Heating Fuels Cost

Reference data and engineering information about heating fuels cost for material properties applications.

heatingfuelscost

Overview

Engineering reference data for Heating Fuels Cost in material science and properties.

$\sigma = \frac{F}{A}$

Force per unit area.

$\varepsilon = \frac{\Delta L}{L_0}$

Change in length per original length.

$\sigma = E \varepsilon$

Stress proportional to strain in elastic region.

$\Delta L = \alpha L_0 \Delta T$

Length change due to temperature.

Symbol	Description	Unit
$\sigma$	Stress	Pa
$\varepsilon$	Strain	—
$E$	Young's modulus	Pa
$\alpha$	Thermal expansion coefficient	1/°C
$\Delta T$	Temperature change	°C

The cost per standard energy unit for each fuel is calculated using its price and energy density. All formulas compare cost over 100,000 BTU.

1. Electricity $C_e = \frac{p_e \times 100{,}000 \text{ Btu}}{3412 \text{ Btu/kWh}}$

2. Natural Gas $C_{ng} = \frac{p_{ng} \times 100{,}000 \text{ Btu}}{1028 \text{ Btu/ft}^3}$

3. Propane (LPG) $C_{lp} = \frac{p_{lp} \times 100{,}000 \text{ Btu}}{91{,}333 \text{ Btu/gallon}}$

4. Fuel Oil $C_{fo} = \frac{p_{fo} \times 100{,}000 \text{ Btu}}{140{,}000 \text{ Btu/gallon}}$

Variable	Symbol	Unit	Description
Electricity Cost	$C_e$	$ per 100k Btu	Cost of electricity for 100,000 BTU of heat
Electricity Price	$p_e$	$ per kWh	Price of electricity from the utility
Natural Gas Cost	$C_{ng}$	$ per 100k Btu	Cost of natural gas for 100,000 BTU of heat
Natural Gas Price	$p_{ng}$	$ per ft³	Price of natural gas from the utility
Propane Cost	$C_{lp}$	$ per 100k Btu	Cost of liquid propane for 100,000 BTU of heat
Propane Price	$p_{lp}$	$ per gallon	Price of liquid propane
Fuel Oil Cost	$C_{fo}$	$ per 100k Btu	Cost of fuel oil for 100,000 BTU of heat
Fuel Oil Price	$p_{fo}$	$ per gallon	Price of fuel oil (e.g., No. 2 heating oil)

Common Energy Basis: All costs are normalized to 100,000 BTU to allow direct comparison between different fuel types.