Propane furnace vs electric ceramic heaters

Okey all you brains out there. Which is more economical to use for heating during the cold nights in Texas and points south in the winter, propane furnace or those little ceramic heaters? Just wondering which is the best way to go. Or, would I do better with a "Big Buddy" propane heater? May be TMI but I just dont like to wear jammies to bed. DW does, but I dont. Any suggestions?

Any suggestions?

Well if you decide on the one piece style of PJ's...make sure you get the style with the trap-door!<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

A lot will depend on the cost of propane and electricity. In TX we were paying about $0.17 a kWh and here in WA it is only $0.07 a kWh. that will make a big difference on which to use.

If you are getting below freezing you really need to use the furnace. The electric heaters will not prevent the basement and pipes from freezing up.

I keep our furnace set about 65 and I sublment with the electric heaters as needed.

If you aren't paying for the electricity then Ceramic heaters are the way to go. Propane has be be less than $3 a gallon to really make it pay to use more of it and KWH cost would have to be >$.17 for a comparison. If the propane is unusually cheap and electric is high then it changes things. Electricity will be much more renewable down the road. We import LNG now so why help the foreigners? More propane we use then indirectly the more LNG is imported as an offset. Furnace is at its best 80% and closer to 65% efficient. We usually use both with Electric being in the lead. On the political scene if you look closely the proponents of using more natural gas have direct ties to importing more. Currently a huge terminal is being built for that purpose and we have just finished another Canadian pipeline. No offense Canadians as why wouldn't you want to sell it to us?

We have done as 2010Augusta suggest for the past 40 years. Set the furnace low and let the electrics trim. Works well and really is the best of both worlds.

Electric blankets and lowered thermostats during the evening work well. Turn the heat up in the morning. Keep your furnace on to heat the tanks.

Boca_Shuffles said:

Electric blankets and lowered thermostats during the evening work well. Turn the heat up in the morning. Keep your furnace on to heat the tanks.

Click to expand...

Electric blankets and lots of snuggling. Got it.

Sounds like the best plan out there for sure

We use both, too. You could think about some sort of transfer switch on your dual turbo electric generators to power a heater when not using them to drive your axles!

Oh, yeah...great VIN number on the Big Horn, too!

Fireplaces...

We now only use the Fireplaces with the furnace set at 40 degrees. We set the one in the living area to do most of the work, the bedroom is set higher works great for us. The furnace hasn't been on this year yet except to run for test. GBY....

htneighbors said:

We use both, too. You could think about some sort of transfer switch on your dual turbo electric generators to power a heater when not using them to drive your axles!

Click to expand...

Never thought about that one. Have to give it a try

This may be a real dumb question but here goes...

I have heard this before but could not figure how it works.. You set your furnace to 40* so you can keep the basement warm and assist with electric.

If the temp in your trailer is kept to say 50-60* with electric heaters, when does the furnace come on to keep the basement warm?

We keep two 150watt light bulbs with aluminum reflectors to radiate heat, in the basement. This has helped when the temp has dropped to 24* outside. This year I plan to put an electric heater in the basement behind the wall set for 40*.

We have 3 Lasco Electric heaters. We normally use 1 in the bedroom and close the door at night. 2 in the living room/kitchen area.. Use heating tapes and insulation on the water hose. Normally disconnect the sewer hose until needing to drain them.

So far it has worked for us.

Also I found out something last year. The vent between the basement and inside of the trailer allows a lot of cold air to enter the trailer. Last year I felt a cold draft on the feet in the kitchen area and when I put a sheet of paper infront of the vent you could see the paper blow up quite aways as the cold air came into the trailer..

BC

We use a Lasco ceramic electric heater, I wired a 'fan only' switch on the forced air propane furnace. This then heats the underbelly for those below freezing temps.