The house I live in that was built in 1985 and it would classify as a Gold Medallion all electric home but the previous owners got gas in 2001 sometime. I find it interesting how in the Live Better Electrically commercials from the 50’s and 60’s they tout that having a all electric home is better but they don’t even bother mentioning what the electric bill would be like in a all electric house.
Gas dryers - visible flame?
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bradfordwhite
Well-known member
Electric may be more expensive in some areas compared to the equivalent BTU in gas, coal, wood, etc.
But that doesn't change the fact that for <span style="text-decoration: underline;">living standards</span> electric is still better, more convenient, safer, and cleaner.
Those are two different issues.
Sure you could shovel coal or wood daily to heat your home,
or you could spend thousand of dollars to install a tank and a dirty oil furnace,
or spend the same to install pipes, ducts, a chimney, and a gas furnace that will need frequent service calls and create noisy background disturbances.
it might be half as expensive monthly. It might be 1/3 the cost monthly.
It's interesting because by 1970 it was clear that homes built in say:
1920 had no insulation, were drafty, and expensive to heat.
1960 had minimal insulation 1" , no vapor barrier, cheap windows, and was easier to heat
1970 had more insulation 3", a vapor barrier, thermo pane windows, and was even easier to heat, keep comfortable, and less expensive monthly.
They should have focused on subsidizing home insulation, windows, and doors rather than
subsidizing residential gas service because most all homes already had electric service, it is expensive to install gas lines, and we would have been better off in general.
By the mid 1980s new homes in the northern regions had 2x6 walls with R-19 and ceilings with R-60 insulation so they were on the right track.
Now insulation has got so good, people in some areas are heating their homes with light bulbs or the equivalent. That's awesome.
Goals as they say.
Insulation: doesn't require a pipeline or over head lines, doesn't require a service call, doesn't make noise, has no moving parts.
But that doesn't change the fact that for <span style="text-decoration: underline;">living standards</span> electric is still better, more convenient, safer, and cleaner.
Those are two different issues.
Sure you could shovel coal or wood daily to heat your home,
or you could spend thousand of dollars to install a tank and a dirty oil furnace,
or spend the same to install pipes, ducts, a chimney, and a gas furnace that will need frequent service calls and create noisy background disturbances.
it might be half as expensive monthly. It might be 1/3 the cost monthly.
It's interesting because by 1970 it was clear that homes built in say:
1920 had no insulation, were drafty, and expensive to heat.
1960 had minimal insulation 1" , no vapor barrier, cheap windows, and was easier to heat
1970 had more insulation 3", a vapor barrier, thermo pane windows, and was even easier to heat, keep comfortable, and less expensive monthly.
They should have focused on subsidizing home insulation, windows, and doors rather than
subsidizing residential gas service because most all homes already had electric service, it is expensive to install gas lines, and we would have been better off in general.
By the mid 1980s new homes in the northern regions had 2x6 walls with R-19 and ceilings with R-60 insulation so they were on the right track.
Now insulation has got so good, people in some areas are heating their homes with light bulbs or the equivalent. That's awesome.
Goals as they say.
Insulation: doesn't require a pipeline or over head lines, doesn't require a service call, doesn't make noise, has no moving parts.
bradfordwhite
Well-known member
Insulation and solar electric is the way forward
Solar electric is getting so affordable convenient and available too.
You can power your home with this.
I've seen utility company advertisements where they will install panels on your roof for like no money down and if you feed back into the grid you may not have to spend any money. Might even get money back.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2743004825...=&campaignid=11755692906&mkgroupid=1177688922
Solar electric is getting so affordable convenient and available too.
You can power your home with this.
I've seen utility company advertisements where they will install panels on your roof for like no money down and if you feed back into the grid you may not have to spend any money. Might even get money back.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2743004825...=&campaignid=11755692906&mkgroupid=1177688922
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
bradfordwhite
Well-known member
I hadn't looked at these in a while.
Electric Dryers Loading Their Circuit
Yes I know that there are many circuits in most homes larger than the 30 Amp line most dryers use.
My Point Was that in most homes the dryer more often and more consistently loads its circuit nearer to its limit, an electric range, an electric water heater, central A/C- HP and even back up electric heating almost never load the circuit to around 90% of its capacity.
John
Yes I know that there are many circuits in most homes larger than the 30 Amp line most dryers use.
My Point Was that in most homes the dryer more often and more consistently loads its circuit nearer to its limit, an electric range, an electric water heater, central A/C- HP and even back up electric heating almost never load the circuit to around 90% of its capacity.
John
My house was built in 1956 and was entirely electric. It didn't have a dryer connection in the house at all. At some point in time one of the previous owners who worked for the gas company changed out to gas water heater, stove, furnace, and ran a line out to the shop and had a gas dryer in there. I have 3 240V outlets (well 4 now since I got the Miele and had to run one for it). After I bought the house I was looking at the fuse box and saw the reason why the PO changed everything to gas. There were melted wires in there! Now, the only thing that pulls much juice is when the central AC is running.
As far as yellowing of the dryer or the clothes, never had an issue. Mother has had both fuels in my lifetime. I do know that homes with an indoor cigarette smoker will have more yellowing with gas appliances.
