Gas or Electric Heat?

[dpb]

...

TVA grid-wide is roughly 60% fossil (coal-fired), 30% nuclear, and 10% hydro.

The Paradise Fossil Plant is nearest to C KY, so would be fair to assume most of his power is, in fact, from a coal-fired plant.

It's now been 5-6 years since I was last at Paradise when was supporting an R&D effort to evaluate a new type of on-line elemental analyzer to aid in their attempts at blending much higher percentages of western low-sulfur coal. I presume but don't have recent data that trend continues as well as adding scrubbers on at least one unit was in the works.

All the info on the TVA grid is available at

[HerHusband]

Edwin,

None of the items are big decision makers, but viewed together electric heat was the right choice for "me". Obviously, folks with high electric rates and low gas rates will probably view things differently.

We were also building our own house, so individual electric wall heaters were a good choice. Readily available, inexpensive, easy to install, easy to maintain.

Also, our last house had an electric forced air furnace. It had a relay fail one winter, which left us without heat for two weeks while we waited for the part to be ordered. So, this reinforced the idea of multiple heat sources for me.

Anthony

[dpb]

...

TVA grid-wide generation mix is roughly 60% fossil (coal), 30% nuclear, and 10% hydro.

Central KY would be closest to Paradise Fossil Plant so it's safe to assume most of Colby's power is generated there (by burning coal).

It's been about 5-6 years since last I was there, but at that time they were working very hard on blending coals to utilize far more western low-sulfur coal than had been. I was there in support of a R&D project to evaluate a new type of on-line elemental analyzer to hopefully use its data as part of the blending operation. I got tired of the travel after moving (Central City, KY, isn't the easiest place to get to from W KW :), despite being the home of the Everly Brothers), so left the follow-on of the project to a colleague at Kingston so consequently don't actually know how it turned out...of course, the local coal producers of KY and IL were not pleased by the proposed shift and at one time there was a major effort in state legislatures to require at least a certain fraction of local high-sulfur coals be used by TVA to support the local coal industry. Where that currently stands I also don't know...

Everything (and more, undoubtedly) than you wanted to know... :)

[Jim Baber]

If you are in California and get electricity from an investor owned utility it is a sure bet that natural gas cost will be lower by a lot.

True, but they will pass those higher costs right straight to you plus any allowed profit margin.

Again, they will pass those improvement costs right straight to you plus any allowed profit margin.

What about short circuits. rotting insulation on old wiring, bad equipment, and similar problems. All heat sources have some kind of problems, usually worsening with age of heaters.

Very true and I like the idea of reduced usage in areas not in use.

The wall mounted electric's I had several years ago definitely would collect dust and smell terrible when first turned on in fall.

Agreed, if the power is on, I suffered with one spring snow storm that dumped 9 foot of snow on us in 30 hours. It took the power company 10 days to get our power back. I do admit at the time we lived in a home in the Sierra Nevada mountains @ 6600 ft. But, there were 120 homes in the immediate area, we had underground power in our tract, and it was still out that long. Fortunately we had 2 wood stoves, and still had an adequate wood supply. The use of Coleman lamps and hot wood stove tops to cook on got us back to power. My drive was 300 ft. long, and I stayed fairly warm for two days digging out to the street.

And my dime.

Jim Baber in CA

[HerHusband]

Hi Jim,

Of course, but so do the oil companies...

We are all electric here (heat, hot water, lighting, appliances, etc.), and only pay $109 per month for our 1456 square foot home. And we're not exactly "frugal" with our electric usage. Still, compared to our other bills, that's one of the cheaper ones.

True, I guess it's just what you're more comfortable with.

The wall heaters don't have filters like a furnace, but they should still be vacuumed clean once or twice a year. There's still a slight amount of dust smell that first time they are turned on, but it's a one time deal that goes away quickly.

That's why we also have a backup woodstove. :) We actually just had a windstorm knock out the power for a couple of hours last week. The woodstove kept us warm and cozy.

Of course, with electric, I could also install a backup generator if I had the desire and money.

Ours is about 150 feet. I can relate... :)

Anthony

[Edwin Pawlowski]

That is CHEAP. I paid $142 just for lighting and refrigeration. No heating, no special appliances. Our rates are going up again in January about 7.5% over the 17¢ we pay now.

I'm looking to rent a villa in Italy for vacation next year. Some do not include electric and they charge .26 Euro, or about .34¢ per kW/hr