Electric versus Gas: What is your real heating cost?

Building envelop technologies are getting better and better.  Triple pane glass, high insulation values, vapour barrier, rain screens, thermal bridging are all contributing to smaller and smaller heat losses in today’s buildings. 

Heat generated from lights, people, computers, cooking, showering, etc. are all reducing the amount of heat required in current buildings.  So much so, that cooling is more of an issue than heating when it comes to thermal comfort.

What does this mean for your heating costs?  Heating equipment is getting more efficient.  Boilers and furnaces are getting smaller and being designed with low energy consumption.  As a result, the gas consumption that goes towards heating is being reduced and therefore the utility bills are less.

So..…why install a gas heating plant?  Why not use Electric Heat?  It’s easy to install, much less capital investment and the maintenance is minimal.

Using a 150 unit condominium as an example:

It is evident that using electric heat will increase your utility bills, but the total cost of operating an electric heating system is substantially less.  AND…there is no big capital expense for installation.  Utility rates vary from region to region and with government intervention you can never really predict what utility rates will be.  Even if the operating costs are the same, there still may be some consideration for Electric Heating.

Other factors that to take into account

• Big mechanical rooms are not required.
• Running chimneys and combustion air ductwork through a building is not required.
• Large mechanical penthouses affect the structural systems – this is not an issue
• Condo fees may be reduced due to smaller gas bills
• Condo fees may be reduced due to smaller reserve fund issues
• New Carbon taxes will affect utility rates.  No one can predict this
• “Green” Electricity will decrease the carbon footprint

Please contact our offices for you would like to discuss this further.