Gas Home or All-Electric?

[Fbfrank]

My wife and I have visited The Villages this past February, coming again this June and and again Feb (2020) and are planning to move there sometime in Summer of 2020. My wife is totally hooked on gas stoves and clothes dryer and I prefer a gas furnace. We both have lived in a total electric home in the past and didn't like it.

How many of you have gas service in your homes and how do you like it?

Thanks in advance.

Frank Thompson

[photo1902]

My wife and I have visited The Villages this past February, coming again this June and and again Feb (2020) and are planning to move there sometime in Summer of 2020. My wife is totally hooked on gas stoves and clothes dryer and I prefer a gas furnace. We both have lived in a total electric home in the past and didn't like it.

How many of you have gas service in your homes and how do you like it?

Thanks in advance.

Frank Thompson

We moved to an area which is all-electric. Other than occasionally missing a gas cooktop, it's not a big deal either way.

And don't worry about a gas furnace here :)

[Brenda.ball]

In TN with have mostly electric with gas heat. In Fenney, we have mostly gas. We have really enjoyed having mostly gas home in Fenney.

[LuvtheVillages]

My wife is totally hooked on gas stoves and clothes dryer and I prefer a gas furnace.


Homes in The Villages do not have a furnace. You have A/C which doubles as a heat pump. Its electric. Some areas have gas for other appliances.

[Madelaine Amee]

Gas, love it. Have had both, prefer gas for cooking. During the power outage last Sunday I was able to cook with my gas stove!

[vintageogauge]

We have gas for the stove and dryer and if you are planning on buying south of 44 I believe all of the villages down here have it. You really don't need it for heating as you will seldom use your furnace and all of the spec homes have electric heat. You can also buy a natural gas grill and won't have to mess with propane tanks. Gas was definitely one of the selling features when we purchased our home in Fenney.'

[Nosaltnosharks]

We have gas for everything but cooking.I prefer electric for that because it's cleaner.

[skip0358]

We're all Electric IF my power goes out I'll use my Gas BBQ. Other then that I don't want or like gas. Had Electric on Long Island also.

[Fredster]

My wife is totally hooked on gas stoves and clothes dryer and I prefer a gas furnace.


Homes in The Villages do not have a furnace. You have A/C which doubles as a heat pump. Its electric. Some areas have gas for other appliances.

My home has a gas furnace, gas stove, gas dryer and gas water heater, and AC is electric!
Very economical to operate, since gas is relatively inexpensive in TV.
We had some very cold mornings this past January and February,
and I really appreciated the warmth provided by the gas furnace.

[jebartle]

Village of LaZamora is gas or electric, we also prefer gas stove and dryer. It's a matter of what you prefer.

[CFrance]

My home has a gas furnace, gas stove, gas dryer and gas water heater, and AC is electric!
Very economical to operate, since gas is relatively inexpensive in TV.
We had some very cold mornings this past January and February,
and I really appreciated the warmth provided by the gas furnace.
We have electric heating, and we most certainly do use it in the winter. We have always had a gas furnace, and I find the electric heating to be so drying it causes me nosebleeds. We always had a central humidifier on our gas furnaces, and I certainly miss it. Plus the electric heating just doesn't seem to warm the place consistently. There are cold spots in both houses we've had in TV.

Aside from heating, I much prefer gas cooking. In our last home in Michigan we had a JennAir stove that was a gas cooktop and two electric ovens, one small and one large--all one unit. Man did I love that stove.

But we chose both houses for the location and are very happy with that aspect. So we just deal with the electric. However, had I known how much I would not like electric dry heat and no gas stove, I might have given up the idea of a new house and gone for an area with gas.

[rjm1cc]

Do you care what your utilities will cost? If you go gas you will have a monthly bill for the availability of gas if you use it or not.
You might look at the cost of solar electric for the house and go all electric. I have gas heat so I do not know how well electric baseboard heat would work but my guess is it will be easer to get the correct room tempeture than gas hot air.

