BTU Calculator – Estimate The Cost Of Heating Fuel (2024 Price Guide)

BTU Calculator will help you estimate the cost of heating BTUs for different fuels in terms of BTU/dollar (or simply how many BTUs $1 would buy), based on your local heating prices.

You can calculate the cost of BTU’s for: natural gas, oil, propane, electricity, and even wood pellets/firewood.

HINT: higher number of BTUs/$1 is better.

Calculate Heating Fuel BTUs per Dollar in OH

Heating fuel prices updated on February 15, 2024.

How Does BTU Calculator Work?

To make an accurate BTU calculation, we have compiled your local heating fuel prices, based on the latest data from the US Energy Department.

Knowing the heat content (BTUs) of each type of heating fuel, and having the cost of that fuel, we can precisely calculate how many BTUs you will get for $1 (one dollar).

The rising cost of heating your home OR a need to upgrade your old heating system presents a serious decision for many homeowners: Which type of heating fuel is the best for you?

While in many cases it will be natural gas, that’s not always the case. What is best actually greatly depends on the state you live in, local cost of heating fuels, such as gas, oil, propane, electricity, and wood pellets / firewood.

This is why using our BTU calculator can enable you to make the most economical choice of fuel that can help you save hundreds of dollars during the heating season.

Heat Types You Can Calculate

We have 2 different “heat types” calculated, which are both electric-based heating: 3 COP Heat Pump and Electricity (electric baseboard heat).

Basically, electric baseboard heat is the MOST EXPENSIVE type of heating, and we strongly recommend homeowners to NOT install or use it.

It is “inexpensive” to install and is usually found in rental units, where the landlord is too cheap to install something better. Upgrade to something else, if you can!

At the same time a 3 COP Heat Pump, is 3 times more efficient than electric heat. You get 3 time the heat output for the same KW input. Therefore you will often see a “3 COP Heat Pump” being cheapest or 2nd cheapest heating fuel, in many cases beating out the Natural Gas. Even better if you have Solar – you can heat your home with energy of the sun, and not have to buy electricity from you utility company!

How Is BTU Cost Information Useful?

Simply put, if you are looking to upgrade / install a new heating system and have a dilemma – Gas or Oil or Propane or Wood or Electric?

This calculator will help you determine which type of home heat fuel is most economical for you, and therefore, which New Heating System (Boiler or Furnace or Heat Pump or even a Wood Pellet Stove) would be a good choice for you!

For example: On the East Cost, most of the time, Natural Gas will be the cheapest option. However, not every time, and not everyone has natural gas. And if you have Solar, or you are considering Solar PV, electricity may be a better option for you (only if you use a Heat Pump with cold-climate rating, and enough heating capacity).

At the same time, in the norther and Mid-West states, both Electricity & Natural are much more competitive with each other, and propane is (usually) much cheaper than on the coasts.

In fact in Illinois, as of Nov. 2023, Natural Gas is more expensive than Electricity (using 3 COP Heat Pump), Propane, and Wood Pellets! Only #2 Heating Oil is more expensive than Gas in IL.

Here Is How Much HEAT Each Type Of Heating Fuel Contains

Now, knowing heat content in each type of heating fuel, we can calculate how much heat you get for your buck!

For example: If Natural Gas costs $2.20 per therm, and one therm has 99976 BTUs, we can easily calculate BTUs/$1 using following formula:

99,976 BTUs / $2.2 = 45,444 BTUs per dollar

Now to make your life easier, we survey US DOE database to gate up-to date energy prices in your state, and do all the calculations for you, for each type of fuel!

Now to figure how much it cost you to actually heat your home – let’s say you have a 60,000 BTU/hour furnace. To run the furnace for 1 hour non-stop will cost you this much. Take BTU rating of the furnace, and divide by BTUs/$1

60,000 BTU / 45,444 BTUs = $1.32 per hour

However since heating systems usually don’t run continuously, and instead have on/off cycles, or run at reduced capacity – a typical furnace run time is about 15-20 minutes per hour. So you would be paying $0.33 to $0.44 per hour to run your furnace.

What If Your Fuel Prices Are Different From US DOE Numbers

That is completely normal, as US DOE Numbers are usually 1-2 months behind, and it’s nearly impossible to have exact up-to date pricing for each state / city / town, and from different Oil, Gas / Electricity / Propane providers.

So we give you an option to change the numbers to reflect your actual pricing, and provide the most accurate cost comparison for heating your home!