what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

eisenslimer wrote:
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

I think what you really want to know is operating cost. That depends
mostly on how much gas costs vs electricity in your area, which we have
no way of knowing.

For most of the US, gas has been quite a bit cheaper than electric.
However, in the last couple years, the gap has closed quite a bit.

wrote:
eisenslimer wrote:
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

I think what you really want to know is operating cost. That depends
mostly on how much gas costs vs electricity in your area, which we have
no way of knowing.

For most of the US, gas has been quite a bit cheaper than electric.
However, in the last couple years, the gap has closed quite a bit.

What you really need to think about is how good is the insulation around
the water heater regardless of whether it is electric or gas. If you
aren't using any hot water and the insulation is perfect, the water
heater won't cost anything in operating expenses.

eisenslimer wrote:
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

The cost of conversion totally swamps any other financial concerns. In
general, whatever you've got, replace it with a like design. If it was
new construction and you already had gas, it might make some sense to go
that route as it's slightly better, but not by a huge amount.



John
--
Remove the dead poet to e-mail, tho CC'd posts are unwelcome.
Mean People Suck - It takes two deviations to get cool.
Ask me about joining the NRA.

eisenslimer wrote:
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy
consumer,,, for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would
prefer to not do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

Divide the cost of a gallon of gas by 21.44 and compare that to the
cost per KWH of electricity (including fuel adjustment).

In my area, it now costs almost twice as much to use LPG as it does
electricity. Still not worth it to go out and buy an electric water
heater though.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Stubby wrote:
wrote:
eisenslimer wrote:
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

I think what you really want to know is operating cost. That depends
mostly on how much gas costs vs electricity in your area, which we have
no way of knowing.

For most of the US, gas has been quite a bit cheaper than electric.
However, in the last couple years, the gap has closed quite a bit.

What you really need to think about is how good is the insulation around
the water heater regardless of whether it is electric or gas. If you
aren't using any hot water and the insulation is perfect, the water
heater won't cost anything in operating expenses.


So, you don't use any hot water where you live? Like insulation
anywhere else, there are diminishing returns for adding more
insulation. And heating the water you do use is a major factor in how
much it costs to operate. Also factor in that in gas water heaters a
lot of the standby loss is up the flue, which more insulation isn't
gonna fix. I'm not convinced adding more insulation around a water
heater is gonna do a whole lot. Insulation is cheap, and if it were
that easy to reduce energy costs, manufacturers would be doing it,
because they would then have a significantly more efficient unit that
customers would pay more for.

Do you have a flue for the gas heater? That is certainly a factor.

A couple years ago I looked into changing my dryer to gas from electric; but
even if I did the work myself, the payback wasn't there. Sure, water
heaters use more energy, but I didn't get the sense you were doing the work.

"eisenslimer" wrote in message
ups.com...
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

we are doing all the work...
but running gas lines would warrant our first call to a pro...don't
want to mess around in that department
what is a flue?
i don't think we have one.

Toller wrote:
Do you have a flue for the gas heater? That is certainly a factor.

A couple years ago I looked into changing my dryer to gas from electric; but
even if I did the work myself, the payback wasn't there. Sure, water
heaters use more energy, but I didn't get the sense you were doing the work.

"eisenslimer" wrote in message
ups.com...
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

we are doing all the work...
but running gas lines would warrant our first call to a pro...don't
want to mess around in that department
what is a flue?
i don't think we have one.

Toller wrote:
Do you have a flue for the gas heater? That is certainly a factor.

A couple years ago I looked into changing my dryer to gas from electric; but
even if I did the work myself, the payback wasn't there. Sure, water
heaters use more energy, but I didn't get the sense you were doing the work.

"eisenslimer" wrote in message
ups.com...
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

is your home heated with gas? if so locate hot water heater right newxt
to gas furnace. this minimizes gas line runs.

you can get a forced vent tank so you dont need a chimney or flue. this
futher minimizes expenses

On 5 Sep 2006 17:12:57 -0700, "eisenslimer"
wrote:

we are doing all the work...
but running gas lines would warrant our first call to a pro...don't
want to mess around in that department
what is a flue?
i don't think we have one.


