Shakyuk

That is a good point about the length of time heating is on. When I looked at pricing it was actually the price per kilowatt which I looked at. So per unit Canada seemed significantly cheaper but with usage taken into account it mustn't be the case.

Novocastrian

If you want to keep your house at, say, 20C year round it's not hard to work out that the cost will be less if the winter temperatures are most often above zero and the summer temperatures are rarely above 25C compared to winters at -30 and summers at +35.

Moreover, in Ontario at least, the price per KW-hr is not as important as the costs to pay off Ontario Hydro's massive debts which were incurred in building nuclear plants some time ago.

Shakyuk

Patronising.
If it isn't hard then you won't mind working it out.
Please let me know my saving, thanks in advance.

Novocastrian

Tuppence, or a bit less. Thanks for being patronised.

Shakyuk

It appears that calculation wasn't as easy as anticipated.
It's reasonable to recognise that whilst electricity/gas costs on face value seem cheaper in parts of Canada, it could be cheaper or more expensive. Same with cars, it's circumstantial, how often do you use heating,
where do you live, how many miles driven etc.
But you know that, you just wanted to be patronising.

dbd33

I don't think the price per kilowatt is very helpful because, in Canada:

- few people heat using electricity

- here, at least, electricity isn't priced per kilowatt but priced for the provision of service with a minor variation for usage.

A comparison of price per cord of wood or gallon of propane would be better.

Stinkypup

I'm not sure that is true- it varies between provinces
Our main source of heat is an electric furnace with heat pump and a wood fire in the lounge as supplemental heating/ looking nice

Households and the Environment: Energy Use: Analysis

dbd33

Agreed that the method of heating installed varies with location. There are some houses here that have electric heat. Indeed, I had one. The first month there the electric bill was startling so we turned the heat off (risking pipes freezing) only to find that the electric bill is startling whether you use power or not.

I don't know that a house with a wood stove and a heat pump counts as being heated electrically, isn't the heat pump a ground source device with electric wafting, like a geo-thermal system?

Stinkypup

[QUOTE=dbd33;12026836]Agreed that the method of heating installed varies with location. There are some houses here that have electric heat. Indeed, I had one. The first month there the electric bill was startling so we turned the heat off (risking pipes freezing) only to find that the electric bill is startling whether you use power or not.

I don't know that a house with a wood stove and a heat pump counts as being heated electrically, isn't the heat pump a ground source device with electric wafting, like a geo-thermal system?[/QUOTE

The wood fire is 98.7% cosmetic to visually warm the room and lit at the weekends, we burn probably less than half a cord per year at most, probably less. Our heat pump is an air source heat pump, not geothermal source, works apparently like a fridge, powered by.....electricity! As previously discussed at length elsewhere, electricity is cheaper in BC. The data wasn't exactly bang uptodate in the link I put up, but it is Canada so I can't imagine things gave hugely changed - 37% of homes heated by electricity isn't exactly a small proportion.

Traci D

It seems to vary greatly, but I still believe that to use utilities in Canada, costs more than in the UK; I am comparing two towns, one in Essex, and the other town in Ontario, both were/are good locations (i.e., commuter areas for busy cities), with both homes being 4 bed detached....Saying that though, I was in the UK recently and there's a lot of talk about electricity costs going through the roof over there soon too (on all of the news channels)....we will probably have to down-size, when we retire, if we're still in this area, given the costs to run our current home. (Thanks Stinkypup )

Tangram

Pro - It's not the UK
Cons - It's not the UK

Simple.

Shakyuk

Novocastrian

Who's being patronising now?

Actually, if you'd think about in a manner a bit less focussed on yourself, you'd see that Paul's semi-serious précis is spot on.

You have a tendency to ask questions and then expect answers which are tailored to your own particular situation, location and lifestyle. Something none of us know (or want to know) anything about.

Shakyuk

I wouldn't regard that as patronising, my eye roll was meant as a light hearted response to Paul's extremely vague response.

I have no idea what you're referring to with your reply about these 'questions' I apparently ask. Paul's response isn't to me nor is it to a question I have asked.
This isn't my thread and my involvement was purely to offer UK costs as a comparison for anyone who has been in Canada for awhile. I was being helpful and nice which if you read most of my responses you'll see I do try to be helpful. Then you came in with an extremely patronising and borderline hostile response.
I won't meekly sit by when someone is unnecessarily hostile because they're on the internet and that's apparently what people do.

Any questions I have asked have been backed up with what I felt was relevant information. This is a forum after all. Your contempt towards people inconveniencing you with questions goes some way to explain your hostility.

Novocastrian

Do you really think that I'd be participating in these forums if I thought it was an inconvenience? I'm not hostile at all, but I do have limits of tolerance toward naiveté and blinkered self interest.

Enough now.