Quote:
Originally Posted by masterwhite
yes, but all that and much more can be done with natural gas fired units which will be cheaper and more efficient.
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If efficiency is defined as energy out as a percentage of energy input (it usually is), the worst electric heater is a few percent more efficient than the best gas furnace.
All electric resistance heaters have an efficiency of exactly 100% - all electricity consumed is converted to heat. With gas, some of the heat is inevitably removed with the exhaust gases and there are losses due to incomplete combustion.
Heat pumps put out more heat than they consume in electricity by extracting it from the outside air or the ground. This results in an efficiency over 100% which is called the coefficient of performance. For example a COP of 3 would mean it uses 1/3 as much energy as resistance heat, or 300% efficient.
Electric heat is expensive because hydro is expensive. But as technology improves and devices use less electricity, the price gap is getting smaller. Heat pumps are way cheaper to operate than oil and propane and with the way natural gas prices are heading, it won't be long.