The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
But electricity costs more than natural gas…
by Mark Reaman
A new but limited study of eight homes owned by the town of Crested Butte has provided a baseline on how well the town’s energy regulations are working. The initial findings indicate homes using all electricity for power and heat are more efficient, use lower energy amounts and have lower emissions per square foot compared to homes that also use gas, but the cost is generally higher. Currently Crested Butte has an all-electric, above-code building policy.
Crested Butte sustainability coordinator Dannah Leeman Gore presented the findings to the town council at the September 21 meeting. The town worked with Nunatak Energy to install monitoring equipment in eight units last year for the 2025-26 winter. The homes were constructed under various regulations in 1997, 2015 and 2021. Five units were all electric and three used “mixed fuels.” The report was compiled by master’s in environmental management (MEM) graduate student Becca Stankiewicz. Leeman Gore reported one bottom line is that “extended monitoring and additional units will be needed for a larger, multi-year dataset.”
In her report to the council, Leeman Gore said that “all-electric homes produced 1.2 times fewer carbon emissions per square foot than gas homes. As electricity produced by Tri-State/GCEA becomes cleaner, the emissions advantages of electric homes are expected to increase.”
During the monitoring period, Leeman Gore reported that all-electric homes in the study cost 60% more to heat per square foot than gas homes, that despite the energy costs being two-and-a-half times more expensive. It just took less energy to heat those homes. “All-electric units averaged $0.16/sq foot per month compared to $0.10 sq foot per month in gas homes, largely because electricity remains more expensive per unit of energy…however, gas homes used substantially more energy per square foot to achieve the same heating service. As grid electricity becomes cleaner and potentially more cost competitive, the cost gap may narrow.”
Based on specific figures per house, the council indicated there was a wide range of use between the units. They suggested the habits of people living in the units contributed to some of the variety of energy use. In other words, it appeared some residents were willing to pay more in heating bills to be more comfortable.
The report also stated there were noise issues with the all-electric equipment, higher maintenance demands and higher upfront equipment costs.
The report touched on the possibility of using geothermal energy, but that source was determined to be best for large projects and not for things like single family homes.
“More data and monitoring would be helpful,” concluded Leeman Gore. “This was a six-month study in a very warm winter. It also showed that we can help provide more education on how to better utilize some of the all-electric systems.”
“It is an initial study but can help inform things going forward to make things better in the future,” added mayor Ian Billick.
