changing propane to electric furnace

[coutantk]

I have a 2000 double wide with 1749 sqft. We are tired of the propane co. telling us we have use a min. of 650gl a year. Our Propane bill is higher because we only use only 200gl a year,we suppliment with kerosene.We shut off 3 rooms to save on heat. My question is,how high would our electric bill be by going with an electric furnace? My husband wants to put in baseboard heat,I'm afraid of leaving that on while we're gone. Originally we kept our furnace low enough to keep the pipes from freezing and take the chill off the house. Does anybody have an electric furnace in a newer doublewide and what the bills are like? We live in Ohio

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. Before I changed to Electric I would call around to a few different Propane suppliers. I think that a smaller supplier would be more apt to work with you and let you buy what you use rather than what they want to sell. You may pay a little more per gal. and the price may fluctuate but it is what you actually use.

If you do go the electric route make sure you have service enough to handle it.

Greg

[coutantk]

Thanks for your help. I think electric is the way to go. I just need it to take the chill off the house and when the temps drop so pipes don't freeze

[Greg]

If it's the pipes that you are worried about, Electric baseboard may not be the answer. The pipes that need protecting are under the floor run near the heat ducts to keep them warm, by using a baseboard type the heat duct will not warm the belly & pipe area.

If your skirting & belly is 100% with no holes or tears and the insulation is in good shape you may not have too much of a problem. I only run our furnace when the temperature drops to -20*.

Greg

[jpingram5]

If you can change propane companies do so. Electric heat can get outrageous.

[Mark]

Using propane or electric really depends upon which part of the country you are in. Some rural areas have darn cheap electricity.

Mark

[UmpJJ]

Our 10-year old singlewide is all electric, and we're in the process of adding a direct vent propane heater in the large living area to supplement the electric. Electric heat is at minimum 3 times more expensive to use than propane.
We investigated various size tanks to install, and the smaller the size tank the less the restrictions on penalties for not using enough propane. Definitely call more propane dealers and if you're only using 200 gallons a year get a tank that is appropriate to that use.
I'll let you know if our propane supplement drops our heating costs - but the initial setup is a hit!

UmpJJ