Energy calculator app determines heating costs, emissions

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) launched a free app that gives propane marketers and construction professionals a way to compare fuel emissions and heating costs. PERC’s Energy Calculator app is available as a free download for Apple and Android mobile devices.

According to a press release, the Energy Calculator app is a mobile version of PERC’s Heating Energy Cost and Emissions Calculator available at buildwithpropane.com. The app compares carbon emissions and costs for space- and water-heating systems powered by propane, heating oil or electricity. Users can search for “propane energy calculator” in Apple’s App Store or Android’s Google Play to find and download the Energy Calculator app.

After launching the Energy Calculator, PERC says users answer a series of questions about the heating system, including location, energy source, energy price, age, and efficiency rating. The app then generates the heating system’s projected annual energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions for one year. It compares the system’s costs and emissions to those of an Energy Star-qualified propane heating system using the latest Environmental Protection Agency benchmark efficiency measure (95 annual fuel utilization efficiency) for the northern United States. Users can save results the app generates and email them to customers or contractors.