Propane or Electric Central Heat?

[No-Tox]

#1 - Go with tankless water heater. It can be used on electric or propane. Ours is on propane. There's a bunch more items on new home builds but that is a different topic.

We have propane for stove, fireplaces and water heater, plus the outside firepit. The inside fireplaces are gas fire logs because of a weird draft in the house that doesn't vent a wood burning fire well. The outside firepit has a valve and a pipe with holes in it to be used to start the fire. Gets things going quickly. If I had really thought about it when building, I would have done a home generator off the propane too. Now, when power goes out, I drag the generator to the electric panel and plug it in to get electricity.
We just built a pool and the heater is propane. I've heard that if we use the heater, it will go through a good amount of propane.
Our A/C with a heat pump is electric.
We get ours filled a few times a year, but it's not because it goes empty. We are on the "keep full" program with our propane provider. It is better that it gets spread out throughout the year so I don't get one large bill.

[7sdad]

Very interested in this... Slab was poured today. Did alot of research and going with foam and all electric HVAC and hot water heaters. Propane for cooktop and fireplace..... Hope it's the right decision

This is 100% what we are doing.

[TheHammer]

We have nat gas and it’s awesome. Cheap & will heat the whole house with super little run time.

[flywise]

If you go with gas make sure you have several carbon monoxide detectors.

[mmoses]

1600 sq ft house.

Old unit, Almost 20years.

Propane stove, water heater tank and furnace. use about 400 gallons a year.

That reminds me, i need to check it.

[No-Tox]

If you go with gas make sure you have several carbon monoxide detectors.

Too expensive. I just keep a candle lit.

[Samson]

As mentioned earlier, the Dual Fuel units are the best compromise in your situation. Heat pump will run until the outside temp is 40f, then the aux propane heat turns on. My dad put 2 of these in his house and cut his propane usage in half. Propane is $$$$$

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[softpoint]

this is where I am torn...... I can get propane for 2.25 a gallon. not bad if i am not burning 200 gallons a month, but life will suck if I do burn that much....... oh decisions

although using space heaters in winter could also help cut down on propane cost and wont be horrible on electric either.......why can't I just be rich!?

The little electric "radiator" heaters are what we use. They do raise the electric bill, but you can run 2 of them almost constantly, on medium heat for less than $50. The fire place helps a lot. When the wife and I were both working, and no one was home during the day, we went a few years without using the fireplace, and used the central propane heat. On a cold winter month, it would suck 200 gallons out easily.. And propane has been higher than 2.25, before...That is why we quit using it. It's been so long since we've used it, i doubt if it would work without some repairs..We are going to put an insert in the fire place this spring, and that will cut way down on wood consumption.

[double bogey]

so Double Bogey, should I be concerned with all electric on the HVAC?

Not at all, but:
If you are going to have propane available, dual fuel is best. 96% 2stg. or modulating propane furnace, with 16+seer heat pump minimum. 20+seer variable speed heat pump would even be more efficient.

If going all electric, then get the most efficient heat pump you can afford. The 16+ 2 stg. or 20+ modulating would be best.

If you are foam insulating, make sure your hvac contractor is well versed in sizing and installing systems in foamed structures.
Introducing outside air with a heat xchanger ventilator is a must with foam.

Also use high efficiency filtration to protect the equipment and have a much cleaner house. Merv 11 rating at least. Replacement filters are expensive but they may only need to be changed once a year.

As long as we are spending your money, if you have propane I would consider a whole house generator, if you are in a rural area where power outages could be an issue.

Saving power $$$'s is not the only issue here, achieving a higher level of comfort with the multi stage and modulating systems is the goal.

[double bogey]

I will add, that although a lot of 90+% gas furnaces are sold, the extra expense is not as necessary as gas is fairly cheap, vs an 80% standard model.
With the higher cost of propane, it makes a lot more sense to spend more on a higher efficiency furnace.

The only difference between a gas furnace and a propane furnace is a kit with different orifices and the labor to install it.

[brokeno]

We lived in a trailer house with a propane heater and everytime the heater kicked on and lit off it boomed and never did really heat the house with really cold but this was a trailer house. I was always worried about a gas leak. When we built our house I said no gas all electric. We have a wood burning fireplace that we haven't used in years I wish I would have installed a gas fireplace. Pia cutting wood, bringing wood to house, going outside to get wood, house smelling like smoke and cleaning fireplace at the end of the season. Jmo

[Austin]

I am in your market 1900 sqft older home with batt in the walls and blown insulation in the attic on older (80’s) widows. We are electric everything (as are alot of homes here). We keep our house between 70-73 in the winter and around 70 in the summer my worst electric bill is around $230 average is $140


Should also mention that is with me my wife and two young kids in the house

[Mike D]

#1 - Go with tankless water heater. It can be used on electric or propane. Ours is on propane. There's a bunch more items on new home builds but that is a different topic.

We have propane for stove, fireplaces and water heater, plus the outside firepit. The inside fireplaces are gas fire logs because of a weird draft in the house that doesn't vent a wood burning fire well. The outside firepit has a valve and a pipe with holes in it to be used to start the fire. Gets things going quickly. If I had really thought about it when building, I would have done a home generator off the propane too. Now, when power goes out, I drag the generator to the electric panel and plug it in to get electricity.
We just built a pool and the heater is propane. I've heard that if we use the heater, it will go through a good amount of propane.
Our A/C with a heat pump is electric.
We get ours filled a few times a year, but it's not because it goes empty. We are on the "keep full" program with our propane provider. It is better that it gets spread out throughout the year so I don't get one large bill.

We went with (2) 50 gallon propane tank style water heaters and a circulating loop. It was cheaper than a tankless plus a tank. Our house is 135’ end to end and the master bath is on the opposite end of the water heaters.

We did install a 22KW propane generator and separate panel for the “emergency” circuits.

We can run all lights in the house, 1 HVAC unit, all refrigerators/freezers, several outlets, water heater circulating pump, blower for the wood stove, microwave, lights in our shop, water well, septic system, and a lot of other stuff.

I have a 30 circuit panelboard for the generator and there’s only a couple of spare circuits.


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[Mike D]

Propane or Electric Central Heat?

As mentioned earlier, the Dual Fuel units are the best compromise in your situation. Heat pump will run until the outside temp is 40f, then the aux propane heat turns on. My dad put 2 of these in his house and cut his propane usage in half. Propane is $$$$$

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Our heat strips have never kicked on in our house, even when the temps were in the 20° range (at least as far as I can tell).

The foam insulation makes a huge difference.

Just make sure your HVAC guy knows how calculate and properly install a system in a foam house.


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[mrc]

If you are putting in gas run an extra line into the living room, buy an infrared propane heater, they can be had for about $300. You would be surprised how much it will heat, and how little propane they use. Also if the electricity goes out you still have heat.