Historically, appliances in the home have relied on natural gas as their main energy source. However, as the costs of natural gas continue to rise, residents of California are seeking other options for those gas appliances, including their heating and cooling systems. This also includes water heaters, which also have traditionally relied on natural gas to carry out their functions.
Solar panels for the home, high-efficiency heat pumps, and tankless water heaters are becoming more affordable and attainable for homeowners, but many are still slow to make “the switch.” This is often because, for decades, it was a known fact that natural gas was cheaper than electricity. Now, however, that isn’t the case, but people are creatures of habit, and we tend to stick with what we know.
“What we know” is costing us hundreds or even thousands of dollars in energy costs each year.
The Case for Electricity for Your Home’s Energy
Energy companies today charge their customers by the therm; one therm is 100,000 BTUs of natural gas. If you have a gas furnace and/or water heater, look at your annual energy company bill. You’ll likely see that your natural gas usage goes up during the winter months and falls again during the spring.
To compare natural gas heat with heating from a heat pump, take the amount of the winter increase and divide it by the BTU usage of your furnace. This will tell you how many hours of heating were used during the winter.
For example, if your gas bill increased by 50 therms during the winter and your furnace is an 80,000 BTU system, you would find that the system ran for a total cost of $160.62, or 62.5 hours. The average cost per therm for natural gas is about $2.57.
Now, let’s take the costs of a heat pump system that runs on electricity. The average heat pump system in the Bay Area uses about 4KW of electricity per hour to do its job, and the average cost of one KW of electricity is $0.32. If you ran a heat pump for the same 62.5 hours that you ran a conventional natural gas furnace, your cost would be $80, compared to the $160.62 for the furnace!
Contact A-1 Guaranteed Heating & Air, Inc Today
The evidence speaks for itself; not only is electricity the cheaper way to heat your home, but it’s also the way to go for your water heater and your other home appliances.
A-1 Guaranteed can help you calculate the energy usage numbers for your home through an energy audit, and we can also help you choose the best heat pump system and tankless water heater for your home. Not only could you potentially save hundreds or thousands of dollars each year on your energy bills, but you could also be doing the Earth a great service by using clean electricity.
A Note about Going Solar
We’re also the experts to turn to for solar energy systems, too. Don’t stop at electricity; maximize your savings and have A-1 Guaranteed experts install a solar panel system for your home. Not only can you save hundreds or thousands more with solar panels, but some people even get paid by the electric company for putting energy into the grid!
Whether you’re interested in learning more about the advantages of a heat pump that runs on electricity to replace your natural gas furnace, you’d like to investigate a solar panel system for your home, or if you need anything else related to Electrification in the Bay Area, reach out to us at A-1 Guaranteed Heating & Air, Inc. today!
