The Cheapest Heating Fuel For 2010

The recent sharp decline in the price of naturalIn the meantime, any natural gas heating system
gas has really shaken up the pecking order ofwill be 70% less expensive to operate this year
home heating fuel prices. For the first time since Ithan last.
started tracking fuel prices in 2005, the cost toBesides the well know conventional gas furnace,
heat with gas is actually less than the cost oftwo other heating appliances also stand to benefit
heating with corn.from the recent retreat of gas prices.
Based on the cost to produce 1mil Btu, andThe first of these is the wall mounted gas heater.
before factoring in heating system efficiency, itAlthough this type of heater is not allowed as a
now costs $7.83 for natural gas versus $8.26 forprimary heating system, a 30,000 Btu unit will
corn.heat almost 900 square feet and costs around
According to a report in the New York Times,$350. The unvented models are inexpensive to
"The sharp price decline of natural gas...has beeninstall and also work well as garage and workshop
caused by a drop in demand from factories andheaters.
homes because of the recession, coupled with aThe other heating appliance that stands to benefit
big expansion of domestic production over thefrom reduced natural gas prices are the new,
last few years."super efficient condensing boilers. These boilers
I can't predict how long this windfall to gasare used for hydronic (water based) applications
consuming households will last, but the resurrectionsuch as radiant baseboard or radiant infloor
of natural gas prices won't occur anytime soonheating.
unless gas producers shut down wells, theIn addition to being 93% efficient, a condensing
economy rebounds, or we're subjected to anboiler is actually cheaper to operate than a
abnormally cold winter.geothermal heat pump.