Gas vs. Electric Dryer

[BrianEWilliams]

We are buying a new construction townhouse. Installing a gas line to the laundry area will be $100. A gas dryer cost $53 more than the same model in electric. I have seen headlines saying gas prices are going up. My question is this. Does anyone have a opinion on how long it will take me to save back my extra $153 in upfront costs for the gas dryer? Obviously this depends on the relative price of gas vs. electricity in the future which no one can predict, but opinions are welcome.

Also, are there any maintenance issues with gas vs. electric dryers? This is the gas model we are thinking of getting:

[Terry]

This how WE might estimate our electricity cost for clothes drying. Anyone may disagree with this if they wish. Dryer time eight (8) hours per week. (This is probably a bit overestimated) only two of us. Heater inside the dryer cuts in and out (depending on your thermostat setting) but assume it is 'on' (i.e. using electricity for heat) for three quarters of the time. That is is it is 'on' for six hours. The electric heater in our dryer, AFIK, is 3.5 kilowatts. So; 6 x 3.5 = 21 kilowatt hours of electrical consumption; per week. Our electricity costs us, on average, 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour. So; 21 x .085 = $1.76 per week.

52 weeks in a year; $1.76 x 52 = $93 per year to dry our clothes. However it varies; I have blankets/sheets etc. on the line today which in mid winter would be dried electrically. Towels also. OK. Now work out what the cost of gas would be? The difference in the cost per year, if any, divided into $153 will give you the pay back interval, in years. Another way might be to find out how much your gas would cost for the same thing as one kilowatt hour of electricity and compare that. But you'd still have to decide how long you would be running your dryer at tha difference in cost. PS. We've never had but people seem to speak highly/positively about gas water heating and gas clothes dryers and a feeling generally that 'gas is cheaper'? PPS. Is gas dryer maintenance higher; what with vents and exhaust gases etc. I presume also you MUST have a carbon monoxide detector in any home with any gas appliances? They cost I believe $20 to $40 dollars and may or may not be linked to other alarms systems. I wouldn't be without one.

[mark Ransley]

gas is used to make alot of elec in places, here gas is maybe half the price of elec, depends on your kwh cost , payback? depends on use and kwh cost,would be only 4 months for me

[BrianEWilliams]

Hmmm, very interesting. My post somehow was appended to a very relevant thread, at least on Google Groups:

Not sure how this happened, but thanks to the Internet powers that be. I think I will drive my builder crazy and switch back to the gas option.

[nope]

New construction? Bring _BOTH_ gas and electricity for the dryer into the laundry room. Same near the stove. It's cheap and easy now, it's expensive and difficult later.

- bryan

[Christopher Green]

Depends on how much use you are going to make of the dryer and what utility rates are like in your area.

If you are in California, which has outrageous electric rates but reasonably-priced natural gas, and you use your dryer a lot, the payback may be a small number of months. If you have relatively cheap electricity (for example, you are on public power in Washington), and don't run your dryer that often, the balance may favor the electric.

Gas dryers are more finicky about how you plumb the exhaust and keep it clean.

[jeff]

Hi,

Some gas dryer purchase tips...

Some consumer opinions...

Not really, same as electric...clean venting every year, clean our dryer every 3-5 years. Venting shoudl be metal for a gas dryer as well.

jeff.

Appliance Repair Aid

[DaveG]

Interesting that your builder is charging extra for the gas line. Is he including a circuit for an electric dryer in for free? I've been offered one or the other at no charge with the 2 houses I've had built. The person who suggested putting in both had a pretty good suggestion. Relatively inexpensive, when you consider the price of your townhouse, the monthly payment you make will change by only pennies, probably.

Keep in mind that if gas prices go up, electric rates may rise right along with them. Many utilities burn natural gas to generate electricity. Some may switch to another fuel if they can, but that fuel would likely rise as well.

That said, when we switched from an electric dryer to natural gas a decade ago, we noticed a several dollar per month drop in our electric bill. Maybe $75 per year. We did not notice much of an increase at all in our gas bill. So call it maybe $65 per year, so total payback in less than 3 years. Your results will vary based on the utility rates in your area. In this area, electricity is relatively inexpensive $0.07 per kwh. and gas is about 77 per therm.

I've had to replace one timer on my electric dryer in the 5 years I've owned it (Kenmore) In the 12 years I've owned 2 gas dryers, both Maytags, no repairs needed. Hardly representative, I know, but that's my experience.

HTH Dave

[Dan O.]

nope wrote

I agree. Then you can go with the flow down the line should utility prices change dramatically.

Dan O.

- Appliance411.com

=Ð~~~~~~

[Eastward Bound]

The Advantage of a house with all electric appliances instead of gas is that you don't have to run natural gas lines through the home.

For those of you who are safety oriented this can be important if you are concerned about gas building up inside the house and a huge explosion leveling the whole property afterwards. Some apartments and condos don't have any gas at all in the for that very same reason because the risk is greater.

If not in explosion then the residents can get gassed out and killed while they are sleeping. There was a time long ago when lighting fixtures were not electric but has gas coming through them and burned gas to create light. I don't think it's even documented how many people died from being gassed out from the gas itself or from the buildup or carbon dioxide or from being burned.

