Is Electricity Cheaper Than Petrol/Gasoline?

Is the trick storage of off-peak energy .Maybe charging your car during those times ?Or pumped storage as was disscussed in other forums .Keep the disscussion going Chris, I think alternative energy is a major topic thats been around but needs attention .I honestly believe if the US put as much attention to energy we wouldn't need to be in Iraq defending our supplies.And using all forms of energy in a coordinated effort could be easily done .Like in the 70s we reluctantly got rid of our gass guzzlers today we just need to take the next step .Today I bought a wood stove for $950 that adapts to my heating system at $750 a tank of oil and rising I needed to have an option .No matter how much I dislike cutting firewood I truly hate dependence on oil so if nothing else I'll feel good about not supporting the oil cartels .

I am all for reducing my dependance on petroleum based fuels. In Canada, our electricity producing capabilities are terribly inadequate and without free market competition, over priced, making this a poor alternative. Gasoline is taxed over 40% (this does not include the federal and provincial sales taxes that are tacked on after pumping)so there is little incentive from the government to reduce consumption (they would lose their huge surplus). Like most people in North America, I cannot walk or bike to work because of the distance and carpooling or public transit is not an option. What other alternatives are there? Until an alternative that that costs about the same as gasoline, is as convenient and produces similar power and range and works for cars, trucks and motorcycles alike becomes available, we will all keep driving our same vehicles. There are reasonable alternatives for home heating such as wood burning stoves. However, the enormous insurance hike I would be faced with makes this unacceptable. Further, I would hate to see a large city like Toronto covered in an impenatrable haze of wood smoke.

I didn't realise Canada had such a tough situation . Being in the wood business all I ever hear about is Canadian subsidies that affect the prices of wood .I actually own land in Quebec but I don't pay the same taxes or recieve the services .I was involved in biomass for electricity but saw nuclear power ruin that.There seems to be a pattern .Every time people make headway to energy dependence the government steps in to regain control .I'm not sure polluting the air is appropriate with wood stoves but there are ways to burn cleaner .I certianly don't believe we should lay down and take it .With all the technical resourches availible there should be some viable alternative .Maybe an international challange is in order !!!

Well it seems to me even "advanced design" wood stoves are fairly basic in design. I suspect that some type of afterburner system is the secret to getting high eficiency and low smoke out of a wood stove. That way you can shut it down to reduce fuel consumption but use the byproducts of smouldering low oxygen burning in the afterburner which would require a pre heated air injector. Given that smoke most causes a worry at night when there is an inversion, even an offpeak electric pre heater would be good. (Just to keep in the spirit of this discussion) Although ducting the afterburner air supply through the main fire box ought to do. I have never seen such a device, does anyone know if they are around.

I installed a wood stove back in the early 90's that had an integral catalytic converter, so I'm assuming such units are still available. The unit works great even after all these years - whereas there used to be a ton of smoke coming out of my chimney, it now comes out basically as water vapor. Also, the unit burns *very* hot even with the air choked down, so I get much more of the available heat energy than before and the logs burn slower. I can't remember the name of the unit right now (it's at my camp) but I'd guess that a web search will unearth various options.

Several houses back, I heated with wood. At the time (20 years ago) catalytic converters were available to clean up wood stove smoke. I didn't have one, but would imagine that they give off a great deal of heat (a good thing) and keep the chimney much, much cleaner as well.

Ultimately, electric has to be the way to go, I'd think. It can be (and is) generated from wind and solar with little environmental impact. There are people living in completely self-sufficient houses already, using combinations of wind, solar-electric, geothermal, and solar-heat. I have not done the math, but I'd guess that where I live (in Georgia, US) I could generate enough energy to power a vehicle for short daily commutes (10 miles each way, perhaps), as well as to serve the needs of the house.

With trees already disappearing too fast, I'd hate to see continued reliance on burning wood for heat. And even very efficient combustion leaves the basic products of combustion, H2O and CO2 unchanged. Although the mass media likes to claim there is a debate about global warming, it is now a "scientific theory" with about the same agreement among educated scientists as there is for the "theory of gravitation" or the "theory of evolution": i.e., it is essentially fact. So more CO2 is not a great thing.

