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Cost Per BTU

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Physics = Money

     A British Thermal Unit (BTU) is a measurement of energy. The trick is to understand how much that energy costs.

      How much does one million BTUs of electric energy cost?.

One kilowatt costs us about 18cents

One kilowatt = 3400 BTUs

One Million BTUs divided by 3400 = 294 Kilowatts

294 Times 18cents = $52.92

Okay that was easy, but now with other fuels we must factor in efficiency losses.

(Electricity is calculated @100 % as delivered; the efficiency losses are upstream of us.

How much does one million BTUs of Fuel oil cost?

One Gallon of #2 oil costs us about $2.25 Gallon

One Gallon Oil = 140,000 BTUs minus 15% efficiency loss = 119,000

One Million BTUs divided by 119,000 = 8.4 gallons

8.4Times $2.25= $18.90

        How much does one million BTUs of Propane cost?

One Gallon of Propane costs us about $2.25 Gallon

One Gallon propane= 93,400 BTUs minus 10% efficiency loss = 84,060

One Million BTUs divided by 84,060 = 11.9 gallons

11.9 Times $2.25= $26.78

How much does one million BTUs of Solar Energy cost?

                                    $ 0.00

     All of the above Fuels Require an investment of equipment to use this energy and must be factored in to the total lifetime cost to use it.