Can propane possibly be more efficient than Geothermal?

I know many people are dependent upon propane because they live in rural areas. Some of our natural gas providers do not deem it necessary to run natural gas pipes to the areas that these people are living in. This takes place a lot in the mountainous N.Georgia areas due to the increased costs of running the lines to the less populated areas in conjunction with the rocky soil found in these parts.

The lack of natural gas leaves the rural residents with two options. One being the use of propane to heat their homes, which works well, but at $2-$3 per gallon this can be quite expensive. Option Two is to install an electric heat pump with electric resistance heating “auxiliary heat”. Electric heat pumps do work well in the more temperate climates, but fail to work well in the harsh winters found in the N.Georgia mountains. Which leaves the residents in that area with only one choice, propane.. so they think!

According to the propane cooperatives it appears that in a retrofit replacement, a high-efficiency propane furnace costs 12% less to install than an electric heat pump. Additionally, the propane cooperatives are stating a high-efficiency heat pump with propane backup recoups installation cost 40% faster than a geothermal heat pump with electric backup.

I would like to shed some light on this information and give my “two-cents”. I agree that the installation cost of a propane furnace is 2 times less expensive to install than a geothermal heat pump however the operating expenses of a propane furnace are 2.5 times more. This is because of a very simple science principle which is that water removes heat and adds heat faster than air.

For example:

If you were to boil a pot of water and place a thermometer into the pot you would see that the temperature will rise very fast. Now, if you were to turn on your oven to 250 degrees and place a thermometer inside yet not letting it touch anything then see how long it takes the mercury to rise inside the thermometer. I am not asking you to literally conduct this science experiment as I am sure few of you possess a thermometer that raises to 250 degrees and we don’t want any one getting hurt. So please do not conduct this experiment. However, I am sure you can visualize what the outcome would be.

Another experiment to prove how water removes heat faster than air.. Let’s heat up two frying pans on the stove. Take one off and place it into a sink full of water. How long did it take to cool off? Now, take the other frying pan and wave it around in the air. How long did it take to cool off? The answers: The pan that you stick in the sink would cool off within seconds versus the one that you waved around in the air. That one would take up to 3-4 minutes to cool.

I think I’ve proven my point.

Now, let’s look at how a furnace works- Historically speaking, a typical furnace operating at 80% efficiency would utilize 80% of the fuel that it burns to heat your home while 20% goes up the flue as exhaust. A geothermal heat pump converts one unit of energy purchased from the power company and puts out 5 units of energy in heat output. Giving an efficiency rating of 500%!!! Under no circumstances ever can a furnace operate above 99%. Or, simply stated “the more efficient your system, the less your operating costs, less your dependence on foreign oil and the less your carbon emissions.”