Some great comments I would like to bring up an earlier article about a farm burning methane to run a generator making electricity produced from manure to the tune of $120,000 a year selling the power . Look at all the possibilities Methanol produced from wood and byproducts ,Methane from landfills ,geothermal heatpumps,ethanol ,solar ,wind and many others including burning wood .I think we have all been programed to think we need to protect the oil companies while they turn there highest profits .Look at BP pipeline today gee wiz they have to shut it down at a critical time because they never bothered to maintain there pipelines while reaping astronomical profits come on!!!Why is burning home heating oil better than any other fuel ? Think about it we are intelligent people .Remember the 70s when we could never imagine driving a foriegn compact but we do and it's time to move forward to the new world.I'll need a catylitic converter maybe I'll build one .I'm not going to take it I'm doing something about it .

Good for you! A cat converter on a wood stove seems like a great solution, because the tremendous heat it generates (a negative on a car) is a strong positive in helping to heat the house. I don't have any idea how reliable they are on a wood stove -- but as long as you don't start your fires with leaded gas...

I live near to Philly PA USA. I use kero to suppliment my electric heating here in the winter (resistive / no heat pump, ugh!) I had the same question. I did the math, and electricity here is equivalent to about 5$ / gal of kero. I now pay 3$+ per gal. It getting close. I guess we have another year before break even. We need alternatives! Al D.

Five hundred dollars of insulation will save you double that in fuel costs in only five years. In Canada, the payback is a bit less because the houses are already well insulated. Cooling bills will be lower in the summer as well. I super insulated a small carriage house (900 square feet)on my property and it stays warm all winter on just the lights. A tiny window air conditioner keeps it cool in the summer. I know, its not as sexy as solar energy and stuff, but hey...it works. I installed a gas furnace because it was code, but I never use it. And I am in Ottawa...a fairly cold place. The future of transportation energy is in a mix of bio-diesel, ethanol, compressed air, fuel cells and unfortunately, batteries. Hybrid and battery cars are the worst solution because somebody somewhere has to make the battery, and somebody else has to dispose of it. However, they might be the short term solution. I'll bet it takes more energy to manufacture a battery than it will ever store in its lifetime. The knowledge is out there. It doesn't take a big corporation. You can get a small company together to purchase oil seed, crush it, and distribute it with a minimum of cash up front. I would like to see a thread on starting up such a small business. Oh, and if you have an oil furnace, it will burn mustard or canola oil instead of heating oil just fine.

Burning canola oil ,why not ,the day I can call for a delivery I'll take it even if it's more that heating oil .Your right the knowledge is out there we have been down this road before but it lasted awhile and then the price dropped.This time I doubt it will. I'm in Massachusetts and I am ready to do something .Not to get rich but just because I'm sick of the economic chokehold .Thinking of some old lady deciding on food or freezing is a social travesty we should all be offended by .If you take the profit motive out ideas would flow and things would get done but every one is so concerned with patten rights it's unlikely .

Remove the profit motive? The only advancements made without profit motive come from NASA and Defense and their money comes from the profits of other people and corporations. Even Universities are driven by profit, perhaps not in product development, but certainly from the prestige factor that attracts students (tuition).

Your right but I've seen many an invention never get developed because the inventor was so afraid of getting ripped off .I was thinking more philanthropic like how Volvo gives away it's saftey advancements for the betterment of the industry .If someone was willing to bankroll it all the better but sometimes capitalism has to be transcended by good will.Look at Habitat for humanity for example .I for one would be willing to donate my time for the advancement of a alternate energy ,I wouldn't mind being compensated if things worked out ,maybe a paying job with health benifits ,or a share of stock . But what I'm suggesting is every thing isn't about money and if a few intelligent people could pool there ideas for a good cause I'm in .Maybe Bill Gates will take interest but things need to start somewhere . I'm currenty looking into use of wood byproducts ,as I have a tree service and sawmill ,and would like to convert those materials into fuels .I see a lot of waste and outdated methods in an industry that could contribute large amounts of raw materials for energy production .I believe wood Alchohol or methanal could have a future but most detractors fixate on it's toxicity ,isn't gasoline toxic ?Or burning wood is polluting but isn't burning oil? I see a lot of negativity and few positive suggestions. Things CAN be done .

Currently there are capacitance devices on the market that claim a 10 - 15% electricity savings. Do they actually perform what their ads say, or are they just snake oil salesmen? This is probably a dumb question, but I'm not an EE.

I think Solar Cells is the way to go. I use them to charge batteries currently but plan on using them to power electronic devices.