Gas versus Electric operating cost

Price of Energy Cost-Comparisons

Gas versus Electric

Potential customers often wonder what the least expensive form of energy is in their area. Should I use electricity or is natural gas cheaper? We have no way of answering this question broadly. You will have to contact your local electric and gas utilities and ask what they charge. Electricity is charged in $ per kilowatt-hour and natural gas is charged in $ per therm or sometimes in $ per Mcf. Once you have this information, then you can make a comparison. Here are the conversion factors:

1 therm = 29.3 kilowatt-hrs

only 80% efficient. Taking this efficiency factor into effect, the following table provides the equivalent cost at which alternative fuels would need to be priced:

1 therm =0.097Mcf or 1 Mcf = 10.3 thermHowever, while electric heating is nearly 100% efficient, gas pool and spa heaters are typically TABLE

Example

Below 1.17 US$/therm. Break-even is however not good enough. At least a 25% savings is required, to justify the extra capital cost and extra maintenance costs of a gas heater system. Capital cost for a more elaborate gas heater with the additional digital spa pak can be $1000

Energy Usage

The amount of energy used by a 5ft 5in OD cedar hot tub, with an insulated floor, is in the order of 30 kW-hrs/day during a moderate winter season (similar to NYC or London). At 5 cents/kWhr this cost you .05 x24 x30 = $45/month, during this season. During the summer the energy usage is considerably less (~1/3) and during spring and fall it would be about 1/2. If you live in a warmer climate (such as LA) your usage will be much less in the winter and during the summer the pump energy can be enough to keep the tub at temperature. Of course, if you live in a more severe winter climate (Montreal) it will be more during winter, fall and spring. During the times you are in the tub; energy usage will be greater since the cover is off. Larger tubs will also require more energy to heat, roughly in proportion to the ratio of the surface area of the staves. If using LPG (propane) a good question is how many gallons I will use and how big should my tank be. 30 kW-hrs/day equates to 1.07 gal (US)/day of LPG. You should therefore expect to use 30 ? 40 Gal (US)/month during in a moderate winter (such as in NYC). We recommend at least a 500 pound size tank (called a pig in some areas). LPG has a density of approx 4.5 lbs/ Gal (US). A 500 lbs tank would therefore hold somewhat more 100 Gal (US) or a 3 - 4 winter-month supply.

For example if you are being charged 5 cents/kW-hr, natural gas would be cheaper if it is priced more.