Welcome to Home Energy Guide!
When building a new home or replacing an existing furnace or boiler, it is worth considering all available energy sources. The cost of some fuels have increased significantly in recent years. Replacing an old oil furnace with a more cost effective heating solution, for example, could potentially pay for itself in just a few years.
Due to differences in units of measure and inherent heating capacities of various energy sources, the differences in actual costs of various heating options are not obvious.
Several factors must be considered when comparing heating options.
- The cost of the energy source.
- The heating potential in the energy source.
- The efficiency with which the energy source can be converted into heat.
When these three factors are combined, the cost of producing a given amout of heat can be calculated, making it easy to directly compare the costs of heating with each available energy source.
Costs of common energy sources, and the heating potential in each (at 100 percent efficiency):
| Natural Gas | Electric | #2 Fuel Oil | Propane | |
| Unit of measure | 1000 Cu. Ft. | Kwh | Gallons | Gallons |
| $ / Unit* | $16.92000 | $0.11400 | $4.25000 | $2.62000 |
| BTU / Unit ** | 1,021,000 | 3,412 | 139,000 | 91,000 |
| $ / 1M BTU | $16.57 | $33.41 | $30.58 | $28.79 |
Cost per year for a variety of heating sources, for a home that requires 80 million BTUs per year for heating:
| Heating Options | $ / 1M BTU Input | Efficiency* | $ / 1M BTU Output | $ / Year |
| Nat.Gas Furnace - Energy Star | $16.57 | 90% | $18.41 | $1,473.07 |
| Nat. Gas Furnace - High Efficiency | $16.57 | 96% | $17.26 | $1,381.00 |
| Nat. Gas Boiler - Energy Star | $16.57 | 85% | $19.50 | $1,559.72 |
| Nat. Gas Boiler - High Efficiency | $16.57 | 99% | $16.74 | $1,339.15 |
| Electric Baseboard | $33.41 | 100% | $33.41 | $2,672.92 |
| Heat Pump - Standard | $33.41 | 180% | $18.56 | $1,484.96 |
| Heat Pump - High Efficiency | $33.41 | 220% | $15.19 | $1,214.96 |
| Heat Pump - Geothermal | $33.41 | 300% | $11.14 | $890.97 |
| Oil Furnace - Old (pre-1992) | $30.58 | 65% | $47.04 | $3,763.14 |
| Oil Furnace - Energy Star | $30.58 | 90% | $33.97 | $2,717.83 |
| Oil Furnace - High Efficiency | $30.58 | 95% | $32.18 | $2,574.78 |
| Oil Boiler - Energy Star | $30.58 | 85% | $35.97 | $2,877.70 |
| Oil Boiler - High Efficiency | $30.58 | 90% | $33.97 | $2,717.83 |
| Propane Furnace - Energy Star | $28.79 | 90% | $31.99 | $2,559.22 |
| Propane Boiler - Energy Star | $28.79 | 85% | $33.87 | $2,709.76 |