Cheaper Electric Cheaper Electricity Bills

It is so cold here that my heatpump is running 24 hours a day, none stop. It got down to 4 degrees last night.

The magic number is about 10-15 degrees f. below that the heat pump doesn’t work very well. above 15 the heat pump begins to be more economical. Don’t allow the resistance heat to work above the temperature the heat pump can maintain. When it is real cold outside, the heat pump doesn’t use much electricity, so if it runs 24 hrs, and does the job, that is OK. Do not turn the thermostat back and then back up with a heat pump.

My roommates are driving me crazy. One wants the AC at a constant temp (75) when we are not home because he says it doesn’t have to work so hard to cool it down. The other roomie puts the temp up to 80 when she leaves to save electric, but when you get home, the AC runs for a long time to cool the apartment down.

Which way is cheaper on the wallet?

Leaving the AC at one temp all the time will save on money, since once your house is at the set temp the AC stops running. If you are always changing the temp the AC is constantly running which is using energy.

I pay 8.6p/kW on electric and a 15kg butane Calor gas refill is around £20.

I don’t have central heating.

I’ve heard 15kg of gas is good for 200kW but that puts the cost at 10p/kW + the hassle of refilling the thing. Any one got figures on how many kW a kg of gas is good for?
Guys, just blurting out gas is cheaper doesn’t help. From what I’ve heard 1kW of Butane Gas ends up costing 10p while 1kW of electric costs 8.6p. So going by that electric is cheaper. Can anyone substantiate that?
I appreciate the answers guys, but they don’t quite address my question. 1kW of heat energy is the same whatever you’re using. Just like 1kg of concrete weights the same as 1kg of cotton.

So it doesn’t matter if a gas heater on 1 or 3kW, the bottle has a finite amount of kW it can provide. Obviously 3kW 24/7 is going to last a third of 1kW 24/7.

The question is, can a gas heater be cheaper to run than electric by providing enough total heat energy (kW) per 15kg butane cylinder?

It depends a lot on how powerful your electric heater is – is it a 1kw, 3kw etc. If its more than a 1kw heater and you have to run it on a high setting to provided sufficient heat then you will have to multiply your electric costs.

I find that a Calor Gas heater throws heat out quicker, therefore can be turned down sooner. The biggest disadvantage is the moisture they produce and as you say the need to get refills, although this does mean you pay as you use so no bills running up. It is also more portable, you dont have to have a handy socket or wires running over the floor.

I would not consider using Calor for whole house heating (due to the moisture problem)

Could you use a combination – Calor to give a quick blast and get the room warm and then electric to keep it ticking over.

If you do use Calor – get a second bottle and have it filled and ready. Nothing worse than running out of Calor at 9pm on a Saturday night and occassionally suppliers run out of supplys.

And are propane stoves as safe as electric ones? I’m in the Northeast Ohio area.

Propane stoves are every bit as safe as electric ones. They are low enough btu consumption and only used for relatively short periods, so emissions are not really an issue. In commercial apllications and a lot of residences they use ventillated range hoods.

I do suggest to people that do a lot of baking to get a hybrid range. That is a gas cooktop with an electric oven. The electric oven is easier to regulate the temperature, so you don’t burn your brownies as easy!

If you let me know what electricity per kWh is and the local propane price I can tell you what the comparison will be.

I can tell you that it won’t be a big enough difference to warrant throwing out a perfectly good appliance to install the other. If you are replacing a worn out item then now is the correct time to look at choices.

Natural gas doesn’t have a line to connect to my house. So I need to choose between electric, propane or oil. We have oil right now but our water heater just died so I am trying to decide if it would be cheaper to get switch to a different type of fuel. Any thoughts?

Generally speaking for every dollar you spend on electricity you are going to spend 80 cents on oil, 70 cents on propane and if you have natural gas available only about 50 cents…

It can vary somewhat according to region. If you list the costs of propane and oil per gallon in your area and your electricity rate I can tell you pretty quickly what the exact comparison will be. I sell propane and furnace oil so I run these comparisons all the time…

Just moved into a place which has an electric cooker and I am wondering whether I will be paying more fuel costs.

Yes gas is always cheaper than electricity.

I live in southern Indiana. If gas is so expensive then why are new houses built with gas and why do gas appliances still being made?

gas

Just brought an older home with an outdated hot water heater in it-it along with my furnace are both gas. Got my first gas bill which was out of this world. Wanted to know if i should replace with a new gas or new electric heater?

Gas is nearly always cheaper, get one with a high energy efficiency rating. Tankless water heaters seem like a great idea, but the instantaneous loads on the electrical system are just crazy and will put most houses into a larger electrical service size $2300-3500 would not be uncommon for the electrical wiring costs alone, plus the cost of the unit, plus the cost of the plumbing. Making sure you have a 90% furnace and proper sealing and insulation would have a much quicker payoff.

I am opening a laundromat in a place with very high energy costs. Would it make sense to go gas with the washers and dryers as opposed to electric?

I own a laundromat as well. I tried to use gas but it was much more costly than electric

What are some things that electric cars DON’T have that gas powered cars do have?

Yes it is. For example, an internal combustion engine (ICE) has many moving parts which can wear down or break. An electric motor has no moving components.

"EVs, particularly those using AC or brushless DC motors, have far fewer parts to wear out. An ICE vehicle on the other hand will have many mechanical, fluid, and electrical parts that may include some of the following: pistons, connecting rods, crankshafts, cylinder walls, valves, valve springs, valve guides, camshafts, cambelts, lifters, pushrods, rocker arms, oil pumps, fuel pumps, water pumps, radiators, gearbox (rarely used in EV’s), clutch, distributors, spark plugs, air filters, oil filters, coolant and vacuum hoses, injectors, carburettors, turbos, superchargers, gaskets, seals and bearings. All of these parts may wear out over time.

Both hybrids and EVs can use regenerative braking, which greatly reduces wear and tear on friction brakes – Prius taxi drivers report far less frequent brake maintenance."