Hands down, pellets. If you think propane is expensive, don't even think of electric.

Harman has some nice pellet furnaces and boilers and englander I think makes one and for stoves amfm energy sells englander refurbs with factory warranty at a fraction of the new cost and made in the USA with the best customer service of any pellet product.

quadrafire used to make a pellet furnace and might still. I know the ones they made were good.

With the green initiatives the cost for any energy product is going to keep rising at an alarming rate and now natural gas again probably because they want to carbon tax coal fired power plants and some will convert to nat gas.. and I think a lot of natural gas is being shipped overseas. UGH.

If you are going to stay there I would say geothermal would be top on the list and then heat pump and pellet stove to help back it up.

or Pellet furnace/boiler

Where are you located? In the eastern (esp. northeastern) parts of the country an automatic anthracite coal furnace/boiler is the way to go for cost savings. Unless you have access to free firewood or NG, there's not really any form of heat that's cheaper.

(Slight diversion, sorry)
countryboy, US export of natural gas has historically been minimal and it's likely been too smal affect prices. Exports are now expected to rise, it's true, but the current glut will remain for some time.

There's no need to carbon tax coal plants, they just need to be shut down. The environmental damage they cause is massive.

Bea, depending upon where you live and electricity prices, is switching to a heat pump feasible for you with the propane furnace as a backup?

I am in the mid-atlantic, east coast. We are now looking at other homes in the area, looks like most of them are heated with a heat pump/electric heat, oil, or propane. We have opted to stay away from all propane homes. Chances are we will end up with a heat pump/electric heat, would it make sense to add a wood stove or a wood pellet stove to reduce the electric heating bill? If so, what are normal costs for installing these? any brands you recommend?

Wish I was made out of money so I could just convert to solar for everything.

"With the green initiatives the cost for any energy product is going to keep rising at an alarming rate and now natural gas again probably because they want to carbon tax coal fired power plants and some will convert to nat gas.. and I think a lot of natural gas is being shipped overseas. UGH."

Actually the US has a surplus of natural gas. Think of Texas as the Saudi Arabia of gas. There are several LNG plants planned for the Texas coast to allow them to export the gas. The problem with Natural Gas is getting it to the nearest pipeline to transport it. If there is not a pipeline close enough they just reinject it into the well or flare it off. So the cost of the gas is mainly due the transportation costs. It is amazing how much money it costs to install a new pipeline.

Bea2,

Are you looking to buy a new house? There are no homes in your area with natural gas?

Yes, looking to buy a new house. No natural gas in the area.

Your answer to Mike skews the answer somewhat but the way to heat more efficiently with propane is to use less of it and to own a large enough tank to eliminate mid- season fills. First dollar goes into tightening the envelop, insulation/windows etc. That brings down your overall load and makes your system and its operation more affordable.

My prescription is as follows.
If you have a central furnace, pressure test and repair the duct work...or pull it all as I did. www.doeductleakage.com

If the home you are buying has the furnace there, don't change the system if it is a good unit. ADD! I had many customers in ME, NH and VT who were on oil. They would install a mini-split system and run that until temps became very low. Then they turn on their oil system until things warm up a bit. Many reported 70% savings.

Wood stoves are good. Personally, I'm not a fan of pellets unless it is a central boiler where you can buy and have delivered tons of pellets at a time and you don't have to handle them. I look at wood as an alternative fuel. The one I want when I can't get anything else. Pellets are a produced product and having been in the business when supplies ran out I have no confidence in them. With a wood stove I can kick my 200 yr old Windsor apart and heat the place. I don't want to have to whittle pellets and hope I have power to run the thing. I have found pellet stoves to heat well, but carrying 40# bags into the parlor and pouring them into the hopper is dirty. i have a friend whose wife will not let him fill the stove unless she has the shop vac running to catch the dust.

Good luck on your home search. Keep us posted.