leaning toward electric boiler
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Electric company sells off peak power at $0.043 KWH, 1 KWH equals 3,414 BTU
Propane sells at $1.90 gal., 1 gal. equals 91,690 BTU
Dividing 3,414 into 91,690 gives me 26.86
multiplying 26.86 times $0.043 gives me $1.15, the equivalent cost of electricity compared to $1.90 worth of propane
The off peak electric rates are utilizing an Electric Thermal Storage unit, normal rates are $0.119 KWH.
Is my logic pissed up or am I ok?
Replies
Using another formula I also got about a 2 to 1 savings with electricity. The cost of elect. much less volitile than the" burnables" I say go for it.
will you be living only during off-peak hours? :) How much could you store?
and remember the rate goes up with higher usage -
Don't know where you live as your profile is blank . . . . .
Here near Baltimore MD, electricity rates are expected to adjust +72% this summer as Baltimore Gas and Electric comes out of regulation. IE- their rates are no longer goverened by the public service commission. Lots of clamor about it in local media outlets. (I won't get into the debate about it right now, that's a whole separate post!!!)
I live West of Baltimore and get my power from another utlity, currently pay 4.4 cents per kWh. That's cheap. And it's reflected in my bill. My Utility (allegheny power) is under a different agreement with the PSC until 2008. At that point, my rates may change drastically too as their regulated agreement expires.
My point is, electric rates, while not as volatile, can and do change and sometimes they do it VERY drastically. Check with your utility to see how long that rate is locked in for and when and how it may change. The rate you quote is quite low I think and does not reflect the market rate for electricity. If that rate is locked for some time, I say electric is the way to go. Otherwise, Nat Gas, Propane, or oil might be the way to go. But before committing, I would do some homework with your governing Service Commission and ask the utility co a few questions.
Hey, if you use an electric boiler, the beauty is it's cheap, and if electricity does go through the roof, you can switch it out for something else later on. Not like those electric baseboards everyone put in up here in the 70's and then had to tear out later.
Depending on your load and site, you might even want to consider Geothermal. The geo guys claim 3 to 1 BTU generation per KWH compared to heating directly with electric. It's expensive up front of course, so the the larger your load the more it may make sense.
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
Don't know how long the rate will be locked in. To take advantage of the off peak rate I would have to use a Steffes' Electric Thermal Storage unit. Do you know anything about it? The boiler system with the ETS costs just short of six grand, that's everything north of the zone valves. Also I checked into trench geothermal and it's a no go because of dry soil.
No, sorry I'm not familiar with that system. Is that an installed price? Electric boilers are generally fairly cheap.-------------------------------------
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
That is an installed price. Check out their site at http://www.steffes.com
Interesting. What is the problem with just using a storage tank as a thermal battery? The ceramic brick idea sounds neat but a bit unneccessary to me.-------------------------------------
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
because they tell me that I will not have to use on-peak power at -20 degrees. I assume your talking some sort of a tank that I could pressurize ( read Siggy) like a propane tank but what do I fill it with?
Yep...you are on the right track, I've got that off peak program, but plumbed a propane water heater in to pick up the slack when the utility controls...they have radio controlled shut down of heat loads and you need automatic back up.
This is a nice spread sheet that will allow you to make a better educated guess about which fuel to go with when.
What kind of heat load do you have?
Holy cow, you should be able to do better than $6K, provided your heat load is small enough and your control strategy fits.
Edited 5/9/2006 3:44 pm ET by johnnyd