SEATTLE HEATING & 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.