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Use current gas usage to estimate future electrical usage after conversion?

frogpond
frogpond Member Posts: 14
Hi. I’m trying to get a rough calculation of how many KWh it would use to switch from gas to electric. For the sake of this discussion, assume all of the figures are for things that are 100% efficient (I have accounted for the fact that my current gas boiler is only 80% efficient, and I am ignoring any efficiency savings from a heat pump for this calculation).

At 100% efficiency, my gas boiler used 560 CCF last year. If I have the same efficiency electric installed, say an electric boiler for purposes of this calculation, this website http://www.kylesconverter.com/energy,-work,-and-heat/cubic-feet-of-natural-gas-to-kilowatt--hours tells me that 560 CCF (56000 cubic feet) = 16,400 KWh. So is it reasonable to assume that, everything else being the same, an electric option would use about that many KWh? Or is there some other way to use current gas usage to estimate future electrical usage?

Comments

  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    Have you taken the cost per BTU of electricity vs. gas into consideration? In most areas, electricity is considerably more expensive per BTU...................
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • frogpond
    frogpond Member Posts: 14
    A good point, but in my case, the cost is irrelevant to me. I'm just trying to figure out the estimated KWh usage. I can separately then run that 100% figure through a different calculation to take into account things like the greater efficiency for using a heat pump.

    So, then, I return to my question of whether it is reasonable to simply convert the CCFs into KWhs to roughly estimate my electrical usage for heating, or if I should do that calculation differently.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,164
    Well... your numbers look OK. And it is a reasonable way to estimate total energy usage for the year.

    You also need to determine your peak energy usage, and the best way to do that is to look at the BTUh rating of your boiler. Then see what sort of electrical service you need. For example, Cedric, the boiler in the main building I care for, is rated at 385,000 BTUh. That translates into 112 KE, which, at 240 volts, translates into 470 amperes... which is industrial level power.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • GroundUp
    GroundUp Member Posts: 1,889
    I'm not sure I grasp your theory entirely. Did you use 560 CCF or did you use 700 CCF and already reduce it to 560 by multiplying by .8? If the latter, then that's equivalent to 17,000 kWh
  • frogpond
    frogpond Member Posts: 14
    The latter. Thank you both. Just what I was looking for.