Energy bills getting out of hand.

tex78

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No natural gas here, 100% electricity for heat, hot water, well pump, shop, cooking, etc.
This winter it is about $280-$340 for electric bill. Come summer my electric bill will probably be back down to its usual summer cost of about $70-$90 per month depending on how cold or hot it is.
same here with heat pump costs around 2k for the year house and with shop at 5 C , no carbon tax but two tiered billing that may be eliminated
They where supposed to do it for the areas with no natural gas years ago, cause we have no choice but power

I feel sorry for people with electric furnaces, they can't be very efficient
 

cattechsummitrider

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Sorry to correct you but electric furnaces are the most efficient there is no wasted heat 100% of there "fuel" goes into heat ( no chimney ) They are just expensive to run

They where supposed to do it for the areas with no natural gas years ago, cause we have no choice but power

I feel sorry for people with electric furnaces, they can't be very efficient
 

tejay

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By efficiency I meant money wise
We do have a backup electric furnace that kicks in when the heat pump can’t do the job from about -11 to - 12 C . Which does occur at times in Revelstoke but we are very happy with the heat pump . Formerly oil and wood heat but this heat pump has paid for itself several years ago and still on warranty for another three years. The additional bonus is AC in the summer. Revelstoke only has propane here , no gas available ( so far) There is talk of it being subsidized though to equalize with the rest of the province but I’m not holding my breath.
 

Bikeswithtrax

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They where supposed to do it for the areas with no natural gas years ago, cause we have no choice but power

I feel sorry for people with electric furnaces, they can't be very efficient

Actually an electric furnace is 100% efficient.
No exhaust stack, just heat.
My AC and partial heat is from heat pump, as soon as we get to -8C outside it turns off and I am completely on electric furnace.
I really don't find it bad.
Lower maintenance than a gas furnace as well.
No plumbing, no extra bill for natural gas, I am very happy being on electric only. Next house I build will also be electric only, even if there is gas in the area.
 

tex78

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Actually an electric furnace is 100% efficient.
No exhaust stack, just heat.
My AC and partial heat is from heat pump, as soon as we get to -8C outside it turns off and I am completely on electric furnace.
I really don't find it bad.
Lower maintenance than a gas furnace as well.
No plumbing, no extra bill for natural gas, I am very happy being on electric only. Next house I build will also be electric only, even if there is gas in the area.
Air is dry as fawk tho, even in the humid shuswap area
 

X-it

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No natural gas here, 100% electricity for heat, hot water, well pump, shop, cooking, etc.
This winter it is about $280-$340 for electric bill. Come summer my electric bill will probably be back down to its usual summer cost of about $70-$90 per month depending on how cold or hot it is.

I take it you converted that winter bill to a 1 month cycle?
 

Bikeswithtrax

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read the article.... heat pumps are 300-400% efficient.....must be the new progressive math that ignores physics....

They use the pump to extract heat from the atmosphere and push it into the house.
Compared to normal electric heat they are 3 to 4 times more efficient per dollar spent on electricity is what they meant....agreed it is poorly worded.
 

ABMax24

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read the article.... heat pumps are 300-400% efficient.....must be the new progressive math that ignores physics....

No that's right, 1 kwh of electricity will produce the equivalent of 3-4kwh of heat for the home. That's why they are called a heat pump, they move heat rather than just generate it from energy, the heat actually comes from the outside coil, whether that be an air heated coil or ground source.

Heat pumps aren't new technology, they are just an AC unit in reverse.
 

ABMax24

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Only work down to about -10c as well i was told when I looked at one.

This is true for air source heat pumps. If a ground source pump is used the ground normally stays at 4c 4+ feet down, making them very efficient for both heat in the winter and AC in the summer.

The real kicker is electricity prices, it's still cheaper in Alberta to heat with natural gas compared to a heat pump run by electricity even though a heat pump is 400% efficient. When I bought all our natural gas appliances 3 years ago natural gas was 1/5 the cost of electricity for the same unit of heat after all energy and delivery charges were calculated.
 

gunner3006

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This is true for air source heat pumps. If a ground source pump is used the ground normally stays at 4c 4+ feet down, making them very efficient for both heat in the winter and AC in the summer.

The real kicker is electricity prices, it's still cheaper in Alberta to heat with natural gas compared to a heat pump run by electricity even though a heat pump is 400% efficient. When I bought all our natural gas appliances 3 years ago natural gas was 1/5 the cost of electricity for the same unit of heat after all energy and delivery charges were calculated.

This is correct. Serviced and installed many heat pumps over the last 15 years. If you do not like the price of running a Ac in the summer you will definitely not like running one in the winter. 208/230 volt single phase. 15 amps and up depending on what tonnage you run.
 
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