It s really inexpensive to run a gas fireplace or insert.
Does it cost alot to run a electric fireplace.
The average electric fireplace uses nearly 1500 watts of power.
Gas fireplaces use between 7 000 and 16 000 btus are between 70 and 90 efficient at converting energy to heat and cost around 60 a year to run.
Multiply the fireplace s btu rating by the per therm cost of gas and divide the result by 100 000 to get the per hour cost of running the fireplace.
Costs fluctuate by geographic region and variations in electric utility costs.
If you use your unit in high heat mode for 2 hours a day for a month it will bump up your electric bill by about 10 80.
Since they depend on a power source electric fireplaces won t light or heat your home in the event of a power outage or storm.
Electric fireplaces have an output that is based on the electric current.
1 with heat 2 flames only or no heat.
Most electric fireplace heaters can operate in two modes.
On average electric heaters cost 8 23 cents per hour.
For example if a fireplace has a btu rating of 32 000 and the cost of gas is 90 cents per therm which was the national average cost as of march 2015 use the formula 32 000 x 90 100 000.
When it comes to energy efficiency you may find a wide range depending on size and model.
Also electric fireplaces involve higher operational costs.
A good average for cost of electricity is about 12 per kw and a standard electric fireplace will use 1 5 kw hour so 1 5kw x 12 18 hour.
So enjoying a fire for an entire evening can cost as little as 2.
How much does it cost to run an electric fireplace per hour.
The operational cost will differ on each of these modes.
What does that mean.
For instance the heat glo 6000 which is one of the most popular gas fireplaces of all time costs a mere 42 cents per hour to operate.
On average an electric fireplace uses 1 84 of electricity every eight hours.
Based on the national average kilowatt hour kwh rate of 12 cents a 1 500 watt electric fireplace will cost around 18 cents per hour with all settings at maximum.
I know i know that s a wide range but stick with me here.
Considering a combination of these settings it costs between 50 and 80 a year to use an electric fireplace considerably less than the annual cost for a gas fireplace with costs ranging between 200 and 500 annually.
However if you use a heating unit as well the costs will go up to around 0 09 per hour for a medium setting and 0 18 per hour for the maximum setting.