Electric usage in the pellet stove era...

[K Frame]

Now that we're into full time heating mode, I decided to check my electrical usage for the first 22 days of this billing period.

In years past, with an all electric house, including my heat pump, I'd use roughly 1,000 KwHr for the December billing period, or around 30 KwHr a day.

So far in this billing period I've used 383 KwHr, or a little over 17 KwHr a day.

And I'm warm....

[MikeB]

Pellets stove heat real well, and no criticism, but I think you are missing part of the equation. How much did the electricity cost vs the pellets? I had a pellet stove at a previous house and wish I had one at my current house. I don’t recall the difference I paid in total being that much. I did however prefer the heat of the pellet stove and it was a lot easier to run off a generator.

[MechAg94]

My December bill just came in at 387 kWh.  It includes a little A/C and I got a used gas dryer so my old Maytag electric was retired.  I wasn't sure if that would make a noticeable dent in my bill, but I think it has.  My heat is natural gas.  Getting off electric appliances is nice if you have a good alternative. 

[Nick1911]

Pellets stove heat real well, and no criticism, but I think you are missing part of the equation. How much did the electricity cost vs the pellets? I had a pellet stove at a previous house and wish I had one at my current house. I don’t recall the difference I paid in total being that much. I did however prefer the heat of the pellet stove and it was a lot easier to run off a generator.

This.  At least in my area, pellets are about 20% more expensive per unit of energy compared to natural gas.

[charby]

This.  At least in my area, pellets are about 20% more expensive per unit of energy compared to natural gas.

Gotta love the cheap natural gas in the Midwest

[K Frame]

I don't know and I don't care.

Focus on the last sentence.

For the first time in 25 years, I'm truly warm and comfortable,  something I never felt with the heat pump..



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[K Frame]

And silly me! Why didn't I just turn on my natural gas tap....

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[Nick1911]

Well, I'm glad you're happy with your purchase and that it makes your home more comfortable. 

[K Frame]

When I really started crunching the numbers on price of pellets vs heat pump heat, I realized I wasn't going to save anything.

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[K Frame]

If I had natural gas service in this house I wouldn't have a  Pellet stove.

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[RocketMan]

When I really started crunching the numbers on price of pellets vs heat pump heat, I realized I wasn't going to save anything.

It sounds like the added cost of pellets is a worthwhile expense if you're more comfortable in the long run.  It's good that the changeover is working out for you.

[MechAg94]

I don't know and I don't care.

Focus on the last sentence.

For the first time in 25 years, I'm truly warm and comfortable,  something I never felt with the heat pump..



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That is what it comes down to. 

[brimic]

Gotta love the cheap natural gas in the Midwest

Propane too.
I did the math to figure out if I would be better off switching to NG from propane (taking into account BTUs and different units of measure) and found it would take a really long time to see any cost benefit to switching to NG. If I ever need a new furnace, I might make the switch then. Currently my garage and home is heated with propane.

[K Frame]

It sounds like the added cost of pellets is a worthwhile expense if you're more comfortable in the long run.  It's good that the changeover is working out for you.

That's exactly it.

The price difference between running the heat pump and feeding pellets to the stove isn't that great. If you factor in the price of the stove, the installation, what I paid for the materials to build the pad, etc., it would have made a lot more sense to stick with the heat pump if it were only a question of dollars. But I've said here many times over the years that while my heat pump heats my house, it doesn't deliver a warm, comforting heat. I was never truly comfortable in the house during the winter, and I often found myself running an electric heater or shivering under a blanket.

Completely different scenario with the pellet stove.

[Ben]

Now that I've been running both a heat pump and propane furnace for a while, I'm not even sure I would save that much on using the heat pump only. Like Mike, the heat pump heat often gives me a "not warm" feeling, and I end up bumping it up a couple of degrees, so it ends up running more. My thermostat has a daytime setting of 69. I can "feel warmer" at 67 when the propane kicks in than I often do with the heat pump at 69, and often find myself temporarily bumping the heat pump up to 71 or so, while I often bump the propane heat down.

[K Frame]

Jesus Wept it's cold out there today!

It's cold enough that I expect my heat pump will kick in. I have it set at 60 to maintain a base level of heat in the house. When I get home I'll kick the stove on and leave it run until bed time.

When I head out Saturday for the holiday I'll let the heat pump take over.

If we get a nasty cold streak in January or February I'll redo the programming on the stove so that it kicks on during the day when I'm at work for an hour or two to keep the heat up in the house so the heat pump doesn't kick on.

[K Frame]

Got the final read on December's electrical usage...

522 KwHr. Not bad at all!

Of course, I was gone for a week of that over Christmas, during which time I shut off the water heater, so that was a pretty significant reduction. Also no lights, dishwasher, dryer, stove, or computer.

I'm sure that the heat pump came on a bit while I was gone because the temperature when I got home was 60 deg., which is where I have the thermostat set. Don't care much about that, though.

[charby]

Propane too.
I did the math to figure out if I would be better off switching to NG from propane (taking into account BTUs and different units of measure) and found it would take a really long time to see any cost benefit to switching to NG. If I ever need a new furnace, I might make the switch then. Currently my garage and home is heated with propane.

Did you figure in the costs of getting the NG tap installed, lines run and changing out all the orifices in your appliances and heaters?

[K Frame]

Now that we're nearing the end of the heating season I thought I'd take a look at this again.

It's been a warm winter, one of the warmest I can remember, so I'm not using the stove particularly hard, and certainly not using a lot of pellets.

I bought 40 bags, thinking that the weather would get colder, but it never did, and as of right now I've only used 25 bags.

Those 25 bags cost me $130.

The reduction in electric usage so far has added up to about $110.

So, I'm paying a bit more to heat with the pellets, but the increase in comfort levels in my house simply can't be measured in dollars and cents.

[brimic]

Did you figure in the costs of getting the NG tap installed, lines run and changing out all the orifices in your appliances and heaters?

Yes, including the fact that the local utility will run the first xx feet of NG  gas line for free. (I called them and confirmed that).