For those of you who live in earthquake country your better off not having gas if you want to be safe. This is why it is mandatory to know exactly where is the main gas shut off valve for your house so that you can immediately secure your residence by getting a wrench and turning the valve closed so that your house won't explode.

There is one other thing, I don't know if Gas lines can freeze up the way water lines do. You can't know everything and I wish somebody would pitch in on the matter.

Scour the Internet for the situation where a gas main exploded and burned a whole community somewhere in California. There was a situation once where a train derailed at a bedroom community. Two houses were leveled I believe because they were by the tracks that was a sharp turn. (stupid place to build a house in my opinion) Silently underground there was a serious problem being a fracture in the main gas line. Days later after the train derailment the line burst and gas was shot up hundreds of feet into the air. Minutes later the worst imaginable had happened once all of that fuel ignited. It was such a great tragedy indeed and I still remember watching it on a documentary as if it were only yesterday. Some of those poor people who were still alive to talk about it, it was tragic.

[Jonathan Kamens]

My, what amazing fear-mongering about natural gas. Are you paid by the electric company, or what? Here's a different point of view, from :

The Facts

Natural gas is one of the safest energy sources available to homeowners and businesses alike. By itself, natural gas will not ignite. For ignition to occur, a mixture of gas between four and 14 percent must combine with air. Also, gas must have an ignition source with a temperature of 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit or more before it will ignite.

Because gas is lighter than air, it will rise and disperse. That's why you should open windows and doors if you smell gas.

I suspect that if you research the subject, you will find that more people are injured or killed and more property is damaged as a result of electrical fires than as a result of gas leaks.

You mentioned, without any details, a gas main explosion which "burned a whole community somewhere in California." If that really happened, then sure, it's a terrible tragedy. But the fact that it happened doesn't really prove much about the safety of natural gas, any more than Boston's great molasses flood of 1919 proves anything about the safety of molasses.

[Albert Wagner]

Like a pilot light?

If you are there and awake to smell it.

It is harder to outrun an explosion than a fire.

[SoCalMike]

i looked specifically for a place with natural gas appliances, and heating. in so cal, gas is cheaper than electricity.

my condo was built in 81 and has a gas stove, water heater, clothes dryer, and central heat. i like it. it also meets all earthquake codes and has apparently been thru a few of em since it was built with no damage at all.

might not be documented because it wasnt a big issue. how many gas station fires are documented? i rarely hear of one, yet we all pump flammable liquid fuel in our vehicles regularly.

true. its also nice to be able to shut off your power in case of short circuits, and water in case of ruptured pipes.

shit happens. powerlines fall and kill people too. you work for So Cal edison, doncha?

[xymergy]

In Rochester, NY, with winter months routinely experiencing long periods of freezing temperatures, gas lines do not freeze up.

[Wade Lippman]

True, but houses do blow up there. 40 years ago a whole street blew up. I don't remember what it was; a big surge in pressure or something like that.

[Wade Lippman]

If you do a search on gas dryers you will find some good sites.

I was going run a line across my house and put in a gas dryer, but then found out I would save less than $50 a year. Couldn't justify that. Electric dryer just aren't as bad as I thought.

[Pat Meadows]

Not here in northern PA either - our climate is similar to yours.

For that matter, I used to live in very seriously cold country - Edmonton, Alberta, CA. Gas lines there didn't freeze up either. Night-time temps of -30 to -40 (F or C - take your pick, it's not much different in that range) were common in Edmonton when we lived there.

Pat

[mark Ransley]

right Wade 40 years ago a house blew up , maybe arson? It is rare.. Every day there are elec fires. especialy in the winter. this guy who says elec is safer than gas is wrong its also for 90% of us a ripoff. Our elec co. years ago ,in an area of 3million would give away, and install, free, electric furnaces, because they would make their money back fast. Earthquake zone ? maybe. but gas would be banned.for new const. Freeze no. Apts no gas? Cost instalation issue. I lived in one ,never again utilites killed me, There is one thing noboby has considered , Using elec. dryer in winter and not venting produced heat.. I saw a product on one tv home show, years ago, you put your elec dryer on , A box with filter and winter- summer valve, If BTU similar , [only for a few] would be a smart idea. Gas is used to make elec for a majority of U.S . conversion costs.. I took out my elec water heater saved 75% on water heat For me gas.

[v]

OP is trying to put too fine a point on this.

In general, it is relatively expensive to make heat with electricity. Most electricity is generated by burning a fuel (be it coal, oil, or yes gas) to begin with. (Exception: hydroelectric) Then there is inherent inefficiency in converting that heat into electricity to begin with, and transmitting it to the user. (The conversion of the elctricity back into heat is highly efficient, pretty nearly 100%.)

Thus, there is generally an inherent cost advantage to gas as a heat source, if the infrastructure is in place to deliver it to the home.

If gas prices go up, electric rates will generally follow.

OP can spend more of his time than the cost difference is worth, trying to analyze it to death, when both electric and gas rates are moving targets. Today's analysis can be inaccurate next year. But the general r'ship is generally true (except if you are in an area with cheap subsidized hydro).

-v.

[Albert Wagner]

Huh?