The Real Cost of Heating a Home in British Columbia
Do you know the actual cost of heating your home with electricity or natural gas? This is a common point of discussion in British Columbia in terms of which is the most affordable option. It isn’t easy to determine the energy cost of heating your home when your energy bill also includes the cost to power your appliances, charge your devices, and heat water.
Two Tier Electricity Pricing
Your utility company charges your electricity at two different rates. After you use a certain amount of electricity per month, any additional electricity used is charged at a more expensive rate. When you’re using FortisBC or B.C. Hydro, there’s also a fixed fee, so determining the cost of each heating option and what benefits it brings can be a little challenging. With recent price changes in the cost of hydro and the inexpensive price of natural gas, it’s natural to assume the latter would be least expensive. That is not always the case.
Introducing the Electric Heat Pump
While a gas furnace is a bit less expensive than a heat pump, it’s extremely energy-efficient. A gas furnace can never run at 100% efficiency, with the newest models hitting 90 to 95% efficiency. A heat pump, on the other hand, can give you efficiency of up to 300 to 400%. As you can probably guess, this makes heating the home very affordable. What’s even better is that many heat pumps can also offer cooling when the weather is hot.
Choosing the Right Option
In most cases, the cost to run a heat pump is about the same as it is to run a furnace, yet you get much more efficient heat. If your home is large and drafty, this may not be the case. But for nearly every other situation, the heat pump is going to end up saving you money. Small houses and those with window or insulation upgrades fall under that category.
Another perk of the heat pump is it reduces air pollution like carbon, which is made from using natural gas. Gas is far more polluting than using electricity is. A heat pump is a sustainable option that can save you money and keep you warm. To learn more about new rebate incentives and discuss how we can make your home more comfortable while saving you money, give us a call at 250-656-6868.