FUEL COST CALCULATOR!!!

All,

I don't know if any of you guys have seen this calculatoer before, but it's awesome! Just change the numbers in the yellow columns. I can't believe that it now costs less to heat with electricity than with oil! Oh, to view it, you need excel. Here's the link.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/experts/heatcalc.xls

It's been posted before, originally by Yanche. I even had my own at one point in time based on that one. I'll have another permanent one at some point... One of the zillion things on my list to do.

FYI if you don't have excel you can download openoffice to use it: http://www.openoffice.org/

What's astounding is the price compared to oil... Before it was somewhat of joke but its not funny anymore. I really don't know how these people are going to get through next winter. they'll have to take a second job just to heat their homes and that's not even an exaggeration.

The calc sheet has errors. The price of oil is ~$4.59/gallon around York, PA. The cost of electricity is also not current. I heated my house last winter with a hot water heater and realized a savings over oil of over 50%, which is not indicated by the spreadsheet. The electrical cost was about $300/month where oil would have run $700-$800. This winter I will suplement that heat with wood and coal in a small stove.

Correct the default values are old, coal is also wrong because its listed at $100 and you're probably going to pay at least $130 if you pick it up yourself. However If you open it with the full version of MS Excel or Open Office you can adjust the prices for your local area. Just click a cell and you can input whatever price you want. If you're opening it with Microsoft's "Excel Spreadsheet Viewer" you cannot adjust the prices and only view the current values.

Here are a few more

http://energy.cas.psu.edu/

http://www.alternateheatingsystems.com/ ... atives.htm

Electricity costs in PA will be jumping by AT LEAST 50% by late 2009 due to the last of the state imposed caps being lifted.. Electricity

I haven't checked out any calculators lately but I have found that they aren't always clear as to what they consider a cord of wood to be and often as not they don't have a column for Natural Gas.
Not all are in an area where Nat Gas is available but people in areas where NG is available can have a hard time justifying coal prices.
My 2 cents.....

The calculator from the EIA is quite comprehensive, it lists NG as well as propane separately.

The same agency where that document can be found has a glossary of terms they list a cord of wood as:

Cord of wood: A cord of wood measures 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet, or 128 cubic feet.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/glossary/glossary_c.htm

Also note there is disclimer below, see notation #3. I believe they are basing the 20 million BTU per cord on seasoned hardwood as that is what previous charts I have seen from government agencies baseing it on.

As for the gas that depends on what you're paying for the coal or the gas, if you're getting coal delivered for $160 a ton which is the going rate locally then it's very easy to justify. There's really no comparison. Gas or Oil has never been cheaper than coal locally, both have come close but as far as I know they have never beaten it and when they did come close it was usually short lived. Lastly keep in mind the spot prices for NG have nearly doubled since the beginning of the year. I beleive the local gas company just requested a 20% increase and unless it drops they will undoubtedly be asking for more increases and will get them.

There is also a good calculator on woodpellet info.Scrool down to calc at the bottom of the page
DON

BTW you can just type in your own numbers.

www.woodpelletinfo.com/calculator/

OMG I learned how to do this
DON

The heat pump number is also very deceiving. The air source heat pump needs a backup source every time it enters defrost and when there is not enough heat in the outside air to heat the house (usually between 35-40 degrees with efficient system and tight house) . This is eiyjer electric resistance heat or fossil fuel backup.The propane price is very disturbing compared to nat. gas. but as propane is not manufactured intentionally and is a by product of oil and gas drilling they control price completely. i will say geo thermal is a viable solution. However as previously mentioned Pa electric cost is about to soar and smart meters are on the way. google smart meters and see what their intentions are there and u will get shivers down your spine.

greed is good

One thing to remember about propane is that its delivered whereas Natural gas is a hookup from the street. Delivery costs are going to ad to the cost greatly.

hence me shutting the 95% afue furnaces and getting my Alaska.
Have considered getting a larger underground tank so I can shop price.

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.ph ... 7_0_1_0_M7

I am not sure if this calculator is the same as the ones posted above but its the one I used. Just put in your efficiency and cuurent fuel price.