Calculator
Fuel Cost Comparison Calculator
To use this form simply enter the costs of the various fuels for your region. The form is pre-filled with typical
values for the Northeast United States.
**Average 50 million BTU’s per heating Season - about 3 tons of pellets
Assumptions:
| Fuel | Heating Value | Efficiency |
| Wood Pellets | 16.4 million BTU/Ton | 83% |
| Firewood | 20 million BTU/Cord | 77% |
| Coal - Anthracite | 25 million BTU/Ton | 80% |
| Fuel Oil #2 | 134,500 BTU/Gal | 83% |
| Natural Gas | 1.03 million BTU’s perMCF | 80% |
| Propane | 91,200 BTUs Per Gallon | 80% |
| Electricity | 3413 BTU/Kwh | 100% |
Natural Gas: 1 CCF = 103,000 BTUs
Natural gas: 1 MCF = 10 CCF = 1000 cubic ft
Natural gas: 1 therm= 100,000 BTU
Sources:
Chimney Sweep Online
USDA Forest Service
Energy Information Administration Gas prices
Wikipedia - Anthracite
3 Comments »
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Dave said,
November 1, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
The calculator above doesnt work right for natural gas or propane.
It drops the number you enter.
Timothy Ross said,
April 16, 2008 @ 10:50 pm
I looking for the best buy on Pennington pellets i have burnt them they are awsome and very few ashes. Is there a deal a person can get on them on the off season when you buy like 10 to 12 tons or not. Iam hoping so would like to stock up for winter.
This winter will be cold at my place. - Page 2 - TractorByNet.com said,
August 9, 2008 @ 4:53 pm
[...] Originally Posted by sarti I live in central Illinois and my lock in price for propane is $2.40 a gallon Do you think you can save alot with pellets or corn stove. I hate cutting wood.. I would have to install a stove,,,whats the pros and cons of corn or pellets I installed a pellet stove about 4 years ago (3 winters). I have a propane central furnace (81% efficient) and a 2900 sq ft 2-story house. I have found pellets to be about 45% of the cost of propane on a BTU to BTU basis. I haven’t had a propane fill in those 4 years, I was getting them monthly in the winter before that. Stove is in the living room which is open to both floors. Downside to pellets or corn is: 1) work, you have to store the stuff, haul the stuff in to the house, fill the hopper regularly etc etc. 2) initial cost, I bought top of the line that can burn corn or pellets and spent $4,500 on my stove. 3) circulation, The first floor corner rooms are colder and we run fans all winter to move warm air into them. Big pro to pellets or corn is the stove can run on a thermostat just like propane. Some people have mentioned that the newer ones can even regulate, when the room is warm they just turn way down and when lots of heat is called for they fire up to full. Mine is on/off from the thermostat and the level, low/med/high, is controlled by a switch in the stove. Pellets and propane have gone up every year, so far the difference is still about 45% even though total costs have gone up. My stove will be done paying for itself this halfway into this next winter. Being in the central states both corn and propane are cheaper where you are at. There are fuel calculators out there that can help you determine which is the cheapest heating source… at least for the fuel, installing a system could be quite expensive. One of the calculators: compare wood pellets natural gas propane and electricity [...]