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The difference is that most people heat their homes with gas or oil, which is significantly cheaper than electric heaters (heat pump or otherwise) and for some

The difference is that most people heat their homes with gas or oil, which is significantly cheaper than electric heaters (heat pump or otherwise) and for some reason isn't considered as energy the same way electricity is. Air conditioners/heat pumps can only use electricity, and they use quite a lot of it.

deleted 5y ago
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rootusrootus 5y ago
> isn't considered as energy the same way electricity is That is a good point, I think you're exactly right. I just tried to figure out how many kWh is equivalent to a therm of natural gas, and the answer of course is 'it depends.' In round numbers it seems like 1 therm is about 30 kWh. Using myself as an example, during a cold month I might use about 90 therms. In a hot month I may use 1900 kWh for cooling. Gas is significantly cheaper indeed, though it's noticeably more energy (and that's after converted to hypothetical electricity, not the energy content of the raw gas). What a PITA to compare that. And it's a pretty rough comparison, indeed, because gas is predominantly going for heat in the winter, but I have a gas stove and a gas water heater too. And I have an electric car, which pushes the kWh total up a bit. I'd have to do a much more detailed analysis if I actually wanted to compare the energy usage.
crazygringo 5y ago
Gas/oil is definitely cheaper than electric heaters, but I thought these days heat pumps were cheaper than gas/oil, at least until you got down to temperatures below ~10°F? Because heat pumps are now so efficient, all the new apartment construction I see in NYC uses them. (While older buildings use dirty oil to heat water for radiators.)
- stormbrew 5y ago
  Heat pumps definitely shouldn't be lumped in with resistive heating (which is what I think of when I think of "electric heaters"). They are definitely more energy efficient than either resistive or gas/oil, but whether they're cheaper depends on the relative cost of local electricity and gas delivery. Gas is still often cheaper than electicity, so it really depends on your goal: energy efficiency/carbon output vs. cost efficiency. My money is on "gas won't be cheaper for much longer, even where it is now" personally, though.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

rootusrootus 5y ago

> isn't considered as energy the same way electricity is That is a good point, I think you're exactly right. I just tried to figure out how many kWh is equivalent to a therm of natural gas, and the answer of course is 'it depends.' In round numbers it seems like 1 therm is about 30 kWh. Using myself as an example, during a cold month I might use about 90 therms. In a hot month I may use 1900 kWh for cooling. Gas is significantly cheaper indeed, though it's noticeably more energy (and that's after converted to hypothetical electricity, not the energy content of the raw gas). What a PITA to compare that. And it's a pretty rough comparison, indeed, because gas is predominantly going for heat in the winter, but I have a gas stove and a gas water heater too. And I have an electric car, which pushes the kWh total up a bit. I'd have to do a much more detailed analysis if I actually wanted to compare the energy usage.

crazygringo 5y ago

Gas/oil is definitely cheaper than electric heaters, but I thought these days heat pumps were cheaper than gas/oil, at least until you got down to temperatures below ~10°F? Because heat pumps are now so efficient, all the new apartment construction I see in NYC uses them. (While older buildings use dirty oil to heat water for radiators.)

stormbrew 5y ago
Heat pumps definitely shouldn't be lumped in with resistive heating (which is what I think of when I think of "electric heaters"). They are definitely more energy efficient than either resistive or gas/oil, but whether they're cheaper depends on the relative cost of local electricity and gas delivery. Gas is still often cheaper than electicity, so it really depends on your goal: energy efficiency/carbon output vs. cost efficiency. My money is on "gas won't be cheaper for much longer, even where it is now" personally, though.