We feel that natural gas is the most cost-effective product we can provide our clients. However, we always want you to feel like you have all of the facts before making a decision about how to heat and power your home.
To make the comparison fair, we’ll show you how much energy is necessary to run a normal 30,000 Btu wall heater for an hour. Propane, electricity, and natural gas are the three options we’re weighing.
Propane
Did you know that a gallon of Propane costs around $3.00 on average in your area? Propane has 92,000 BTUs per gallon, which is enough to power a 30,000 BTU wall heater for about 3 hours.
This means that a 30,000 Btu wall heater utilizing Propane will cost roughly $.80 per hour to run.
Electric Heat
Kilowatt hours are the units of measurement for electricity. A kWh contains 3,413 Btu and costs $.08. A 30,000 Btu electric wall heater would use 26.4 kWh at a cost of $2.11 to run for three hours.
This demonstrates that the same electric wall heater costs $.70 per hour to operate.
Natural Gas
Therms are the units used to measure natural gas. Natural gas costs between $.98 and $1.00 per Therm (12-month average). 100,000 Btu’s are included in the same amount of natural gas.
A 30,000 Btu wall heater can be powered by a Therm of natural gas for 3.3 hours, which implies natural gas costs only $.28 per hour to run.
What is the average amount of natural gas used by a heater?
The price of the furnace must be amortized over the furnace’s estimated lifetime when calculating the hourly cost of a gas furnace. A furnace with a lower AFUE may not be a good deal if it costs more to run each hour. If the AFUE of a furnace lowers the hourly gas cost, it might be a better buy. An AFUE of 80 percent is typical for a base model natural gas furnace. This utilizes 750 therms per year at a cost of $750 per year in natural gas. According to the US Department of Energy, this equates to 36 cents per hour.
A 40000 BTU heater consumes how much gas?
I’ve thrown a lot of arithmetic and figures at you, but you should now have a good idea of how much propane an outdoor heater consumes.
Assuming your propane heater is set to maximum heat, a:
- With a 20lb tank, a 40,000 BTU patio heater will burn for 9.752 hours.
- With a 20lb tank, a 50,000 BTU patio heater will burn for 7.80 hours.
- With a 20lb tank, a 60,000 BTU patio heater will burn for 6.5 hours.
Furthermore, because propane burns effectively, it is less expensive to run your heater than an electric heater. So, while a gas patio heater is more expensive up front, it will save you money in the long term.
When you’re narrowing down your options, keep all of this in mind, and you’ll be enjoying your beautiful heated patio on those cool fall nights.
What is the average amount of natural gas used by a garage heater?
If you’re thinking about acquiring a gas garage heater, you might be wondering how much it would cost to operate one.
The price would be determined by the type of gas garage heater and the type of fuel used (natural gas or propane). A 30.000 BTU natural gas heater will cost roughly $0.28 per hour to run, whereas a propane heater with the same heating capacity will cost around $0.70.
Find out what type of gas garage heater is best for you and whether there are any tips to help you save money on heating.
Is it expensive to run a natural gas heater?
In general, gas heating is less expensive to run. Natural gas is used for the majority of gas heating. Natural gas costs have actually declined in recent years, although electricity rates have risen.
Your home will be heated more rapidly with a gas furnace. The heat produced by a gas furnace is often hotter than that produced by an electric furnace. As a result, your home will warm up in less time, making gas heating ideal for chilly areas.
Gas furnaces are more efficient than electric furnaces. It takes less energy to heat the air in your home with gas. Natural gas is also cleaner to burn than coal, which is used to generate the electricity needed for electric furnaces.
How do you figure out how much natural gas you use?
With natural gas usage on the rise, many applications for thermal energy that formerly relied on other fuels, such as steam or hot water, may be candidates for conversion to natural gas. Given the current price differential between natural gas and propane, I believe propane will be used mostly as a backup fuel in the event of gas shortages.
We’ll focus on quick calculation formats so you can select gas line sizes, pressure regulators, control valves, and related equipment based on flow rates in cubic feet per hour. We’ll progress from simple to more difficult computations.
