Energy Pricing - Offload & Offpeak
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Energy Pricing
When you are choosing a heating system, another factor to consider is the pricing models used by your local energy utility. For example, many electric utilities have an “offload” or “offpeak” rate. This practice originates from times when energy usage was much lower during the night.
Because traditional power generation stations cannot be switched on and off easily, the utilities wanted to smooth out the power demand to keep the generation stations running efficiently. Hence pricing models were developed to encourage energy usage during low usage periods.
The problem now is that the generation capacity is often stretched all the time, but industry and domestic consumers have become accustomed to this low price and it is difficult – economically and politically - to move them away from the artificially low pricing
Whenever energy is provided at an artificially low price it encourages wasteful usage. The cost of buying an energy efficient device can’t be justified because the ongoing cost of buying the energy is not high enough to create a payback on buying the more energy efficient device.
Thus you may face a decision where the heating appliance that costs you th eleast is th emost polluting. In this case its up to you to make a decision you feel is the right one - assuming you can afford to make the choice.
Note: It’s reasonably fair to say that today hardly any energy is priced at a true market rate where the full environmental impact of the carbon emitted are included in the cost.
This is the issue the emerging carbon trading markets are designed to address. With carbon trading, the cost of dealing with the carbon created during the power generation (or any other industrial process) is made visible and then can be handled like any other business cost.
However, the system is likely to be distorted by Governments handing out permits to those industries that lobby the hardest.
So the most polluting industries will get special dispensation or "let offs" and will be less driven to reduce their emissions. This is why you can make a diference by choosing the least polluting energy option.
For heating gas produces 4 times less carbon than traditional electric heaters.
New, efficient, reverse cycle air conditioners are the exception. They don’t "burn" electricity to produce heat rather they use the electricity to move heat from one place to another. e..g from the outside ito your home when heating and the reverse when cooling.
Look for the COP rating when buying a reverse cycle air conditioner - the higher the better. If the COP = 4 the air conditioner is as efficient as gas for heating
Electric vs Gas Heaters - Which Is Best?
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Efficiency and Carbon Emissions of Different Heating Systems
When you’re choosing a heating system it’s not always obvious which is the most efficient and sustainable system. Unfortunately, information is often obscured or left out by the retailers/manufacturers to make the system they want to sell you look better.
Efficiency of Gas vs Electric Heaters
The least efficient form of heating is simple electric heating e.g. a radiant electric heater, or column or convection heater.
Heaters where the energy from the electricity is “burnt” or used directly to produce the heat produce approx. 3.5 to 4 times as much carbon emissions as the same unit of heating produced with gas.
This is an average figure based on a typical power station mix that will apply to most consumers. Some countries or regions may vary significantly from this e.g. if they have extensive hydro electric power generation. The actual figure for an individual power station depends on the type e.g. whether its coal, oil, or gas powered.
The carbon emissions for the electricity are created during the initial generation of the electricity e.g. by burning coal, oil, or gas to power the turbines and generators.
Efficient Electric heaters
There is a much more efficient way to deliver heating electrically by using reverse cycle air conditioners and heat pumps. Essentially, these devices use the electrical energy to move heat from one place to another as opposed to “burning” it to directly produce the heat.
For example when a reverse cycle air conditioner or and heat pump is heating a room it I sextracting het fromth eair outside and transporting it into your room.
Look For The "COP"
You can find out how efficient a reverse cycle air conditioner or heat pump is by looking for its “coefficient of performance” or COP. This usually ranges from 1.5 to 4.5 and the higher the COP is, the more efficient the heater is.
If the heater has a COP of 4 or more then every unit of heat it produces creates the same carbon emissions as gas heating.
Note: Many older air conditioners will have a low COP and/or won’t be marked with a COP.
Renewable Electricity Sources
Renewable electricity sources include hydro electric, solar, wind turbines, hot rocks etc.
This means that the electricity generation process doesn’t require the burning of energy to create electricity.