Heat Pumps and Electric Heating - Cost for electric heating
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Pizzazz
12-01-05, 05:48 AM
I have a question about electric heating. My home has a forced air system with electric heat. Would the cost of heating my home remain the same if I use separate portable electric heaters instead of the forced air system? If not, does anyone know why?
DNT1
12-01-05, 02:27 PM
No expert here just my personal thoughts. Electric heat coils are claimed to be near 100% efficient so I think the the differences would be in the way the heat is distributed, obviously a portable heater will concentrate its heat in a small area overheating a small area to get the heat to the areas away from it, where the central unit easily distributes the heat per its design, although the central unit also looses some btus in the ductwork. I would think it should be close to a wash unless you are isolating part of the house that would normally be heated by the central unit and using the portable heaters for small areas then the portables might win out. I would quess that maximum comfort would probably be better acheived with a central unit, the key being to move the btus to the needed areas without wasting energy superheating a small area. Energy is expensive and electric is one of the more expensive means of heating your home in most parts of the country, have you looked into a heat pump or maybe natural or LP gas as alternative to electric resistance coils?
shank
12-01-05, 02:35 PM
DNT is right.
Electric heat is electric heat regaurdless of source.
If you are heating the whole house it is a wash.
If you are only wanting to heat a couple rooms then use the portables.
As for the cost of heating comment
1KW=3,412 BTUs
you can see what you electric costs, and the price of gas, and how many btus per unit you get to figure out which is cheaper. and don't forget to figure in the the effiency of the unit, i.e. a 90% 100,000 btu furnace only puts 90,000 into the house. Electric furnaces are 100% effiencent.
Electric heat is electric heat regaurdless of source.
If you are heating the whole house it is a wash.
If you are only wanting to heat a couple rooms then use the portables.
As for the cost of heating comment
1KW=3,412 BTUs
you can see what you electric costs, and the price of gas, and how many btus per unit you get to figure out which is cheaper. and don't forget to figure in the the effiency of the unit, i.e. a 90% 100,000 btu furnace only puts 90,000 into the house. Electric furnaces are 100% effiencent.