Oil or Propane?
Kelsey Janak
7 years ago
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mike_home
7 years agoKelsey Janak
7 years agoRelated Discussions
replace Oil Furnace with Propane 2 stage hot air furnace.
Comments (21)The obvious should be stated - the absolute cheapest way to heat your house is geothermal. It should at least be considered. Next cheapest is air source heat pump particularly with an efficient mini split. It seems to me that converting the whole house to a standard ducted heat pump has a fairly low upfront cost and a fairly low run cost. It is a compromise for upfront cost and ongoing cost. I can't see why anyone would recommend propane - unless the goal is having generator backup heat. Are you talking paying $350 for 12 months? A heat pump with electric backup should be 50% of that or less depending on climate and what system you buy. It would seem like Carrier Greenspeed would pay off for such a high heating need. You would probably save closer to 75% compared to oil. So even though it might be $20k installed, the payback is 7 years. You really need to experience a well installed forced air system. I don't know mine is on. I fail to see how a gentle circulation of air through a filter creates dust - it actually reduces it. And then it humidifies it....See MoreIf I were to replace my oil-fired boiler-should I??
Comments (12)Thanks Baymee: Looked at that fuel comparison, seems like oil replacement is the best option. At my age (61) I also have to look at payback time. Here in B.C. Canada, we have gotten a price for a new 86% effecient oil-boiler at $3600 installed. And we already have a 250 gallon tank. Wheras, the propane boiler is $7500 plus, including installation. As for daddo, yea, could look at cheaper fuel, but we do buy the more expensive bio-fuel. 20%canola-80%oil. Eases my conscience a bit-lol. Just in case you guys were wondering what it costs to heat a 1700 sq.ft. home here, it goes like this= 4 cords firewood-$660-60 gallons propane-$275, and this years total oil bill was-$720. or approximately $1700 per year. I suppose in todays world, that isn`t all that bad. The reason for the different heat sources is this old house is a four level split. *And when the power goes out cause of a wind storm, we like to have that back-up. Thanks again for the feedback. George...See MoreNeed Help with Basics: Oil vs. Propane, Radiant vs. Hot Water
Comments (7)Deb: Compare the cost of 1 million btu's of heat. I'll use your average costs. Oil at $2.73/gallon, 80% efficient furnace (your old oil furnace may be less efficient): (1,000,000 / 139,000 btu per gallon) x 2.73 / .8 = $24.55 Propane at $2.57 per gallon, 80% efficient furnace: (1,000,000 / 91,000 btu per gallon) x 2.57 / .8 = $35.30 Propane, 95% efficient furnace = $29.72 Heat pump w/electricity at $.15 per kw-hr delivered, C.O.P. = 3.25 at 35F ambient: (1,000,000 / 3414 btu per kw-hr) x .15 / 3.25 = $13.51 Straight electric resistance heat: = $13.51 x 3.25 = $43.90 The heat pump produces the same 1 million btu's of heat at more than half the cost of the 95% efficient propane furnace, and almost half the cost of the 80% oil furnace. Note that the cost of a heat pump defrost cycle is not included in the above calculation. As ambient temps increase from the 35F example, the C.O.P. increases, and the heat pump is even cheaper to run. The C.O.P. was taken from my 3-ton 14 SEER / 9 HSPF Goodman heat pump at 35F ambient. The heat pump needs auxiliary heat for when the ambient temps fall below the balance point of the home. That aux heat can be a propane furnace, oil furnace, or resistance electric strips. Using the heat pump as primary heating, with a gas/oil/propane furnace as auxiliary heat is called a dual-fuel system. These systems have a lot of advantages. Take care....See MoreChoices! Stay with oil, get gas, propane?
Comments (4)Would help to know cost of each fuel. I'd guess natural gas overall would be best bet with heat pump too. Watch Trane carefully. They are notorious for not delivering the efficiency & capacity you would expect. For example, the 16i "4" ton with that oil furnace gives 43,500 to 46,500 BTUs of cooling, definitely shy of 4 tons which is 48,000 BTUs. In heating, it's even worse giving a pathetic 40,500 to 42,500 BTUs of heat. That means colder air from the register and higher backup costs. SEER from the 16i and that furnace can only reach 14.75 and HSPF is a measily 8.50. You can do MUCH better. The 15i has NO ratings for using with the oil furnace which means no utility rebates or tax credits, not that it would qualify anyway. Most SEER ratings with variable speed gas furnaces are 13.50 to 14.50, well shy of 15 you'd expect from a model so named and far from giving you the tax credits. Most matches you'll find heating capacity closer to 3.5 ton from the 048 unit. HSPF figures are better with the 15 than the 16. So if you want Trane, look at the specs carefully. Odds are you'll never get the tax credits. And prepare to need more backup heat and having cooler supply temps in heating. Not sure on Carrier, doesn't look like they were quoting higher SEER units. At least you tend to get full capacity from them....See Moresktn77a
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