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Seattle Fuel Costs 2010

Annual Fuel Cost Comparisons For 12,000 kWh (41,000,000 Btu) per year in delivered heat Prices effective as of 1/1/10
Heating Systems and their Efficiency Ratings		Associated costs
*Heating System*	*Efficiency Rating*	*Per 100K Btu*	*Per Year*
Central Oil $2.75 per gallon	60% AFUE*	$3.27	$1,341
Central Oil $2.75 per gallon	80% AFUE*	$2.46	$1,006
Central Gas $1.22 per therm	60% AFUE*	$2.04	$835
	80% AFUE*	$1.53	$626
	90% AFUE*	$1.36	$557
	95% AFUE*	$1.29	$527
Central Electric $0.0914 per kWh (1/1/10)	100% AFUE*	$2.68	$1,097
Zone Electric $0.0914 per kWh (1/1/10)	100% AFUE	$2.68	$1,097
Heat Pump $0.0914 per kWh (1/1/10)	8.0 HSPF (235% AFUE*)	$1.14	$467
	8.2 HSPF (241% AFUE*)	$1.11	$455
	8.5 HSPF (250% AFUE*)	$1.07	$439
	10 HSPF (294% AFUE*)	$0.91	$373
	10.75 HSPF (316% AFUE*)	$0.85	$347
Terms: AFUE - Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency: how much usable heat is delivered from the system. Gas and oil systems are not 100% efficient because some of the heat goes up the chimney along with fumes, smoke and particulates. Heat pumps can be more than 100% efficient, because they work by extracting heat from the outside air or soil rather than burning fuel or using electrical resistance to create heat. AFUE does not reflect distribution losses such as what is lost when heat has to travel through ducts or pipes before it enters a living space. Poorly sealed or uninsulated ducts or pipes can result in large efficiency losses with any furnace. Btu* - British thermal unit: The amount of energy needed to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. Furnaces and heat pumps are commonly rated in Btu/hour output. HSPF - Heating Season Performance Factor: used to rate the heating efficiency of heat pumps. To qualify for an Energy Star rating, the heat pump must have a minimum HSPF of 8.0 (8.2 for split systems). NOTE: SEER or the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating measures the cooling efficiency of heat pumps.