Many people in New England have long-term memories of electric heat being expensive thanks to our prices and, if you suffered through ’80s-era heat pumps, ineffective.
So it’s no surprise to read from Axios that Northern New England has the lowest rate of home heat provided by electricity in the country. You can see it in the map, shown above.
The gist of the article, based on a working research paper, is that the U.S. gets a lot more heat from electricity than many people realize, which makes “electrify everything” – one of the key tenets in reducing America’s CO2 production – more plausible.
For New England, switching people from gas heat to heat pumps (which work much better now than they did when I was shivering in a Merrimack townhouse three decades ago) would be a relatively easy way to reduce fears of polar vortex electricity shortages, which are caused because so much of our power is generated by gas-fired plants. Diverting less gas for heat means more for power.
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How does the cost and impact of electric heat pump compare to fuel oil?
Depends on your house, age of your furnace, etc etc, but Massachusetts thinks air source heat pump is likely to be (a little) more expensive:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/household-heating-costs
able 1: Cost of Heating the Average Massachusetts Household by Fuel Type
Space Heating Fuel – Estimated Cost
Natural Gas – $1,088
Modern Wood Heating – $1,223
Heating Oil – $1,319
Air Source Heat Pump – $1,403
Propane – $2,525
Electric Resistance Heat – $4,491
You really might want to double check your source. New heat pumps capable of heating down to subzero temperatures are much more efficient than the figure you quote.
The ACTUAL numbers from your source:
Heating Oil $3.27/gallon 717 gallons $2,343
Propane $4.18/gallon 765 gallons $3,192
Natural Gas $1.87/therm 664 therms $1,243
Electric $0.26/kWh 3644 kWh $939
Interesting energy cost comparison. Now that we have reached geezerhood I’m thinking seriously about other forms of heat then our wood stove. Getting old was not something we thought about 40 years ago when my wife and I built our house.
I’m surprised propane is so much more expensive than heating oil. I realize $ per BTU is higher but I assumed the increase in efficiency would mostly offset that.
Since we have an open floor plan I’m considering a minisplit heat pump, but that is going to need some form of auxiliary heat for really cold days. Propane is nice because it can be a sealed system.
Last year I invested $10,000 in two heat pumps to take over most of the load of my oil burner. Last year my oil decreased by 550 gallons, and my electric bill went up by $400, for a return of 800 dollars in savings, or a 8.5% return. Plus I saved several tons of carbon. Plus I have free A/C installed for the first time.
And no, I did not get the rebate.
I also went to a heat pump system (1 compressor unit connected to 5 interior “head” units). It displaces quite a lot of oil heating, but I also installed solar panels to offset that and the hot water, which may be a win in 5 years or so (if we get enough sunny days). It also solved my air conditioning problem, as my window and old “through the wall” A/C units were very inefficient compared to these newest heat pumps. Also adds value to the house, having easy climate control for all seasons. Plus, there are sometimes rebates and other incentives.