Schadenfroh
Elite Member
- Mar 8, 2003
- 38,416
- 4
- 0
If you are building the house then I would put in hookups for both. That being that in the future one might be more economical (rebates) or that might just be a bonus feature for when you sell the house.
Agreed. My house has both and I enjoy the option in case gas were to skyrocket someday. And it's certainly appealing to a potential buyer to have both in case they are partial to one. I definitely LOVE my gas range. Couldn't imagine cooking on anything else.
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Did anyone mention that gas driers are better yet?
Common sense: Gas driers cost more than electric driers, yet somehow they are still on the market. Could that be because people prefer to pay more for an appliance that doesn't work as well as the cheaper appliance?? Or could it be that people are smarter than we generally give them credit for. Thus, the smarter people choose gas when they have the option. Glad to see the OP chose to ignore the advice here. (And, for a $150 difference when comparing to the cost of a house?!)
Common sense: Gas driers cost more than electric driers, yet somehow they are still on the market. Could that be because people prefer to pay more for an appliance that doesn't work as well as the cheaper appliance?? Or could it be that people are smarter than we generally give them credit for. Thus, the smarter people choose gas when they have the option. Glad to see the OP chose to ignore the advice here. (And, for a $150 difference when comparing to the cost of a house?!)
thecoolnessrune
Diamond Member
- Jun 8, 2005
- 9,673
- 583
- 126
Isn't gas a LOT more efficient, and therefore more cost-effective, in the long run?
Consider this: unless you live here in Winnipeg (Manitoba is a large exporter of our cheap hydroelectricity) and are paying ~5 cents per kWH, of which the efficiency is not all to important (being hydro, and all), the efficiency of your power generation is a concern. Best case, you have a ~60% efficient combined-cycle gas plant. This electricity is then transmitted to your home, going through multiple transformers/wires on its way, incurring perhaps a 1% 'efficiency detraction'. Then, this energy is once again converted -- this time into heat in your drier's heating coils....much of this energy is wasted. If the drier is say...30% efficient (correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm guessing), then that leaves you with an overall efficiency of 17.7% (.59 * .3)..which I'm thinking is an optimistic result.
Now, compare this to the ~40% (educated guess, correct me if I'm wrong) general efficiency of gas-fired applicances. I don't know how the costs are like in your area, but this could amount to a good deal of savings in the long run.
Basically, any electric applicance's efficiency is automatically based on the low efficiency inherent to power generation. (So don't kill me for being off by a few %
)
-ben
Consider this: unless you live here in Winnipeg (Manitoba is a large exporter of our cheap hydroelectricity) and are paying ~5 cents per kWH, of which the efficiency is not all to important (being hydro, and all), the efficiency of your power generation is a concern. Best case, you have a ~60% efficient combined-cycle gas plant. This electricity is then transmitted to your home, going through multiple transformers/wires on its way, incurring perhaps a 1% 'efficiency detraction'. Then, this energy is once again converted -- this time into heat in your drier's heating coils....much of this energy is wasted. If the drier is say...30% efficient (correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm guessing), then that leaves you with an overall efficiency of 17.7% (.59 * .3)..which I'm thinking is an optimistic result.
Now, compare this to the ~40% (educated guess, correct me if I'm wrong) general efficiency of gas-fired applicances. I don't know how the costs are like in your area, but this could amount to a good deal of savings in the long run.
Basically, any electric applicance's efficiency is automatically based on the low efficiency inherent to power generation. (So don't kill me for being off by a few %
)-ben
Thead I started last year:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...hreadid=1846149&enterthread=y&arctab=y
There is a link that I found to a spreadsheet that helps you calulate the break even point: http://www.jimcarson.com/a/gas_versus_electric.xls
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...hreadid=1846149&enterthread=y&arctab=y
There is a link that I found to a spreadsheet that helps you calulate the break even point: http://www.jimcarson.com/a/gas_versus_electric.xls
Electric appliances are cheaper to operate than gas ones here. With that said, I still have an gas water heater and gas range
Electric heaters are 100% efficient folks. 100% of the heat generated goes into the living space. Now what it costs per btu may be a different story depending on what you pay per kw/h.
Consider a gas fired water heater. Check your burner. Most residential ones fire at 40,000 btu/hr. To generate this output with electricity would require 11.730 kW. Again residential electric water heaters have two elements of 4.5kW each. Since the standard service is 30A, 240VAC single phase only one element is allowed to run at a time. This translates into 15,345 btu/hr which is ~38% the output capacity of the 40mbh gas burner. What does all this mean? It takes a lot longer to heat your water.
Gas dryers are 5500 watts. That's 18,775 btu/h and (again) less than most dryers which fire at 30,000 and up. The electric will take longer to dry your clothes.
In a nutshell, gas is faster. Dryers have to be vented so that's not an issue. Most dwellings that heat with gas have a gas water heater as it's common practice (again check your LOCAL code!) to pipe the flue into the gas furnace flue. Want really efficient central heat? Look into a condensing gas furnace. These high 95% efficiency ratings so high as a matter of fact that they can use PVC for the flue pipe!
Consider a gas fired water heater. Check your burner. Most residential ones fire at 40,000 btu/hr. To generate this output with electricity would require 11.730 kW. Again residential electric water heaters have two elements of 4.5kW each. Since the standard service is 30A, 240VAC single phase only one element is allowed to run at a time. This translates into 15,345 btu/hr which is ~38% the output capacity of the 40mbh gas burner. What does all this mean? It takes a lot longer to heat your water.
Gas dryers are 5500 watts. That's 18,775 btu/h and (again) less than most dryers which fire at 30,000 and up. The electric will take longer to dry your clothes.
In a nutshell, gas is faster. Dryers have to be vented so that's not an issue. Most dwellings that heat with gas have a gas water heater as it's common practice (again check your LOCAL code!) to pipe the flue into the gas furnace flue. Want really efficient central heat? Look into a condensing gas furnace. These high 95% efficiency ratings so high as a matter of fact that they can use PVC for the flue pipe!
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