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US residential heating sources, costs and efficienciesThe location, size, design, fuel source, level of insulation, and air-tightness of your home, together with your lifestyle directly impact your heating costs. Costs of residential heating energy sources Residential heating energy costs can exceed $1,000 each year and costs are rising. However, by being aware of your options you can make better informed choices and reduce residential energy costs by $100's every year. Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy publishes 'The Residential Energy Cost Survey' showing the average US costs for the following residential energy sources; natural gas, electricity, heating oil, and propane. The figures below are taken from forecast prices for 2009-2010.
Click for a larger image The table shows that on average throughout the USA residential heating systems that use electricity costs three times as much per unit of heat as systems that use natural gas and approximately twice as much as No 2 heating oil and propane. This is only part of the picture so read on. Residential Heating Energy Source relative efficiency comparisons Most US homes are heated by warm air heated by a furnace and most of these are fuelled by natural gas, heating oil, or propane. The heat produced is distributed through the home by an electric fan, via ducting. Residential Furnace and ducting efficiency Furnace and ducting efficiency vary but both are considerably less than 100%. Old Furnaces are far less efficient than new furnaces. Poorly maintained furnaces and leaky ducting reduce efficiency further. However other factors need to be considered when making heat source choices, these include: system efficiency, system flexibility, comfort levels, how easy the system is to control, whether the system can provide rapid local heat only when and where it is needed, and system maintenance costs. Some homes are heated or partially heated by natural gas fuelled fires located in living areas, the efficiency of these fires range from 40 to 100%. The efficiency of modern glass fronted fires is around 50%. Furnace and heat source efficiency The following table and chart, which is based on average costs throughout the US, compares average efficiencies of common home heating systems, it uses the average US cost for residential energy sources table above and a heating efficiency factor assumed to be 80% for new furnaces and ducting and 55% for old furnaces and ducting. Residential Heating Energy source efficiency comparison table
Click for a larger image Notes: Electrical heating is assumed to be 100% efficient. The Attic Heat Harvester System is a supplementary heating system that can only be used in properties having sunny sloped roofs. This table and chart are based on the average costs for all US States and shows that heating energy provided by modern furnaces that use natural gas costs 2.4 less than electrical heat. Interestingly heating provided by modern furnaces that use No 2 heating oil or propane cost about 1.3 times less than electrical heating, however if the furnace is old electrical heating is less expensive. Most US homes have the option of using electric or furnace generated heat. On average US electrically generated heat is about 2½ (the electric gas cost ratio) times more expensive that furnace generated heat. However in 2009 for Washington State the electric gas cost ratio was 1.6 and in Alaska 5! If the area you need to heat is less than the electric gas cost ratio use electric heat. Furnace generated heat is usually best for heating large areas. However electrically generated heat has three important and unique advantages: it can provide almost instant localized heat; it's efficiency remains constant; and maintenance costs are low. Old furnaces are considerably less efficient than new ones; the replacement cost can often be recouped in just a few years. Change your furnace filter at least once a month and get your furnace serviced regularly, un-serviced furnaces can become inefficient. Most US residential homes can chose between at least two methods of heating, the most common options being electricity versus natural gas, fuel oil, or propane. The figures above are based on US averages for all States. A closer analysis of the costs of electricity and natural gas throughout the United States shows wide cost variations between States and an even wider difference between the costs of electricity and natural gas in each State. The following charts are produced from 2009 figures for each US State, they show the cost per kWhr of electricity, natural gas and the electric gas cost ratio.
Click for a larger image US 2009 Residential Electricity and Natural Gas Costs by State N-W 
Click for a larger image you live in Washington State electrical heating energy only costs 1.7 times more than Natural Gas. If you live in California electrical heating energy costs 5 times more than natural gas. The actual cost of your heating energy will depend upon a number of factors including: where you live, what the energy source is, how much energy you use, who you buy your energy from, and the time of year. The cost of heating oil can vary quickly and sometimes very dramatically. Utility companies have been somewhat inventive in generating new headings to apportion charges on their invoices making it a little difficult to compare costs. The cost to you of your heating energy per unit of measure varies somewhat dependant on a number of factors including:
To find out how much you are effectively paying per unit divide the total cost by the units used. Your residential energy and water use and costs can be further dramatically reduced by following the suggestions on this website. 
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