Why do new apartments still use gas?

[miri]

My old apartment was all electricity, It was simple, 1 bill.

My new apartment is electricity and gas

I have 2 different bills instead of 1

Im moving in on a Sunday since im driving from the east coast to the west coast and since I have to be there for them to turn the gas on, unlike electricity I have to wait until Monday for hot water, stove, oven and dryer

Is gas any cheaper? I know its better for cooking, but what else?

 

[FoBoT]

natural gas is more efficient than electric

it is mo' betta

 

[sygyzy]

Gas works much better. Off the top of my head, cooking with gas is far superious than electricity. Try both and you'll never go back to electricity.

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
natural gas is more efficient than electric

it is mo' betta

Ive heard of people here on the east coast that have $350 gas bills for 1 month during the winter, that doesnt sound that efficient. My electricity bill during the winter for a 2 bedroom apartment is only about $200.

 

[Ramma2]

I looked up the specs for the electric GE Profile DPSB620EC and its evil gas-heated twin, the DPSB620GC. The E has a 5,600 Watt heating element. The G uses a 22,000 BTU/hour heating element. A standard power connection is needed to turn the drum. It appears to be a 1/3 horsepower motor drawing approximately 6 Amps at 120 Volts. That being said, we're going to simplify life by ignoring the drum motor and assuming each dryer dries equally. Waving my hands, I calculate the per-load cost as:
Electric dryer: 5,600 w/hr * 0.06872 = $0.384832 per load
(If we used the lower rate, it's only $0.289447 per load)
Gas dryer: 22,000 BTU * 1 therm / 100,000 BTU * $0.98655/therm = $0.217041 per load.

Based on this, gas is cheaper to operate. Now, let's figure out what the breakeven is. The cost difference is universally $50 for gas versus electric. (I think this is mostly marketing, the same way as premium unleaded is always $0.20/gallon more than regular unleaded.) The cost difference per load is: $0.384832 - $0.217041 = $0.168/load.

ConclusionThe number of loads we need to do to break even (save $50) is:
($50 + sales tax) / $0.168/load =
($50 + $4.3) / $0.168/load = 323 loads
In an average week, we do eight loads of clothes. A gas dryer would pay for itself in about ten months. Since the average lifetime of a dryer is at least five years, conventional wisdom is seems correct

*Taken from another site

 

[miri]

Interesting, I like saving money, and since ill be moving to the southern California coastline, I doubt ill need heat during the winter.

 

[waggy]

up until recently. gas was far cheaper.

but gas is still more efficient and as other said cooking with gas (stove top anyway) is far better.

 

[T9D]

Gas for the win.

It's cheaper and much more efficient. Heats much faster. I'll take a gas furnace, gas hot water heater, and gas stove any day over electric.

 

[HN]

i looooooooooooathe cooking on electric stove tops :|

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: tk109
Gas for the win.

It's cheaper and much more efficient. Heats much faster. I'll take a gas furnace, gas hot water heater, and gas stove any day over electric.

Ive used gas before but it was always payed for by the apartment complex except for this 1 apartment where I only had to pay for gas for cooking, the hot water was payed for, so I never really realized the savings.

 

[mordantmonkey]

yeah cooking with electric blow ass. though i've never cooked with one of those magnetic induction(i think that's what it is) stoves yet. has anyone else?

 

[Miramonti]

Cooking with gas for $200, Alex.

 

[bigfil]

we have a gas stove and gas dryer
our gas bill is not even 50 bucks a month
and we cook and use the dryer a lot

so yes gas is better price wise

 

[mugs]

I HATE cooking with an electric stove now that I have a gas stove.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: tk109
Gas for the win.

It's cheaper and much more efficient. Heats much faster. I'll take a gas furnace, gas hot water heater, and gas stove any day over electric.

Not on the east coast. Gas has gone up and many are adding heat pumps to their house now when it is not super cold. Our gas bill has been $300+ on the coldest months and the house is not that warm either. Also the house is less then 5 years old and we have added adjustable thermostats and other upgrades to cut cost but it is still that high.

 

[soydios]

Piped-in natural gas, or even trucked-in propane, is cheaper than electricity for such things as cooking, heating, water heating, etc.
At home, we have propane water heaters and propane central heating. The dryer and stoves are electric, though. Cooking on an electric stove is fine. None of the headaches associated with gas leaks, but it does take longer to cook.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Electric stoves suck... there is nothing like having a real fire to cook with.

 

[acemcmac]

I'll let you know. I have a gas furnace, water heater, dryer and range.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: soydios
Cooking on an electric stove is fine. None of the headaches associated with gas leaks, but it does take longer to cook.

It takes longer to cook, you can't properly adjust the temperature, when you DO try to turn the heat down it takes a LOOOOONNNG time to actually cool, and be realistic...when's the last time you had a gas leak?

Gas>>> electric.

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: tk109
Gas for the win.

It's cheaper and much more efficient. Heats much faster. I'll take a gas furnace, gas hot water heater, and gas stove any day over electric.

Not on the east coast. Gas has gone up and many are adding heat pumps to their house now when it is not super cold. Our gas bill has been $300+ on the coldest months and the house is not that warm either. Also the house is less then 5 years old and we have added adjustable thermostats and other upgrades to cut cost but it is still that high.

Thats what I was wondering about, luckily, I wont have to use heat during the winter since the temperature is moderate during the winter months

 

[BooGiMaN]

it was pretty cold this winter in southern calif...maybe it wont be for you until you get accustomed to the weather

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: miri
Interesting, I like saving money, and since ill be moving to the southern California coastline, I doubt ill need heat during the winter.

You will need the money you save from no heating during the winter to live in socal

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: BooGiMaN
it was pretty cold this winter in southern calif...maybe it wont be for you until you get accustomed to the weather

When I lived by myself, I lived a year without heat in Virginia when temperatures got below 20 degrees. I would wear sweatpants and sweaters around my apartment and use a blanket and sleeping bag to sleep in.

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: miri
Interesting, I like saving money, and since ill be moving to the southern California coastline, I doubt ill need heat during the winter.

You will need the money you save from no heating during the winter to live in socal

Ill be making more money and the rent is only $350 more than it is here a month

 

[zachtos]

I work for a major utility in michigan designing new gas and electric services. any form of resistive electric heating is inefficient. gas is MUCH more efficient and cheaper to heat with.

always choose gas for dryers,stoves,furnaces.

geothermal is the best form of heating though.