Comparing the Heating Costs of Apartments with Electric Versus Homes with Gas

Gas usually is more cost-efficient than electric. But typically you’ll have twice the space, or more, to heat in your home.

So how do you compare the utility costs of an apartment heated entirely by electricity to a home heated by gas?

It’s actually harder than it may seem to you at first.

Here’s a brief summary of the factors to consider:

1. Square footage will affect total heating costs
2. An apartment lease may include heating
3. New homes typically are made with greater efficiency

And here’s the full detail on each of these important points:

1. Square Footage

We started talking about it a little already. The typical 1-2 bedroom apartment has electric bills that run $60 – $80. When heating, your costs may rise a little higher, or perhaps even substantially higher, depending on how cold winter gets.

The average home runs around twice the square footage of an apartment. But, natural gas and propane, the two possible types of gas that could heat your home, are inexpensive. Natural gas is typically much cheaper, costing around 25% of what propane costs.

So when heating the same space, you’ll have a higher overall cost in a home. But you’ll most likely get much greater heating efficiency.

2. Apartments May Cover Some Utility Costs

In some lease agreements, you may get some or all of your utilities covered by your landlord. It’s not too common. But you can find it.

You may actually have more heating costs in your apartment because of this. But they won’t be your problem to pay.

And as you know, you’ll pay your utility bills if you own your home. If you rent your home, you might get lucky and find a landlord who includes some utilities. But, that’s very rare.

3. Construction Quality

The quality of the construction of apartments or a new home can vary wildly. On average, new homes are built with greater efficiency than ever before.

But, they’re not perfect. And sometimes, contractors cut corners. This can make new homes much more energy-inefficient than they should be.

New home buyers don’t necessarily rank the best efficiency as their top priority. So, contractors can sometimes get away with poor energy efficiency.

However, on average, homes still are made with greater efficiency than apartment complexes. In general, you can expect greater energy efficiency within your home.

This is a tough comparison to make. But, you can ask to see the previous energy bills for both homes and apartments to help you make an accurate comparison.

Hopefully the considerations presented help you make a better decision.