Which Is More Economical – Using Out Central Heat That Uses Propane Or Using Several Electric Portable Heaters?
The home that my husband and I moved into two years ago that runs off of propane. Our propane tank is 250 gallons and it cost us $525 to have it filled up about a month ago. Having spent over $1600 on propane over the course of four months during our first winter here, we decided it would save us money to invest in electric, portable heaters. We have a larger home (2200 sq. foot), our living room is about 500 sq. feet with 18 ft. ceilings so it has been difficult finding anything portable that can efficiently heat that space but have been using a small, portable, electric fireplace, along with a radiator type heater in the master bathroom, which also is the heat source for the master bedroom, a larger, ceramic heater with a thermostat in the hallway where our children’s rooms are located and one small, tabletop, ceramic heater in my oldest son’s room. These heaters are only on when we’re home and when we’re awake. They are shut off at night and when we’re not home. We purchased some electric blankets for our children’s beds that have a 10 hr. auto shutoff feature but I’m overly paranoid about fires so I always shut them off before I go to bed. Anyway, long story short, latest propane bill was $525.00 to fill up the tank. It would probably last about two months if we used our central heat as our sole heat source. Our most recent electric bill was $250.00, which is the highest it has been since July. So obviously, either way we go, it’s not going to be cheap. I’m just wondering if there’s something out there that’s great at heating larger areas, that’s safe to have around children, low cost and efficient, that doesn’t require renovating your home to install it. Any suggestions? At this point, I’d rather just strictly use the central heat. It might cost us $500+ every couple of months but at least we’d be warm and I’d have my piece of mind at night. My husband on the other hand prefers to leave the heat off altogether because he hates that propane bill.
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November 4, 2009 @ 6:37 am
The only way this question can be answered is if we know how much per gallon you are spending on propane and how much your electricity costs per KwH.
The prices vary drastically depending on where you live. In some areas electricity is far cheaper than propane or even natural gas, but in other areas electricity can cost double what natural gas costs.
Have you tried shopping other providers in your area for propane pricing? I have seen different companies have fuel prices differing by $1.00 or more PER GALLON! Make sure you are getting a fair price…
Give us those numbers and I can tell you right away which way to go…
November 4, 2009 @ 9:27 am
Face it, heating either way is costly. The only real way to save is to burn wood in a woodstove, and that is a lot of work.
November 4, 2009 @ 3:42 pm
Propane heat and electric heat probably run neck and neck for being the most expensive forms of heating. I don’t think you’re going to see much savings with either choice, except as your husband says, and just leave it off altogether.
Wood heating is less expensive, including pellet stoves, and the hands-down cheapest heat to run is a geothermal heat pump – no, that’s not cheap to install, figure $12.000 – $15.000. Insulating your house provides the biggest pay-back.