[Fredster]

Do you care what your utilities will cost? If you go gas you will have a monthly bill for the availability of gas if you use it or not.
You might look at the cost of solar electric for the house and go all electric. I have gas heat so I do not know how well electric baseboard heat would work but my guess is it will be easer to get the correct room tempeture than gas hot air.

The newer gas furnaces can be had with variable speed air handling capabilities and they run very quietly.
Plus you can adjust blower speed and cycling when air conditioning.

[blueeagle65]

We have gas water heater, furnace, dryer and range. Love having gas and would be hard pressed to ever go back to all electric. We are north of 466 where gas is available - don't think that is the case in the southern villages.

[Vladimir]

We had a heat pump and electric stove up north and the heat pump was not a match for the cold winters and high electric costs. So this was a concern in moving to TV

Here in TV the heat pump works very well for the short mild cold days and the costs are low. The electric range is easy to clean since its a glass top. If you grew up with gas then you probably will prefer gas and if I ever live up north again I would only go with gas.

[vintageogauge]

We have gas water heater, furnace, dryer and range. Love having gas and would be hard pressed to ever go back to all electric. We are north of 466 where gas is available - don't think that is the case in the southern villages.

South of 44 has gas I believe in all of the villages down here.

[VJBama]

Do you care what your utilities will cost? I have gas heat so I do not know how well electric baseboard heat would work but my guess is it will be easer to get the correct room tempeture than gas hot air.

I have never seen a home in TV with electric baseboard heat. Heat pumps are used. In other words the a.c. runs in reverse. On the coldest days the resistance (boost or emergency) heat kicks in. It is located with the air handler.

[Toymeister]

Induction stoves, which are electric, behave very similar to gas stoves. If you find the right electric home just switch out the stove. All the major appliance companies make these.

[queasy27]

Gas, love it. Have had both, prefer gas for cooking. During the power outage last Sunday I was able to cook with my gas stove!

Me too, but the electric ignition was gone and I'm not in the habit any more of having to light the gas! I remember idly holding short matches to the burners in the old days but now I have one of those foot-long lighters and was nervous even using that.

[Toymeister]

If cost is a concern my electric dryer cost 55.00 annually and consumes 4.6% (421 KwH) of my electricity. Water heater numbers are 11.3%, 1058.1 KwH or 137.00 a year.

Those are not estimates that is the actual usage for 2018 based upon my whole house energy monitor.

[Toymeister]

The newer gas furnaces can be had with variable speed air handling capabilities and they run very quietly.
Plus you can adjust blower speed and cycling when air conditioning.

Any furnace can do this regardless of fuel, electric, propane or gas. The furnace installed by the builder won't as these are the lower cost models.

That is any furnace that has this capability.

[Fredster]

Any furnace can do this regardless of fuel, electric, propane or gas. The furnace installed by the builder won't as these are the lower cost models.

That is any furnace that has this capability.

If you’re contemplating replacing your HVAC system then it might be wise to
consider equipment with greater capabilities!

[Kooba]

Gas all the way north of 466

[charmed59]

I’m not sure where the boundaries are, but the villages of Bridgeport at Lake Sumter and Virginia Trace which are near Lake Sumter have gas. Creekside, right in the middle of those two, does not have gas. I think villages between 466A and 44 do not have gas. Those above 466A mostly do.

[JimJohnson]

Although rare, gas occasionally will turn your home into a bomb. Elec will pop a breaker.

[CFrance]

I have never seen a home in TV with electric baseboard heat. Heat pumps are used. In other words the a.c. runs in reverse. On the coldest days the resistance (boost or emergency) heat kicks in. It is located with the air handler.
And when the boost or emergency heat kicks in, it "boosts" the cost.