New natural gas equipment will have a BTU per hour rating. Let’s say you want to replace a steam unit heater with a new gas-fired one that can produce 100,000 BTU/HR.
The required flow rate for this new unit heater would be 1000 CFH, based on our approximated safe number of 1000 BTU per cubic foot on natural gas (100,0001000)
Steam or hot water coils are used to heat the air in many air heating applications. If you’re thinking about switching to natural gas, here’s a handy formula for calculating the gas flow rate.
Finding data on air flows when undertaking a retrofit to an old system can be a significant difficulty. This formula may be useful if you find yourself in this circumstance.
Measure the velocity in the air duct with an air velocity meter for the best accuracy. If that isn’t practicable, most HVAC heating applications have an air velocity of 500 to 700 feet per minute. When it comes to process air, the range can be anything from 500 to 1200 feet per minute, therefore measuring air velocities is a good idea.
Check the web for sites that provide engineering information for various air heating applications, such as
Natural gas, like other forms of heat, can be a suitable alternative for heating water and reaping the benefits of natural gas. The following is a fast formula for calculating gas flows:
The rate of temperature rise is used in heating calculations. With a little arithmetic, you may get an equivalent gallons per minute figure if you’re heating a quantity of water from an initial to a final temperature over a period of time.
Assume you need to heat 100 gallons of water from 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 180 degrees Fahrenheit in 10 minutes. The pace at which 100 gallons of water are heated in 10 minutes is the same as the rate at which 10 GPM is delivered (100 Gallons 10 minutes).
Many heating applications could be better served by looking at natural gas as a replacement energy source, especially with the emphasis on green and efficient operations and chances to replace other fossil fuels.
How do you figure out how much natural gas costs?
You can skip this step if the price per unit of gas on your account is already expressed in BTUs.
The following are the BTUS conversions for other units:
- One therm is equal to 100,000 BTUs.
- The BTU equivalent of one cubic foot of natural gas is 1,028 MCFs. As a result, one thousand cubic feet (MCF) equals 1,028,000 BTUs.
- CCFs (cubic feet per second) are equal to 102,800 BTUs.
Let’s imagine you have a 100,000 BTU heater and your gas bill is in MCFs. If an MCF costs $9.00, then:
- The price per BTU is $0.00000875486 when the price per MCF is divided by 1,028,000.
- Multiply that by 100,000 to find the cost of running the furnace every hour: around 87 cents.
Portable Electric Heaters
The energy ratings of portable electric heaters are rarely displayed, making it difficult to judge their efficiency. Portable heaters, while convenient, may be quite expensive to run, as seen in the chart above, and should be used sparingly to avoid a large electricity bill. A conventional electric radiant heater costs $0.36 per hour, while an electric panel heater costs $0.43, however neither of these options is cost-effective when heating large spaces like a living room.
Gas Heaters
A basic gas heater costs $0.43$0.51 per hour, according to Canster Blue. Electric heating options, such as reverse cycle air conditioners, are becoming increasingly energy-efficient, despite the fact that gas has historically been a cheaper energy source. Consumers can save money by switching from gas heating to reverse cycle air conditioners, according to a study conducted by Melbourne University.
Wood Heaters
Heating your home with wood can sometimes be more cost-effective than other options, especially if you have easy access to wood sources. However, due to the quantity of heat lost in chimneys and larger spaces, wood heaters rank poorly in terms of energy efficiency. The choosing procedure might be overwhelming and difficult due to technical standards, performance, and safety criteria.
THE FINAL WORD
The reverse cycle air conditioner is a clear winner for modern Australian houses when it comes to cost and energy efficiency. MHIAA has reverse cycle split systems ranging in size from 1.7kW to 9.5kW. With a selection like this, you’ll be able to discover a solution for any room. So, say goodbye to feeling bad about turning on your air conditioner and hello to enjoying warmth and comfort in a stress-free environment!
Please keep in mind that your heating costs will be determined by the size of your home, the climate in your area, and the electricity or gas prices you pay.
If you’re considering about updating your heating system, use our dealer locator to discover an MHIAA dealer near you who can advise you on the best option for your house.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-25/switching-from-gas-to-air-conditioners-can-cut-energy-costs/6723744