In the current economic climate it’s understandable that many people might wonder whether there’s a cheaper way to heat their home.
According to our calculations, the cheapest way to heat your home is with an electric immersion heater, which will cost you around $181,00 over 20 years.
Below we’ll cover the five cheapest methods of heating your home. We will explain what they are and the calculations behind our choices.
We will explore the upfront costs of equipment and installation, running costs, and the total cost over 20 years.
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Five Cheapest Ways to Heat a Home: What to Keep in Mind
Please keep in mind that all the mathematics in this article is based on averages. Just as there is no such thing as the “average person”, there is no such thing as the “average home”. Detached homes, apartments, brick versus timber structures and so on, all require different levels of heat output.
The amount these methods might cost you will depend on various factors such as the size of your home, access to resources, your local climate and more.
You may have to do some of your own mathematics to find out which heating method is best for where you live. For example, if you live in a rural area where wood is free (or cheap and abundant), having a wood fired stove will be cheaper than it would be for a city dweller who needs to pay for wood on a regular basis.
Also, please keep in mind that all figures are accurate at the time of writing, but subject to change.
Regardless of the specifics the below should give you an approximate idea of costs alongside a few new ideas you might not have considered before.
Home Heating Options
1. Electric Heater: $2,304 per year
The cheapest way to heat your home is with an electric immersion heater.
An electric immersion heater generates heat, which travels throughout the home. They are probably the most environmentally friendly option as electricity can come from renewable resources.
The heater will cost approximately $1000 to purchase, and will cost about $2304 a year in added electricity bills.
Over 20 years, this adds up to approximately $181,00.
2. Oil Heaters: $1,900 per year
Oil-filled heaters use a heat-holding oil to heat either a large boiler or small radiators. Right now we’ll focus on an oil-filled boiler over radiators, as it’s the cheaper way to heat a home.
Oil-filled boilers work similarly to gas boilers, the only difference being they burn oil instead of gas. Both have similar environmental concerns but right now we’re only considering economic concerns.
An oil-filled boiler will cost an average of $5400 – although they vary between $3800 and $7500.
You will also need to pay about $1900 a year to refill your oil supply.
Over 20 years, this adds up to $28,200.
3. Wood Stoves: $1,500 per year
In the past decade wood burning stoves have witnessed a remarkable resurgence and become incredibly popular in all types of homes.
Besides the aesthetics and charm of a wood stove, there are many positive practicalities. In many rural communities stove use is more common, where wood is in high supply and can be obtained easily. What’s more, there is some carbon offsetting as some of the carbon dioxide released from burning the wood would have been previously absorbed by said wood.
One key disadvantage with wood burning stoves is the practical element of building and cleaning fires, as well as cleaning and maintaining the stove itself.
To buy a wood stove is usually between $1200 and $4500, so on average, about $2850.
The price of wood can vary a lot. Environment and location can have a big impact on wood/fuel costs. If you don’t have a free or cheap wood source nearby, you could be expected to pay up to $3000 per year to restock your wood supplies, especially in urban areas – about $1500 on average.
Over 20 years, a wood stove will cost around $28,850 on average.
4. Gas Boiler: $1,400 per year
Gas boilers are one of the USA’s most popular home heating methods today. They’ve become incredibly popular due to their low installation costs and the high amount of natural gas currently available.
However, people are starting to worry about their gas boilers due to their impact on climate change. Burning natural gas contributes to the issue, and as a result renewables are becoming increasingly popular.
The price of a gas boiler can vary greatly, depending on its size and power. They can range anywhere from $12000 to $8000. Let’s use our average as approximately $4600.
The cost to run a gas boiler is usually between $800 and $2000 yearly, an average of $1400.
Over a 20 year period, all that adds up to $32,600 a year.
Although both biomass (our final suggestion) and gas boilers have the same 20-year average, gas boilers are cheaper to buy, but biomass boilers are cheaper to run.
5. Biomass Boiler: $680 per year
As we’ve said, both gas boilers and biomass boilers have the same 20-year cost. Although gas boilers have a much lower upfront cost.
Biomass boilers are environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional gas boilers. The principle is the same, you burn gas to get heat. However, the difference is the source of the gas. Biomass boilers get their gas from waste products such as rotting vegetation or sewage.
Modern technology means that homes heated by biomass boilers are completely hygienic, so don’t be turned off the idea without exploring it.
A biomass boiler will cost approximately $19,000 to install. If you don’t have access to anything to get biogas from, you will need to pay about $169 per ton. Multiply that by 4 because you’ll need around 4 tons a year, and you get $680 a year to operate a biomass boiler.
Over 20 years, the operating cost, plus the set-up cost, will be approximately $32,600. Although this is the same price as a gas boiler, it is significantly better for the environment with lower year-on-year costs.
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As you can see, choosing your home heating source isn’t as simple as you might think.
You’ll have to weigh up the upfront costs versus annual running costs, fuel sources and supplies, the type and size of your home and more. We hope these approximations help guide your decision making, but remember prices and figures will vary depending on your own personal specifics.
We hope this helps, and for everything else home heating stick with CosyWarmer.com