Online Energy Selector Tool

Have you ever wondered how to compare the price of different heating fuels? How does the price of propane (per gallon) compare to the price of wood (per cord)? The calculations can be a bit tricky, but you can simplify the process by using this electronic tool to calculate equivalent costs for various heating fuels.  Simply review the instructions on the "welcome" tab (instructions also given below), then carry out your actual calculations on the "Energy Selector" tab.

The Online Energy Selector is an online decision support tool designed by Penn State's "Renewable and Alternative Energy" extension team. It allows the user to make an "apples-to apples" comparison of various heating fuels, that can be used to heat our homes and businesses, based on cost per BTU. Users can make comparisons between eight different fuel types, including traditional fossil fuels, as well as renewable biomass fuels. The eight different heating fuels compared using this tool are: Heating oil, Propane, Natural Gas, Electricity, Coal, Corn, Wood Pellets, and Firewood. This tool is for you if you ever wondered how does the price of propane (per gallon) compare to the price of wood (per cord)?

How to use this tool?

You can download the "Energy Selector 1.0: Online Energy Selector" from the Penn State Extension website.  After you download the spreadsheet, two easy steps will allow you to compare the equivalent costs of these eight fuels for the same BTU value. The following example is given to illustrate. 

Step #1

The tool provides an option of eight heating fuels to select a heating fuel type that you would like to compare the equivalent cost. In this case, heating oil (highlighted in red box) is selected from fuels in drop down list as a fuel type that we want to compare.

Step #2

The second step is to input the estimated price of selected fuel in the purple box. In this case, the price of heating oil cost $3.00 per gallon is entered (highlighted in red).

Output

After you've completed Step #1 and Step #2, you can compare the equivalent costs for other types of fuel. The prices in output section (highlighted in red) are proportionate to the price of heating oil.

In this case, when you entered a heating oil cost of $3.00 per gallon, the output window of the online tool tells that the equivalent cost for cordwood is $390 per cord. This means, if you can purchase cordwood for less than $390 per cord, you'd be saving money by using cordwood instead of heating oil. Similarly, you can estimate the equivalent cost of other types of fuels compared to entered price of heating oil.

What you learned?

You can input the price you are currently paying for your heating fuel, and quickly find out the equivalent cost for several other heating fuel options. This allows you to see whether switching to a different fuel could save you money or not.

Assumptions

Assumptions for this electronic tool are similar to those used in the paper version of the "Energy Selector", developed by Dennis Buffington from Penn State Extension.  Assumed energy values and heating equipment efficiency values are listed in the following table.

Acknowledgement of Risk

This tool is provided for general informational purposes only.

Prepared by: Azadwinder Chahal