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Propane vs. Electric?

hr
hr Member Posts: 6,106
in THE MAIN WALL
hot rod

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  • adambuild
    adambuild Member Posts: 420
    .

    A client has asked which makes more sense: Propane or electric for their vacation home? Electric is .13/kwh including taxes and propane is 1.80/gallon. Anyone know the math?

    Thanks in advance, Adam
  • adambuild
    adambuild Member Posts: 420
    .

    Sorry, it's for the dryer.

    Adam
  • Uni R_2
    Uni R_2 Member Posts: 589
    The worst answer I could find...

    http://www.mtng.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=79
  • hr
    hr Member Posts: 6,106
    Still

    you need to add up all the "loads" Heating, cooking, water heating, cloths drying,(fireplace)? barbecue, etc.

    Also the cost of delivery for each fuel choice. Own or rent an LP tank? Who installs and pipes the appliances. Pre-purchase deals on the LP?

    Will either have minimun charges regardless of the amount of energy used. Around here they have meter charges and minimun use fees for small load cabins, on the electric side. Often as much a 50 bucks just for the privelage of being grid tied :)

    I own my LP tank and prebuy at the lowest possible price in July or August.

    So a true side by side comparison depends on a lot of factors, many unique to your area.

    Consider some solar, both thermal and PV for a remote cabin. It's the gift that keeps on giving, instead of taking.

    hot rod

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  • hr
    hr Member Posts: 6,106
    Still

  • Glenn Sossin_2
    Glenn Sossin_2 Member Posts: 592
    LP wins easily

    Before you try applying system efficiencies, maybe try this.

    1 gallon of propane is 91,600 btu's. Figure how many btu's you buy for your dollar. If it's $1.80 per gallon, that means $1 dollar gets you approx 50,888 btu's of raw heat energy (1.00/1.80 * 91,600).

    The electricity you say was .13 per KWH. Each KW is 3412 btu's, so $1 of electric gets you 26,246 btu's (1/.13 * 3412).

    Unless my math is wrong, it would appear that your buying roughly 2x the btu's of raw energy using LP gas as opposed to electric, 50,888 vs 26,246. Even if the electric were 100% efficient and the LP was only 80% efficient, your still way ahead with the LP by my math.

    I've included an attachment you might find helpful.
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