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Comparing Heating Costs With Various Fuels

The chart below shows how much it costs to heat an average home using the various fuels listed, as of March, 2015. Fuel pricing is derived from the US Energy Administration Administration.

The EFFICIENCY column shows the listed overall heat extraction efficiency of the appliance used. For this chart, we wanted representative comparisons for modern-day appliances, so we used the manufacturer's listed efficiency rating for the Pacific Super Series woodstoves, the Seraph Genesis pellet stove (annual cost adjusted to include $100.00 annual electricity consumption), the Hearthstone Stowe natural gas and LP stoves, and the Efel Harmony II oil stove.

The PRICE / MBTU column shows the cost of one Million British Thermal Units of each fuel.

The ANNUAL COST column shows the fuel expense to heat the average US household for one year (44 MBTU).

Because BTU content varies among species of fuel wood, the chart uses an average of the 28 recommended species from our firewood comparison table.

TYPE OF FUEL USED	AVG PRICE 2015	APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY	PRICE/ MBTU	ANNUAL COST
ELECTRICITY	12.67¢ / KWH	99%	$37.30	$1641.20
LP (PROPANE)	$1.98 / GAL	80%	$26.07	$1,147.15
WOOD PELLETS	$260 / TON	78%	$19.77	$1062.75
FUEL OIL	$2.24 / GAL	80%	$20.59	$905.88
NATURAL GAS	$0.93 / THERM	83%	$11.20	$493.01
CORDWOOD	$175 / CORD	83%	$10.01	$440.50

Note that the above chart compares NEW, high efficiency appliances. Efficiency ratings have improved dramatically in almost all appliance categories in recent years: for example, if you're currently heating with a 20-year-old woodstove, you could save up to 40% on your fuel bill by replacing it with a new, high efficiency model.