A flue is a chimney for your gas hot-water heater or other gas
appliances. Generally, there are strict requirements on flue
construction so that you don't burn the house down.

First of all... Where do you live? Electric costs vary greatly...
Natural Gas may be cheap in a place like Texas, but more expensive in
New England, if you can get it at all. Electricity is cheap in a
place like Washington State or Idaho (hydropower), but expensive in a
place like Vermont or New Hampshire.

Gas heaters are better in terms of recovery. (They heat up faster
when someone uses up all the hot water). Maybe 45 minutes vs. 1 1/2
hours. If I had a big family, I'd go for the gas. They do require a
flue, and a source of outside combustion air. Around here (the
Pacific Northwest), that usually means placement in the garage or
attic (The latter... is often a pain in the ass for maintenance).
In the Midwest, they often put the gas heaters in the basement which
is sucky if you ever have a flood that quenches the burner.

If you are luck to live in a place where electricity is cheap and you
never want to fool around with pilot lights, an electric heater is
cheap, almost 100% silent, and should be mostly maintenance-free over
the life of the unit. You can put it almost anywhere that you can run
an electric line. No worries about venting or a source of combustion
air supply.

So it all depends on your circumstances…

Beachcomber

wrote:
Stubby wrote:
wrote:
eisenslimer wrote:
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????
I think what you really want to know is operating cost. That depends
mostly on how much gas costs vs electricity in your area, which we have
no way of knowing.

For most of the US, gas has been quite a bit cheaper than electric.
However, in the last couple years, the gap has closed quite a bit.

What you really need to think about is how good is the insulation around
the water heater regardless of whether it is electric or gas. If you
aren't using any hot water and the insulation is perfect, the water
heater won't cost anything in operating expenses.


So, you don't use any hot water where you live? Like insulation
anywhere else, there are diminishing returns for adding more
insulation. And heating the water you do use is a major factor in how
much it costs to operate. Also factor in that in gas water heaters a
lot of the standby loss is up the flue, which more insulation isn't
gonna fix. I'm not convinced adding more insulation around a water
heater is gonna do a whole lot. Insulation is cheap, and if it were
that easy to reduce energy costs, manufacturers would be doing it,
because they would then have a significantly more efficient unit that
customers would pay more for.

I agree. The question is not simply "gas or electric?" For instance
if you have a teenager who soaks all day in hot showers, your heating
costs are likely to be higher. Of course I use hot water and the OP
needs to consider the limiting cases-- teenager for max waste and no use
for min waste.

wrote:
Stubby wrote:
wrote:
eisenslimer wrote:
what do y'all think?
I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
do.
if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
???????

I think what you really want to know is operating cost. That depends
mostly on how much gas costs vs electricity in your area, which we have
no way of knowing.

For most of the US, gas has been quite a bit cheaper than electric.
However, in the last couple years, the gap has closed quite a bit.

What you really need to think about is how good is the insulation around
the water heater regardless of whether it is electric or gas. If you
aren't using any hot water and the insulation is perfect, the water
heater won't cost anything in operating expenses.


So, you don't use any hot water where you live? Like insulation
anywhere else, there are diminishing returns for adding more
insulation. And heating the water you do use is a major factor in how
much it costs to operate. Also factor in that in gas water heaters a
lot of the standby loss is up the flue, which more insulation isn't
gonna fix. I'm not convinced adding more insulation around a water
heater is gonna do a whole lot. Insulation is cheap, and if it were
that easy to reduce energy costs, manufacturers would be doing it,
because they would then have a significantly more efficient unit that
customers would pay more for.

Yeah, you notice that those hot water heater external insulation kits
that were popular in the 80s have pretty much disappeared from the
market. Of course, as someone has or will no doubt point out, the
simple test is to touch the thing when it's on, and see if heat is
leaking to the outside. Can't do that before you buy it, though.