On Wed, 21 Aug 2019 15:19:22 -0500, Arthur Conan Doyle
wrote:

wrote:

There are a number of calculators on the web. Here's just one:
https://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/gas.html

I agree natural gas piped in is usually cheaper than electricity but
that is certainly not true of propane here. Propane is expensive
($2.50 to over $4 a gallon and fairly volatile pricing). Electric has
been pretty steady at ~11 cents a KWH bottom line.
Electricity is also virtually 100% efficient instead of sending a lot
of heat up the flue.

I agree electricity is 100% efficient. A good water heater/furnane is 92%, so
you have to factor that 8% difference, but even that doesn't make electricity a
better deal.

Let's run your numbers:

1 Gallon of Propane is 1.1 Therms. If you are paying $2.50/gallon, 1 therm of
propane is $2.27. 1 Therm equals 29kwh. At 0.11/kwh, that's $3.19.

Not really fair to compare spot/peak pricing for propane as you wouldn't pay
that for the entire year.

When I was buying ~3000 gallons of propane a year, the contract price ranged
from $1.80 to 2.75/gallon depending on when I scheduled fills. I will admit that
propane prices are extremely regional. OTOH they tend to track alternative fuels
like natural gas and fuel oil, so they don't spike as much as they have in the
past.

That $2.50 was a "sale" that happens in the spring around here. It is
usually higher. Looking at a price citation on
https://fuelwonk.com/vendor/eia-flor...ne/36808/32801

It says $4.69. That makes your therms $4.26

I'd also check your electricity numbers. They have been trending upwards to
cover the cost of alternative fuels, and many PUCs force a tiered rate where
once you get above average lighting load, the cost per kwh goes up quite a bit.

Last month 11.24 cents per KWH. (Total Bill/KWH)