I cannot believe how much it costs to heat your house. Last month, our bill almost doubled. I suppose that comes with the unseasonably cold temperatures.
Jessica and I were talking about the price difference between propane (like we had at our old house) and natural gas (like we have at our new house.
Our initial thought was that it should be about the same. But after doing some research, we found that there is a pretty big difference between propane and natural gas.
In order to figure out the cost of propane verses natural gas, I did the following:
- I first needed to determine an appropriate conversion between gallons of propane and therms of natural gas. I found a website that listed a rough approximation between therms and gallons of propane:
“100 cubic feet (1 CCF) of natural gas is very nearly 1 therm (0.95 – 1.05, typically, depending on gas analysis). 1 gallon of LPG is about 0.91 therm. (91000 BTU).” - After determining that 1 gallon of Propane = 0.91 therms, I calculated how much one therm equals by doing the by dividing 1 gallon of propane by 0.91 therms. This gives me the solution that 1 Therm = 1.1 Gallons of propane.
- Then I looked at our propane and natural gas bills to determine the unit prices for each. For propane, this is $1.49 per gallon. For natural gas, it is $0.80 a therm.
- Next I determined a standard measurement to base our calculations on. I chose therms. Since 1 therm = 1.1 Gallons of Propane, we will take 1.1 gallons of propane times $1.49. This will give us an equivalent to the price per therm.
1.1 * $1.49 = $1.63 - We can conclude that, at current market prices (January 1, 2009), natural gas is much cheaper. Currently, $0.80 of natural gas would cost you $1.63 if it was bought in propane.
#1 by Kelli at January 3rd, 2009
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When you are figuring propane vs. natural gas. It is not just therm vs gallon.
PROPANE TANK at your home, one time cost to install all gas lines, either one time cost to purchase propane tank or a rental (app. $75yr). The only time you pay for propane is when you have a delivery made. And you are charge a Haz-mat charge when delivered.
Natural Gas, you pay for gas lines to be ran to your home from the main line (how long of run would that be) but you then have the cost per therm,
The cost each month for: rental on the meter (on your home), this tax, that tax, add all that up, then add to cost of therm. Then compare to propane.
Natural Gas, if you only use heat (which means 3-4 months out of the year), the other 8 months you do not cut on your natural gas, you still get a bill each month to pay for the meter, this tax, that tax, etc…
So when you compare:
Natural Gas – figure cost per therm, cost per month to have the meter on at your home, this tax, that tax. Figure the amount you pay for natural gas equipment at your home and not even cut your natural gas on during the summer months.
Propane, installation charges paid at initial set up, if you lease a propane tank (you pay app. $75yr). Maybe 2-3 deliveries a year for residential home that would need to be paid. So there are several months you go without paying a dime for propane.
#2 by chance at February 10th, 2009
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accually im moving into a custom made home and im going with propane. ive looked at All the ups and downs to both. its just my wife and I. The taxes and fees on a gas bill acually make it worth going propane.
#3 by Terry Pearson at February 11th, 2009
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My experience has been that Natural Gas has been more cost effective in my house.
#4 by bonnie at February 18th, 2009
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We just received a bill for our propane tank and it says we used almost three hundred gallons last month. We have a hybrid (mostly electric) heat system and tankless gas water heaters. We use an electric clothes dryer. Is this not an extremely high amount of gas usage for us? We have only been here in this home for one winter, but we pay 4-500 a month in electric bills. We are just shocked at our bill. Any insight?
#5 by Terry Pearson at February 18th, 2009
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@Bonnie
I would say that it seems high, but a lot of times, it is based on your home’s design, square footage, insulation, etc. I am not an expert on energy usage, but you could try increasing the insulation in your attic. That would probably be the cheapest way to lower your bills.
Also, I have had friends that used a lot of electricity to power their baseboard heaters.
One thing that helped them was to talk to the electric company about getting on an “Off Peak” system. This usually allows you to get discounts for the heater electricity. In return, the electric company can shut off the heaters for an hour or two during peak usage times. This helps the electric company balance their power grid usage, and saves you a little money in the process.
Good luck with the electric bills (they are never fun)!
#6 by Scot at February 24th, 2009
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I’m with Bonnie. I have lived in 5 differents homes in OH, MI, IL GA and now NC. All Natural gas except our current 2600 sq. ft. home in North Carolina. Our home is only 3 years old, well built, (low E windows…ect.) and I have never paid what it is currently costing me to heat my home. So far we have use between 100 and 140 gallons of propane per month at a price of 2.89 (nov) 2.69 (dec) and 2.49 for jan. You can do the math, our bills have been over $300 each month.
