Gas Vs Electric Heater Running Cost

• 

  pao2x on 30/06/2016 - 17:13

  +2

  You havent calculated how much heat/$

  13 MJ is roughly 3.611111111kw. Reverse cycle tends to be more efficient in bringing that heat in though than a gas fireplace or so.

• 

  hashtagbargain on 30/06/2016 - 17:17

  +1

  This is assuming the gas and electric heater produce the same amount of heat experienced.

• 

  OzBestDeal on 30/06/2016 - 17:23

  +1

  I think the heat generated between 13MJ gas vs 2kwh heater is comparable.

  According to pao2x conversion, comparable 3.6 kwh electric heater will cost $0.79 /hr.
  If that's true, gas will be 42.4% cheaper

• 

  mskeggs on 30/06/2016 - 18:20

  +4

  1kWh = 3.6Mj (no 'if that is true', or subjectivity, this is physics) in terms of energy content. If you run your 13Mj heater for one hour it will produce heat equivalent to 3.61kWh.
  So it is produces substantially more heat for approximately the same cost. You might try running the gas heater at half power, if that is an option, for lower bills and pretty similar heat.
  A couple of years ago, gas was substantially cheaper, and where I live we pay more for electricity, so the difference was more marked, but yes, gas is still cheaper than thermal electricity heating.
  But as you noted, RC A/C can have a coefficient of 5x, making it the cheapest to run.

• 

  Savas on 30/06/2016 - 19:29

  +2

  Wear a jumper instead

• 

  [Deactivated] on 30/06/2016 - 19:30

  Efficiency should be a factor in your calculations, Gas heaters are more efficient meaning that they produce more heat per $ making them cheaper in the end.

  • 

    OzBestDeal on 01/07/2016 - 14:57

    Care to elaborate more about "efficiency"?
    I thought as mskeggs mentioned above, 3.6Mj gas is producing heat comparable to 1kWh electric heater.
    I know RC AC is a different story as it uses different technique to produce heat.

    Sorry, I'm no physicist

    • 

      mskeggs on 01/07/2016 - 15:01

      +1

      The thermal electric heaters convert 100% of the electricity to heat, so very efficient. The gas heaters convert close to the same.
      You could argue that electricity is less efficient as the coal burned to produce the electricity would have only offered 40% efficiency.

      • 

        OzBestDeal on 01/07/2016 - 15:04

        ok.. so in terms of $ we pay vs heat generated, both gas and electricity have very similar efficiency?

      • 

        mskeggs on 01/07/2016 - 15:28

        +1

        @cimot:
        No, in terms of heat energy the efficiency is similar, but gas costs less per unit of heat.
        You did the calculation correctly above, electricity will cost 42% more for the same amount of heat energy.

      • 

        OzBestDeal on 01/07/2016 - 16:09

        @mskeggs: Thanks for the enlightment

• 

  cvas on 30/06/2016 - 19:55

  Thank goodness. Almost had me questioning the extra gas point I had installed for $150

  • 

    OzBestDeal on 01/07/2016 - 14:57

    I'm also questioning my investment in gas heater I bought last winter :)

• 

  stevednj48 on 30/06/2016 - 23:00

  we have a small 3 bedroom house
  last year our winter power bills were $300 Month we had a split system and a nobo
  this year we installed ducted heating we run it on 17 degrees from 7am-9am turn off then back on at 4pm-9pm on 20-21
  or gas bills are through the roof costs us $348 for the last month in gas since we had ducted installed
  usually our gas is around $60 for 2 months for our hot water.

  and our power is around $90 per month.

  • 

    OzBestDeal on 01/07/2016 - 15:10

    Wow that's a big jump in gas bill. How many MJ is your ducted heater?
    We always set our gas heater to 21, but the "room temperature" displayed on the heater never go above 20 though, even if we feel much warmer already.
    The heater sits on the floor and heat goes up, so I guess that's why it never picks the correct reading.

    • 

      stevednj48 on 02/07/2016 - 19:42

      The heater is a brivis starpro 421 21kw unit
      We are looking at getting a plumber in to go over it and check for leaks but there are no obvious gas smells around the house.

  • 

    Enzalicious on 01/07/2016 - 15:21

    Maybe get your heater checked out?

    my ducted gas heater is on 24/7 during winter.
    18 Degrees from 10pm at night, until 8am the next morning
    then up to 20 degrees during the day from 8am until 10pm. My wife will knock it up to 21 eventually.

    my gas bill last year was about $220 a month. That includes instant hotwater, and gas stove.

• 

  Hiroko on 01/07/2016 - 23:58

  unless you have an efficient solar panel system,
  gas heater will be cheaper and the warmth produced
  is much cosier.