Electric Heat vs Gas Heat: Which is Cheaper? (2023 edition)

[waffleironhead]

I dunno how fast a wood burning stove burns through wood, but I've got half of the back of a 3 car garage seasoning some poplars that died on my property. Maybe 7 of them? and they each took maybe an hour to fell, cut, and transport. I could see just meandering through the forest next to my property and ripping apart fallen trees with my electric chainsaw. Could easily clear a few truckloads without blinking.

I heat a 2700 sq ft space with about 3 tons of wood pellets every season (upstate ny) so i'd wager if someone was in a 1500 sq ft place, 2 tons or so of hardwood in a wood burner would likely do it unless the BTU's are much worse. Doesn't take much tree to clear that.

Biomass is one of the better heating methods as long as old growth isn't touched. Or if it is it's done very selectively and sustainably... most forests will repopulate gaps exceedingly quickly. Bonus points if you know how to target dead/dying trees, ones with girdled roots, rotting branch sockets, supported by dead trees, etc. Hell you can even collar them in-place and let them season themselves where they stand for a year or two.

I was just going off my own experience. I heat with wood, and a wood burner is nowhere as efficient as a pellet stove. I use about 8-10 cords of wood each winter. Thats loggers cords. which comes out to about 20 pickup loads. I get it hauled in on a pulp truck and then cut and split it myself($100/cord). I just cant imagine the time and effort it would take to find people willing to let me scour their land to come up with that kind of wood supply each and every year. Thats why I asked if it was some sort of free for all, as yeah, there are forests around me and yeah there are dead and dying trees, but its all private land or state forest and that wood is definitely not free for the taking. Hell ive had people try coming onto my land to grab a downed tree. Thats trespass and theft.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah if you're going to take trees make sure you're on crown land first. At least here in Ontario there is a map online so just check the general area you plan to go to and mark off areas that are off limits in qgis or other gps app on your phone.

I'm in process of getting a harvest permit as well since I don't actually have pine tree rights on my own property, which is common thing here. So I'm hoping this permit will let me harvest a larger area in the same area as my property then I'll be set as far as lumber goes too when I get my mill setup. I think this permit allows me to even do it commercially. If I get to that point I want to also get setup so I can replant 2x what I cut. That may also be a requirement in the permit, I'll find out more once I hear back from the MNR.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Yeah if you're going to take trees make sure you're on crown land first. At least here in Ontario there is a map online so just check the general area you plan to go to and mark off areas that are off limits in qgis or other gps app on your phone.

I'm in process of getting a harvest permit as well since I don't actually have pine tree rights on my own property, which is common thing here. So I'm hoping this permit will let me harvest a larger area in the same area as my property then I'll be set as far as lumber goes too when I get my mill setup. I think this permit allows me to even do it commercially. If I get to that point I want to also get setup so I can replant 2x what I cut. That may also be a requirement in the permit, I'll find out more once I hear back from the MNR.

Oh Canada….

 

[Shiendon]

I switched to electric a few years ago because my area has cheap rates at night with TOU pricing, and I paired it with a heat pump—so far, it's been cheaper year-round.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Brought my gas bill down to below $100/mo since I started using the wood stove. I still use the gas furnace mostly in the morning as it's faster to heat up the house which makes it easier to get up and shower, but if I am staying home and not going to work I then start a fire and it maintains the temp for rest of day.

Sometimes use a space heater too for a bit in the office if I find the temp is still dropping. I try to avoid using the gas furnace as much as I can just to try to keep the bill down. Still need to work on extracting the wood stove heat better though as right now it mostly just stays in the basement and I need it at the other end of house. I have 6" ducting going from wood stove to living room but I will want to build an air jacket around the wood stove to exact the heat better.

 

[BoomerD]

No gas available here...except propane, which is pretty spendy. Our house has Cadet electric wall heaters.220/240v, 2000 watts. Let's see...2 in the living room, one 1600 watt unit in my office, one 1600 watt unit in the laundry room, one 1600 watt unit in each of the 3 bedrooms, one in the "spare" bathroom. (master bath has a combo fart fan, light, heater)
When we first moved in here, those were our sole heat sources. Our light bill ran $300-$350/month...and they just didn't do a great job of heating the downstairs. (they'll drive you out of the bedrooms if you don't pay attention to the thermostat setting)
4 years ago, we installed a smallish Harman P43 pellet stove in the living room. That does a GREAT job of keeping the downstairs toasty warm...and the heat that makes it up the stairway does a decent job in the bedrooms...except when it's hella cold outside.
Our electric bill (all electric house...water heater, cooking, heating) runs around $125-$150 year round since I installed the pellet stove.
I buy pellets by the ton. A pallet of fifty 40 lb bags runs about $250...I get 3 pallets every year when the local lumber yard has a sale. Saves about $1/bag. They have a "pellet bank" where you pay for your pellets, then pick up as many as you want as you need them. I usually get 20-25 at a time. Most of the time, I get 1.5 to 2 days out of a bag of pellets, but when it's REALLY cold, I might go through 2-3 bags in a day. (fortunately, that only lasts 2-3 days, once or twice a winter) I usually have at least 1/2 pallet of pellets left at the end of the heating season...and carry those over to the next year.
Am I saving money? Maybe a bit most months, but the comfort level in the house has greatly improved.

 

[soulcougher73]

No gas available here...except propane, which is pretty spendy. Our house has Cadet electric wall heaters.220/240v, 2000 watts. Let's see...2 in the living room, one 1600 watt unit in my office, one 1600 watt unit in the laundry room, one 1600 watt unit in each of the 3 bedrooms, one in the "spare" bathroom. (master bath has a combo fart fan, light, heater)
When we first moved in here, those were our sole heat sources. Our light bill ran $300-$350/month...and they just didn't do a great job of heating the downstairs. (they'll drive you out of the bedrooms if you don't pay attention to the thermostat setting)
4 years ago, we installed a smallish Harman P43 pellet stove in the living room. That does a GREAT job of keeping the downstairs toasty warm...and the heat that makes it up the stairway does a decent job in the bedrooms...except when it's hella cold outside.
Our electric bill (all electric house...water heater, cooking, heating) runs around $125-$150 year round since I installed the pellet stove.
I buy pellets by the ton. A pallet of fifty 40 lb bags runs about $250...I get 3 pallets every year when the local lumber yard has a sale. Saves about $1/bag. They have a "pellet bank" where you pay for your pellets, then pick up as many as you want as you need them. I usually get 20-25 at a time. Most of the time, I get 1.5 to 2 days out of a bag of pellets, but when it's REALLY cold, I might go through 2-3 bags in a day. (fortunately, that only lasts 2-3 days, once or twice a winter) I usually have at least 1/2 pallet of pellets left at the end of the heating season...and carry those over to the next year.
Am I saving money? Maybe a bit most months, but the comfort level in the house has greatly improved.

If you have lots of pine cones around. You can try those