As far as yellowing of the dryer or the clothes, never had an issue. Mother has had both fuels in my lifetime. I do know that homes with an indoor cigarette smoker will have more yellowing with gas appliances.
twintubdexter
Well-known member
<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Heaven forbid I'd have an electric clothes dryer or an electric water heater, not with 2 central air conditioners (have friends that have 4) with triple-digit temps the norm for all of July & August. If all of my electronics, TV's and computers and the like, along with the all of the lighting could operate on gas I'd have those too. I suppose in a way they do since most of the electric power I receive is generated with natural gas.</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Gas...I like it.</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Gas...I like it.</span>
warmsecondrinse
Well-known member
It seems to me that performance years down the road depends on the quality of equipment installed and skill level of the installer. Skill level of the service folks currently maintaining older systems is as well. I can tell you that most techs today have no idea what to do with a 100+ year old one-pipe steam heating system or know that it supposed to be silent or operate at pressures that are comically low by today's standards.
Maybe other older technologies have the same problem?
#25
I agree with you in that attitudes depend on what one is used to and how well it worked.
My grandparents had a 1,000 gallon oil tank buried in the back yard. Tank fed the oil-fired boiler present when my grandparents bought the house in 1953. Never a smell of oil during day-to-day operation..... EVER. As in ZERO. A couple times I was present when the guy from the oil company came to change the oil filter. He told me oil should never smell and if it does, something somewhere is wrong.
The attic was insulated with 6 inches of what my grandfather called "rock wool" He said it was made from the slag left from some refining operation I've forgotten. He told me it was popular 1900 - 1930's because it was the only insulation cheap enough to be worth installing given the prevailing low oil prices.
House had huge exterior storm windows one had to climb up a ladder
After one frigid winter in the late 70's I went around sealing crevices, put in insulation behind outlets, etc. -- the things an industrious young teen could do
---------------------------------
I grew up in a 60's development originally slated to be called "Gaslight Village". The only thing not gas-powered was the refrigerator. Even the lights outside were gas.
The only complaint I recall about gas dryers was that particles (which should not have been there) came in with the gas and built up somewhere in the burner causing it to burn inefficiently (i.e. yellow). Once the burner was clean all problems with singeing and yellowing went away.
When hurricane Gloria hit we lost power for 8 days. I was very happy to be able to take a shower and have coffee
Many/most older homes in the northeast were wired only for 120v. 240v "had to be brought in from the street and was very expensive". That was the mantra. I can't speak to the truth of that, beyond that it was the line from the electric company and repeated by everyone who looked into it or had it done.
I should point out that gas was available everywhere. I only know of one all-electric development where I grew up. Literally everyone else I knew had gas service. Under those conditions in the 70's and 80's gas was definitely cheaper than either oil or electricity. That all-electric development went up in the mid 70's. IIRC the houses were insulated as 'much as possible' (FWIW) but the electric bills were so outrageous that within a few years most owners had replaced the baseboard electric with oil-fired hot water.
-------------
Solar electric
Solar cell efficiency keeps creeping upward and costs keep creeping downward. Solar electric makes good economic sense today in places it didn't 20 years ago. There's no reason to think that trend will not continue.
Maybe other older technologies have the same problem?
#25
I agree with you in that attitudes depend on what one is used to and how well it worked.
My grandparents had a 1,000 gallon oil tank buried in the back yard. Tank fed the oil-fired boiler present when my grandparents bought the house in 1953. Never a smell of oil during day-to-day operation..... EVER. As in ZERO. A couple times I was present when the guy from the oil company came to change the oil filter. He told me oil should never smell and if it does, something somewhere is wrong.
The attic was insulated with 6 inches of what my grandfather called "rock wool" He said it was made from the slag left from some refining operation I've forgotten. He told me it was popular 1900 - 1930's because it was the only insulation cheap enough to be worth installing given the prevailing low oil prices.
House had huge exterior storm windows one had to climb up a ladder
After one frigid winter in the late 70's I went around sealing crevices, put in insulation behind outlets, etc. -- the things an industrious young teen could do
---------------------------------
I grew up in a 60's development originally slated to be called "Gaslight Village". The only thing not gas-powered was the refrigerator. Even the lights outside were gas.
The only complaint I recall about gas dryers was that particles (which should not have been there) came in with the gas and built up somewhere in the burner causing it to burn inefficiently (i.e. yellow). Once the burner was clean all problems with singeing and yellowing went away.
When hurricane Gloria hit we lost power for 8 days. I was very happy to be able to take a shower and have coffee
Many/most older homes in the northeast were wired only for 120v. 240v "had to be brought in from the street and was very expensive". That was the mantra. I can't speak to the truth of that, beyond that it was the line from the electric company and repeated by everyone who looked into it or had it done.
I should point out that gas was available everywhere. I only know of one all-electric development where I grew up. Literally everyone else I knew had gas service. Under those conditions in the 70's and 80's gas was definitely cheaper than either oil or electricity. That all-electric development went up in the mid 70's. IIRC the houses were insulated as 'much as possible' (FWIW) but the electric bills were so outrageous that within a few years most owners had replaced the baseboard electric with oil-fired hot water.
-------------
Solar electric
Solar cell efficiency keeps creeping upward and costs keep creeping downward. Solar electric makes good economic sense today in places it didn't 20 years ago. There's no reason to think that trend will not continue.
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