Just a little update on greenhouse heating options. Well first off I'm still skeptical on using electric heaters, but after running some numbers it may not be as bad as it seems if my numbers are correct. I was at Lowe's today looking into their propane heaters and after asking some questions (and reading the box), I was interested in a heater like this:
Shop Mr. Heater Buddy Heater at Lowes.com. The particular one I was looking at was rated between 4,000 and 6,000 BTU's. The box also stated that it would run up to 110 hours on a 20 lb tank. Of coarse that would be on the low setting (4,000 BTU's), but doing the math and assuming a 20 lb tank refill would cost me $20, it would cost about $0.18 per hour to run ($20.00 divided by 110).
After looking online at some electric heaters for cost comparisons I found this one:
Shop :USE 2-in-1 Convection and Radiant Heater at Lowes.com. It runs 1500 watts on high, and says it puts out a maximum 5,100 BTU's. Now to compare them I know we pay $0.09.29 cents per kilowatt hour, and using the
Electricity Cost Calculator I compared running the electric heater for 110 hours. So 9.29 cents, and 1500 watts shows it would cost $15.33 to run it for the same 110 hours ($0.14 cents per hour).
Going by those figures the electric heater should cost less to run by 4 cents per hour. However I have always known gas and propane heaters to be more energy efficient. But of coarse there's always the variable of the fluctuating propane prices depending on where you get the tank refiled. Though on the other hand it's much easier to thermostatically control electric heaters than gas/propane heaters. Well, at least for a small scale greenhouse setup, rather than a household system anyway. And being able to adjust the heat, as well as how much fuel is burned is necessary in being energy efficient (cost effective). With that in mind, I think the key in being cost effective is really going to be being able to adjust the heat level as needed (fuel or electric). Also if using a electric heater I would suggest having a
"Kill A Watt" meter to make sure you know how much it's costing to run for sure.