[valuemkt]

Given the choice, I'd take a gas cooktop in a heartbeat. We have Wolf appliances in our Atlanta home, and no electric cooktop we've seen in the Villages can hold a candle to it. That said, it's not a deal breaker. Most Villages between 466 and 466A (our preference) are all electric. A heat pump is adequate for the "cold" months here is .. most areas north of Florida not so much, so comparisons not really valid. Electric Dryers are fine too. Just have to exhibit patience waiting for the water to boil

[Two Bills]

Had my house here in UK converted to Air Source (Mitsubishi) Heating, all electric two years ago.
My total paid for energy consumption, and of course my bill, has gone down by 30%.
Previously we had been gas and electric.
Bearing in mind, we get nowhere near the hot air temperatures of Florida, I cannot understand why some of the modern alternative energy sources are not used more in TV.
The added attraction to installing the system in UK. was the 70% subsidy of the instalation cost, paid by the Green Energy Commission.
It pretty much pays my energy bill for the first seven years!

[Chi-Town]

I know someone who wanted a gas stove cooktop (hated the electric) and is having a propane tank buried for that and a gas grill.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Toymeister]

And when the boost or emergency heat kicks in, it "boosts" the cost.

I think it is great that you have gas. But if the readers want some facts to base a decision on let's cover those. Based upon 864 million reads of my electricity per day (10,000/second) my actual cost of "boost" or resistance heat for January 2019 is 49.7 KwH or 5.76. February: 23 KwH, 2.67.

Total electric bill, including all fees: January 88.41, February; 73.41. There are no other sources of heat except those provided by electricity.

No solar, standard HVAC/hot water heater installed by builder. 2260 sq ft under air. Home occupied everyday by a couple.. Average thermostat temp set at 74.

Edit to add: No pool, no hot tub

[TedfromGA]

We bought 2011 home in Buttonwood. This area is "all electric". Wanting a gas range required us to install a propane tank. We also wanted a home generator. After getting the ARC approvals etc. we now have a 250 gallon propane tank buried and hooked up to a) 22kw generator; b)gas range; and c) gas grill. Note: all natural gas appliances are shipped from the manufacturer with a propane conversion kit - so no issue there. Vendors used: Trademark Electric and Fireplace Installers. Excellent work performed. If/when we replace the HVAC a propane furnace is an option as is a gas water heater.

[bluedivergirl]

Induction stoves, which are electric, behave very similar to gas stoves. If you find the right electric home just switch out the stove. All the major appliance companies make these.


I purchased an induction range about two years ago. Very, very happy. Easy to clean, does not cook the food onto the top of the range. Does not heat the air, just the pan.

You do need good, magnetic cookware, and the range will cost around $3,000. I expect the price will drop as they become more popular.

[Velvet]

I’ve read some possible problems with induction... cancer... did not get it for that reason. Might be a small factor only.

[mtdjed]

My wife is totally hooked on gas stoves and clothes dryer and I prefer a gas furnace.


Homes in The Villages do not have a furnace. You have A/C which doubles as a heat pump. Its electric. Some areas have gas for other appliances.

The statement that homes do no have a furnace can be misleading. All homes in The Villages likely have a heating source of some source. May be solar, electric resistance, heat pump, gas or other. We have gas available and have a furnace combined with our AC system. If gas is not available, you could have either a heat pump with electric resistance heat, or if available heat resistance only. Perhaps solar.


My experience with electric resistance. Very expensive and slow to heat. Experience with heat pump was slow to heat (air from vents not hot but warm) probably OK here. Did not work well in Charleston, SC. Needed electrical resistance (expensive) as supplement. Gas most effective if available. Can use for heat, hot water and cooking. There is a monthly service fee so if for heating only may be a higher expense.

Our experience is that heating is not needed often but when wanted it is great to have quick (if short ) relief.

[Two Bills]

I’ve read some possible problems with induction... cancer... did not get it for that reason. Might be a small factor only.

That cancer 'rumour' has been disproved over and over.
Been using induction for years, and would not be without it.
Fastest, cleanest, safest cooking we have ever had.