Gasoline Energy Comparison

If gasoline costs $ per U.S. gallon, what would other energy resources cost at their rates?

At electricity rates:
(1 gal.)(36 kWH/gal)( cents/kWh) = $ per gal.
At natural gas rates:
(1 gal.)(0.12 x 1000 cu ft/gal)( $/1000 cu ft) = $ per gal.
At coal rates:
(1 gal.)(0.005 tons/gal)( $/ton) = $ per gal.
At wood rates:
(1 gal.)(0.006 cord/gal)( $/cord) = $ per gal.

If you would like to plug in your own numbers you can go to the physics website.  Please remember to use your BACK button on your browser to return here!



Sample of Energy Rates

An electricity rate from the Atlanta area in Spring 1992 was 7.2¢ per kilowatt-hour. In the summer of 2001, the rate was 9.5¢/kwh. This compares with a lower winter rate for 2001 of 6.8¢/kwh. Natural gas billings are typically based on units of 1000 cubic feet and the energy content of a cubic foot varies somewhat but is just over a thousand BTU per cubic foot. Atlanta natural gas companies often quote energy in MBTU = 1000 BTU, the M being the Roman numeral for 1000. Based on a billing in which the energy content was 1.021 MBTU/cubic foot, a spring 1992 residential bill was $5.90 per 1000 cubic feet. After rising gradually for several years, natural gas prices rose dramatically in 2001, with a cost of $10.56 per 1000 cubic feet in January and $13.78 per 1000 cubic feet in the summer.

A ton of coal and a cord of wood have similar energy content, and although prices vary widely, around $100 for a ton of coal or a cord of wood was not untypical in 1990.

Houston Lighting and Power, with 1.38 million customers, quotes 8.3¢ per kwh average for 1990 in their annual report. Average annual use per residential customer was 13,849 kwh. They quote their fuel cost per MBtu as $1.79 for natural gas, $2.21 for coal, $1.60 for lignite, and $.58 for nuclear.

For the interactive database where you can change the factors to suit your own needs visit the following website:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/enecon.html