I never paid this much before and I’m in the south now, OK maybe one freezing month each winter in Illinois. I dont know what is going on, no leaks, I’ve checked. I would love some opinions and would tell folks to definitely go natural gas. By the way, where are you getting it for $1.49?
Thanks for any input.
#7 by Terry Pearson at February 24th, 2009
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Thanks for the comment Scott. It is frustrating that heating a house can cost so much. It kind of makes you wish you could live in an always 75-80 degree climate!
In answer to your question, we were getting propane from our local Farmer’s co-op in Southwestern Minnesota.
#8 by Patricia at March 21st, 2009
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Terry, thank you for your calculations. I am renting a house on a ranch in California. The only gas we use is propane for water heater which of course is used year round. It is costing us $600 a year, approximately. Cannot get company we get propane from to give me an accurate breakdown of our cost per gallon and how it relates to natural gas prices. We have a propane wall heater but has leak so we rely on fireplace and portable heaters in the winter time , have electric dryer and electric stove (though we could use propane for them also). Given your calculations I think we will stick with our current program for heat, etc. since the worst electric bill I received was for December at $200.00. Thanks again, Patricia
#9 by Earl Peterson at March 25th, 2009
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Hello. My name is Earl Peterson of Gillette in the great state of Wyoming. I just wanted to take a moment to give my account of how a company called EarthWise Technologies in Yelm, Washington saved me a bundle on my propane costs this winter season. Up here in Gillette we get your standard winter of 1 – 2 ft. of snow fall & temperatures in the teens. However, this season was especially cold with the average being -5 below. The locals at our feed store last fall were all a hummin’ of rumors of a 70% increase in our home propane costs before the onset & our home heating town hall meetings were a thing of character and futility as most of us old timers didn’t even know how we were going to survive the brutal Wyoming winter. Social Security simply doesn’t stretch as far as we figured it would when we were young & workin’ our share of the world. Anyhow, my best friend Jed and I were a gabbin’ one fall day about how we were gonna live when he mentioned getting some space heaters, those high tech infrared types. Now I didn’t really know much about those things and told him my grandson, the internet whiz, could help me look all that up. Boy I tell you what, there are so many confounded choices it just makes your head spin. There are ones with all sorts of interestin’ claims & even some that those Amish make (yeah, like I believe that hog wash). But my grandson showed me how to search all those opinion sites that tell me how it is from real folks like you & I. From all the hoopla I found that the CZ Infrared models have the longest warranty, best return policy, and if something does happen after you purchase it…they have the best customer service of any of those other yahoo’s out there. I could tell you how when I bought 4 CZ 1500P heaters for my 2 – story 1500 sq. ft. home to survive the winter months that I saved an average of $250.00 per month in propane by turning my thermostat down to 60 degrees and using my heaters, 2 per floor, to heat my home up to a comfortable 75 degrees F. I could tell you how stylish and quiet these units are even when used constantly or how the technology allows each unit to regularly power off to simply maintain the room temperature set. I could even tell you how safe these units are that my little grandchildren can play right next to the one in our den without getting hurt or burned in the slightest. I could honestly tell you many things; however, I only became a true believer when I searched those opinion sites and finally bought some to see for myself. So I encourage you to check out all them reviews & finally buy one to see for yer self how much you can safe over the length of a grueling winter, like ours here in Gillette. I so far have saved ‘bout $780.00 this season over what I would’ve paid without ‘em. Stay warm and god bless.
#10 by T.C. Schumacher at March 27th, 2009
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Hello Terry, Here in northwest Indiana Nipsco rules the gas/eletric game. We have natural gas here at the farm. Our hot water boiler furnace uses NG.Being that i’m frugal and wise I heat our home with corn burners,gravity feed(i never cary corn by hand). Our water is heated by solar/with NG fired tank heater for back-up.Doing the math NG looks cheaper than propane, but in reality its about the same price per therm.Dont forget my friend,propane has OVER twice the btu potetial per 100 cubic foot as NG.Also, now pay attention,I pay an “interstate trasportation and storage charge”. Also a “delivery charge” and state tax, not to mention the “commody charge”. We use on average about 5 therms of NG a month.With propane I can buy the commody at the price I like,and no one but me can ever CUT our supply!! We are going propane. BEST REGARDS
#11 by Hank Gibson at March 30th, 2009
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This message is in response to Mr. Peterson’s posting. With all due respect, sir…how can a constant electrical option of 1500 watts (I looked into the specs) be a cheaper option than standard, all-American propane? Please explain how paying per Kilowatt hour for your home heat is actually a better option…because I just can’t see it.
