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Propane VS Electric Heat

5K views 30 replies 14 participants last post by  37523 
#1 ·
Up here in northern MN, propane is now $6.10 a gallon. At 95% efficiency that's $69 per million Btu's. Electric right out the wall is $29. This is doing a few things. Plenum heaters are 3 weeks out. People are plugging portable heaters into every circuit in these old fuse panels and upping the fuse size. I see fires coming, houses freezing up. It's a mess.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
347sparky said:
I'm heating with propane, but own my tank. I got the summer fill and contracted 300 extra at 1.70 per gallon. An ounce of prevention....

Maybe in the spring there will be tons of service upgrades coming.
The contracts here have all been cancelled. The propane companies have an out in them. I'll bet if you read yours, you'll find that is true. I own my tank too, 1000 gal and I fill it in the summer when gas is lowest.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
347sparky said:
You got me wondering so I found my paperwork on it. They cannot cancel without approval of both parties, but may not be held liable for failure of vendors or suppliers to perform obligations to the Co-op.

I still have 400 gallons left in mine, so hopefully the shortage gets rectified before I need more. Looks like I contracted at $1.49, not $1.70.
I know an insider and he said they all have an out. Most people aren't going to go to court anyway. My brother in law has a contract and they told him they don't have any gas to bring him. Now the politicians here are getting involved. That will really screw it up.
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
meadow said:
Cheapest to most expensive... Im sure it will change in a few hours:laughing:

Solar
Gas
Geothermal
Propane

Oil

Electric het pump

Wood stoves (varies from where yu buy the wood, if it yours its free:thumbup:)

Electric resistance
If your talking cheapest to run, it's more like this

Geothermal @10 cents/kW is $7.00 per million
Wood @ $150/cord is $12 per million
Off peak electric @ 6 cents/kW is $14 per million
Straight electric @ 10 cents/kW is $29 per million
Fuel oil @ $4.20/ gal is $34 per million
Propane @ $6.10/ gal is $67 per million

Solar is a non starter as you would never be able to have a system big enough to heat with.

And as of yesterday propane here is $6.10 a gal.
 
Discussion starter · #24 ·
MTW said:
Electricity here is almost 18 cents a kw/hr so the price is almost comparable to propane. Natural gas in the most common followed by oil being in areas without gas service. Last I heard, Maine is #1 for homes heated by oil.
$52 per million Btu's. still cheaper than propane.
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
wendon said:
Ordered propane last week Monday, the price was $2.44 a gallon. They delivered it on Thursday and the price was up to $4.08. Lucky me they gave me Monday's price. Tore out my oil furnace last year and installed a high efficiency LP furnace. Should have kept the oil furnace I guess!!
Best to have multiple sources. What's electric cost there? Any dual fuel or off peak rates?
 
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