You may have heard by now I am trying to do my part on reducing our dependence on oil. Unlike those who buy hybrids I am also looking to do so while saving money for myself (not to offend any of you who own a hybrid). So with the high propane prices on the horizon I set to look for an alternative heat source for this and future winters. The candidates were indoor wood, outdoor wood, wood pellets, electric plenum heater, electric storage heater. The criteria I considered were purchase price, installation cost, and operation costs. The winner hands-down was the above shown electric storage heater. Made in Dickinson, ND by the Steffes Corporation, this unit is filled with 500+ pounds of bricks. At 10:30 PM the off-peak ($.039 /kwh) electricity begins to charge the bricks while heating the house. The power goes off at 7:00 AM and the heater then distributes heat for the whole rest of the day. Cost with installation was ~$2500. To this point, the heater has taken the full load of keeping our house warm. The propane furnace hasn't been on at all. Granted, the electricity does come from coal burning when I would much rather have it come from a nuclear plant, but more importantly I am not burning propane and am saving money. I would recommend this heater to anyone.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Steffes Heater
You may have heard by now I am trying to do my part on reducing our dependence on oil. Unlike those who buy hybrids I am also looking to do so while saving money for myself (not to offend any of you who own a hybrid). So with the high propane prices on the horizon I set to look for an alternative heat source for this and future winters. The candidates were indoor wood, outdoor wood, wood pellets, electric plenum heater, electric storage heater. The criteria I considered were purchase price, installation cost, and operation costs. The winner hands-down was the above shown electric storage heater. Made in Dickinson, ND by the Steffes Corporation, this unit is filled with 500+ pounds of bricks. At 10:30 PM the off-peak ($.039 /kwh) electricity begins to charge the bricks while heating the house. The power goes off at 7:00 AM and the heater then distributes heat for the whole rest of the day. Cost with installation was ~$2500. To this point, the heater has taken the full load of keeping our house warm. The propane furnace hasn't been on at all. Granted, the electricity does come from coal burning when I would much rather have it come from a nuclear plant, but more importantly I am not burning propane and am saving money. I would recommend this heater to anyone.
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2 comments:
That's cool and all, but where's The Bottom Line?
Hi Ron,
I am interested in some info about the Steffes electric storage heater that you had in your blog page. I was planning on using a storage heater in a vacation home that I am building in northern Michigan. It may become a permanent residence in the future. What size heater did you have in your house? I see that you good luck with it supplying all your heat needs. What was the cost of the unit itself? Any info or comments would be welcome. Thanks, Eric
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