#12 by Elizabeth at April 3rd, 2009
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Mr Gibson. – I really don’t care what anyone says. I love my CZ Infrared heater. It works great for us. Even if one would run the heater 24/7 at 1.5 kw/hr for 30 days would be 1080 hours. The national eletcric average is $0.10. A max of $108.00 per month. That was still a savings on our over all fuel bill each month!
#13 by Shirley at April 7th, 2009
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No such thing as a one fits all any thing for any body. You must consider that not all propane, heating oil or electric rates are different in different parts of the country. My CZ Infrared heater works great for us, we are quite happy with it.
#14 by Garrison Roberts at April 13th, 2009
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Good Morning, my name is Garrison Roberts. My wife and I just bought our first home 5 months ago…moving’ up and finally realizing the American Dream. So shortly thereafter we found that it could be very costly during the impending winter to pay the higher propane costs that heating a 1800 sq ft home is…we needed a better solution. So we looked around and found some friends using 2 CZ Infrared 1500P heaters to supplement their home heat. It seemed to do an excellent job in the main areas of their home. So I took the leap of faith and invested in 3 units…they do not disappoint whatsoever. We run our thermostat at a constant 55 F and supplement up to 75 degrees F in our living room, one in our kitchen/dining area, and one in our finished basement that is converted into an office/study. The units perform perfectly and we set them to delay start about 45 minutes prior to coming home for an even, comfortable heat. I run our 3 units for about 12 hours per day for the cost of $1.58 per day or less than $50.00 per month in electrical cost per unit. It has saved us hundreds in potential propane costs this heating season already. I am so glad that I took the leap of faith and decided to choose Infrared heat to keep my new home comfy and warm. Thank you, CZ Infrared.
#15 by Moana at April 14th, 2009
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Come on guys, how good are those “CZ Infrared” heaters – really?
#16 by TC schumacher at April 15th, 2009
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Eletric heat is superior for ’spot heating’ but EVERYONE knows eletric heating IS the most EXPENSIVE ! Am i wrong, arn’t we all tryin to save some coin?FACT: we heat 3,200 square feet to 75 degrees when the temp outside is in the teens….even below O! Price;2 bushels of shelled corn@3.49 locked in dollars a day.come on people of this great nation,wise up! We heat our WHOLE house with less than 100 bushels of corn per year!!!COME ON AMERICA……..WISE UP. Less than $349 a year…the WHOLE house 32,00 SQ. FT. No wonder america is bankrupt… we are giving it away. Whats next…………OUR SOULS! GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
#17 by Brad Johnson at April 23rd, 2009
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In response to Mr. Roberts, the only issue I can see with your assertions is that I fail to see how a space heater can effectively heat an area of this magnitude comfortably or efficiently. Please explain to me how this unit can be as efficient as a standard central heat system. Thank you for your time.
#18 by Gina at April 28th, 2009
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Brad, Of course it will be cheaper to heat just one small area versus the whole house!!!
I have saved a bundle on my overall winter heating bill even tho my electric has gone up. As with any purchase be a PROACTIVE CONSUMER! Do your homework – find out your electric rate and make your own
calculations on the cost to run. Get a receipt! Know the name address and phone number of who you make your purchase from. It’s up to you to make the final decision.
The best value would be to purchase directly from the manufacturer (if you live in the U.S.) at http://www.czinfrared.com.
#19 by Teresa at May 1st, 2009
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What gets me cooking , ( as in blood pressure ) is when you rent a home starting in October last year and you just receive your final propane gas bill and your landlords are making you pay for a fill on the tank from August , of almost 500.00 !!! HELLO does anyone see something wrong with this picture here??? YEA didn’t move in until , October? ,, and is it really possible to have the tank filled for over 200 gallons of propane a month ??? When the only thing on propane in the house is the furnace?? Everything else is run off of electric. … and the bill every single month is 400 to 500 dollars a MONTH….. Someone out there please help me here….
#20 by John at May 26th, 2009
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Some one told me that propane burns twice as hot as natural gas. Is this true? They also told me that it takes twice as much natural gas to do what propane does. Is this true?
#21 by Terry Pearson at May 27th, 2009
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@John
I would checkout this link. They explain how propane is made.
It appears that propane is usually extracted from natural gas. The biggest advantage of propane is it’s purity (natural gas contains a mix of gases), and it’s ability to liquefy under low pressure (increasing portability).
My understanding is that the extra processing that takes place in propane also makes it more expensive.