[Pearls Before Swine]

Cheaper, and far more reliable, as well.

[Gaffer]

Had a home in the UK in 1975 that was all electric. It had a small boiler that heated one wall panel in the dining room we didn’t use and it heated up the water tank that fed the water heater (electric). We could only afford to heat the baby’s room. The rest of the house depended on that little boiler in the main hallway. I must have busted up a couple dozen pallets to make fire starters for the bags of coal I had delivered.

The first house I built I put in forced hot water heat that was driven by a little main boiler and fed hot water baseboard panels. It was efficient and much warmer than forced air heating.

[ducttape45]

Not in my area of Indiana. My gas bill multiplied six times it’s normal rate in the winter, while my electric bill went up by maybe $40.00, maybe a 25% increase.

[Mr. Lucky]

Heating with wood is 100% cheaper.

[mass55th]

I never owned a home, and raised my two sons in apartments (top or bottom half of a house), or home rentals over those years. My kids are in their 50's now. The majority of the places we lived in were heated with natural gas, a couple places had radiator heating, another required oil delivery. I never had an issue paying for my own utilities, and paying for them on time. One year, back in mid 90's, I moved into an apartment complex that had baseboard electric heating. Each apartment had its own electric water heater. Niagara Mohawk was the area utility at the time. I went on their budget program, because I'd never lived in a place that had electric heating before, but had heard it was more costly. I paid the budget amount they had quoted me on time, every month. During the year I lived in the place, they never adjusted the budget amount. When I moved out, and got my final bill, they said I owed $500. I called and complained, but was still required to pay the full amount. That was the first and last time I ever used a budget with a utility company. And I vowed I would never live in another apartment that had electric heating.

The apartment I've been in for the past 23 years has natural gas. The furnace is in the walk-in bedroom closet. It is a combo furnace that is connected to a central air unit. My bill last month was $102.00. That includes gas and electric, along with whatever fees and taxes are added.

[meyer]

This is particularly true up north, where winters are very cold. In the south, where the winters are much milder. If I recall and it’s been a number of years since I studied such things, the typical heat pump really starts losing its competitive edge below freezing, and around the mid 20s, it requires more energy than it saves to self-defrost and still provide heat.

I’m speaking of air-to-air heat pumps. Geothermal is another story, though a much higher installation cost.

Gas furnaces put out some nice, warm heat, and are relatively economical to build and maintain. And I say this as one that works in the electric power industry.

[nutmeg]

.

[Glad2bnuts]

My previous house was heated by a gas furnace. I placed it under the house in the crawl. It drew air from the house from the floor, and heated it and returned it into the floor. It also sucked the air out of the house, where it was cooled in the crawl space, and cooled the house in the summer. I only needed one window AC unit to keep one room cool. We kept the door closed to it all day, and when we got off work we fired it up. The entire house was cooled with one window AC. Of course my bill was around 60 bucks for 2 months in the winter, my electricity bill was 40 for two months year around. In a two bedroom 900 sq ft house I live in now, my utilities are 220 a month. I have a heat pump and electric water heater. I miss that old house.

[Chgogal]

FJB is selling our nation’s energy security to the Chinese. Unacceptable!

[ronnie raygun]

They are not interested in you or facts they want control