Electric vs Propane appliances

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D4fan

Well-known member
I did some checking last night on this topic. What I learned was kind if eye opening.

Electric range top is approx 70% efficient at getting the heat from the source (burner) into the reciever (metal pan).

Propane, due to its requiring the pan to sit higher over top of the source, and not sitting squarely on the burner which allows heat to escape from the sides, is only 40% efficient at getting the heat burned (released into the area around the pan) into the pan. That means in the cooling season cooking on a stove top with propane requires the AC to pull those BTU's back out. Winter time, who cares about the inefficiency?
Induction stoves hit their target at about 90%, microwaves even higher.

On to the water heater. Electric is 100% efficient and some propane tankless are around 95%.

At 12 cents per kw, propane would need to be approx $3.60 per gallon to equal equivalent cost per btu produced. But current propane costs are about 2/3 of the $3.60 ($2.40) making it about 33% more cost effective to heat with propane currently.

One big surprise I found is the heat generation required to send you 1kw to your home. Heat required is about 10,000 btus or 3 times the energy you get from it on your end. Add in a 4% transmission line "leakage" (tree limbs, moisture in insulators, resistance in main line causing heat loss, and transformer loss) and that propane looks pretty green.

So if your goal was efficiency (save the planet) and performance, and you used alot of hot water and cooked every meal on your range or in the oven, is propane or electric the way to go?

I know this has little to do with religion, transgendered people or politics, but still thought we may get some interesting points in a debate.
 
 
Depends how the electricity is made and how much energy goes into each infrastructure and each appliance including longevity, disposal energy to replace, shipping ect.

You will lose energy to change it, as in burning propane to make electric, so then the appliance efficiency, how you get each fuel, ect. comes in ... hydroelectric and Nuclear is by far the most efficient we have environmental trade offs there too.

When people think everything electric is green they intentionally leave out things like mining lithium, copper ect. or in the case of wind the generator an blade lifespans, concreate fuel to move and replace all, maintenance, disposal of all unrecyclable like blades which are a disaster.

If it were not for politics and money we would all have a solar drive, hydrogen fuel cell electrifying each without being tied to the grid. The spooks stole my last two and told me to stop it or next time they will take my cat.
 
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Off topic but does anyone have experience with whole house water filtration? The water here is pretty rough and I've read it can be good for the plumbing and appliances by avoiding mineral buildup, rust, etc. It's not too expensive for a decent setup but costs about $100 in filter replacements a year
 
Crusaders said:
Off topic but does anyone have experience with whole house water filtration? The water here is pretty rough and I've read it can be good for the plumbing and appliances by avoiding mineral buildup, rust, etc. It's not too expensive for a decent setup but costs about $100 in filter replacements a year
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My dad had a whole house water filter. It definitely saved things like toilet flappers from leaking and faucet seats from getting minerals under them and leaking. He was on a well system, the only big disadvantage I saw was the day you replaced the filter, water flow was great. Each month it would get a bit slower. He had so much sediment in his well he had to change the filter every couple months but I know of other people who went much longer.
 
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