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Electric vs. Gas, your opinion ?????

Hi All,

Due to the high costs of gas this winter I am considering changing to all electric on my stove and mainly heating unit.

Do you think this is a good idea ????

J
Reply to
Joey
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Does it get below freezing for much of the winter, where you live ? What's the cost of electric and gas there ?

Reply to
roger61611

In my opiniion, yes. My reasoning is that gas is going to continue to be a scares product in the future. Electricity will naturally increase in cost also but not to the level of hydocabon fuels. Most electricity is producedby either atomic,water or coal and all of those are very much available. Therefore electriic should remain at a fair cost level. I live in Tennesse in a mobile home, all electric, Highest bill this winter $125.00. What was yours?

jack

Reply to
tinacci336

With out knowing the cost of each fuel, and a host of other factors there no one could possibly GUESS if it was a good idea or not.

Reply to
SQLit

Coal - 49.8% Nuclear - 19.9% Natural Gas - 17.9% Hydroelectric - 6.5% Sunbeams - 2.3%

Do you get power from the socialist TVA?

Reply to
HeyBub

Probably not.

The cost of the change over, especially for a stove, may be far more than the potential savings. Gas went up, but electric has to in most areas. We have 20% increase. Your stove probably uses $100 of gas in a year and a replacement will be $500 to $100 including wiring. You may save $20 a year. Rather poor payback.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

IMVSO the broilers on electric stoves don't get as hot as the ones on gas stoves, and broiled meat, especially the fat on broiled meat, is never as crisp and bubbly as I would like it, unless I keep the meat in there so long that the meat is too well done.

This might have an effect on the skin on chicken too, I'm not sure.

It takes the top burners and probably the baking oven also longer to heat up, but I really don't care about that. I just keep in mind that the food won't be ready for an extra 30 or 60 seconds for the top burners, or 2 or 3 minutes or whatever for the oven. The end result is the same.

If the effect on broiling matters to you, I'd suggest cooking at someone else's home for a while and see if your experience is like mine.

Reply to
mm

You need to start by checking out local cost of gas and electric.

98.48% if the time you will find that even at the highest price of gas last winter (around here it came down in January and further down in February) gas is still cheaper for heat than electric. The fact is electric is generated by gas in may parts of the country. Electric prices have also been going up.

Now if you add in the cost of new equipment, it is almost certain you will end up paying more not less.

Take a deep breath and say to yourself, I know prices are going up and that I will pay more for heating. I will promise myself that I will do all that I can to conserve all forms of energy. OK breath and move on. :-)

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Why would the TVA be "socialist" ?

Reply to
Anonymous

You MUST remember lots of electric is generated by burning gas, or nuclear. both of these are high cost and rising. just last sunday I saw a article that nationwide electric rates will soar this summer.

If you go ahead and convert check just the costs for rewiring:( Probably a new service entrance, new wiring for stove and furnace, what were your plans for your hot water heater?

Figure on DOUBLING the size of the tank because electric is so poor at heating water and costly too. If you live in a hard water area expect to replace the electric heating elements every few years as they corrode. a real pain in butt...

Consertively all this will probably cost you $10,000

You would be far better off investing that in a more efficent gas furnace, insulation, condensing hot water tank and things like caulking. get your home pressure tested looking for leaks. most of these last a lifetime and will pay off no matter what heat you use.

heck you could get one of those outdoor furnaces that burn wood they move the heat indoors in a super insulated pipe.

the trouble is the cost of firewood.

I have a friend, his family used to work all summer cutting hauling and moving firewood bragged about the big savings:)

Till I asked how many hours of work this was in comparison the cost of gas.

Their efforts were saving them about $2.50 per hour:(

They would of been better off working a minimum wage job!

today they still burn some wood for the cozy feeling but quit trying to heat their home.

the economies of scale by big plants and infrastructure overwhelm individuals ability to do things...:(

Reply to
hallerb

What about the loss of energy when transmitting through electrical cables? Vs. gas which I don't believe looses mcuh energy in its transmission?

Reply to
dnoyeB

Nuclear is not high cost, nor is it rising particularly fast, certainly nowhere near the increase we have seen in oil and natural gas the last couple years. The overall cost of nuclear is about the same as coal.

Here in NJ, the owners of Oyster Creek are desperately trying to get that nuke relicensed for another 20 years because it is a very cost effective way of generating electricity. That is also why France gets over half of it's electricity from nuclear power.

As for changing to electric for a range and heat, in most of the country, that would be foolish. Electric heat is generally the most expensive way of heating. As for a range, the amount of energy difference is not going to make that big of a difference to make it worthwhile. I'd be very surprised if electric was cheaper than gas. Personally, I prefer a gas range and an electric oven for the way they perform, not the price.

Reply to
trader4

They say that a third of the nuclear power generated in this country uses radioactive fuels that come from disassembling Soviet bombs. I find this whole notion and the percentage amazing.

Reply to
mm

Nuclear MUST at some point pay the cost for old fuel disposal. this legacy cost and the cost to rebuild existing nuclear plants which are nearing the end of their design life.plus coal fired plants and the environmental controls needed

all of this and the increasing cost of gas and oil is going to drive electric csts skyward

Reply to
hallerb

Edwin,

The stove it not really the issue, it's just if I do away with gas that has to be changed out. Heating is the issue and my bills this winter have doubled--ouch.

J
Reply to
Joey

It usually gets below freezing about 20-30 days out of the year. Not sure of prices but the gas as compared to last winter has doubled but not electric.

J
Reply to
Joey

Jack,

I'm in SW Georgia and my last bill was $275.00, more than half of that was just gas. The electric has not risen that much from last year, only the gas.

J
Reply to
Joey

But Joseph, I've already been doing that. I would hate to think how much higher my last bill ($275) would have been had I not conserved. I even have the programmable thermostat. Considering gas has already doubled in cost and electric has slightly increased, what do you think next year will be like ?

J
Reply to
Joey

Bad..

Electric vs gas prices vary greatly around the world and within different countries. I did not check the facts locally, but I believe they both went up about an equal % this year. The difference is the electric went much as predicted the gas went up less than predicted. Your mileage may vary.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Unless you have a very high connect fee, why do away with gas totally?

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

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