomes
$13.70/.80 = $17.13/MBTU
How about wood pellets @ $200/ton ?
($200/16.4) = [url=http://www.sandvikfw.net/shopuk.php]hollister outlet sale[/url] $12.19/MBTU at 80% efficiency =
$15.24/MBTU
Convenience needs to be factored in as well. It's pretty easy to plug in an electric space heater or install some electric baseboard heat. It's also [url=http://www.sandvikfw.net/shopuk.php]hollister sale[/url] a lot easier to turn a thermostat for a fuel oil furnace than to go out the wood pile for your wood stove.
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