[mrmrsjms1]

We too came from the north and live in a 2600 sq ft home north of Rt. 44. Our electric bill for heating, cooling, cooking, heating water, and our swimming pool is far less than our prior gas and electric bills combined up north (and we had a pool there too). The electric rates are quite low here relative to other parts of the country we’ve lived (NY, PA, VA, NC) - I would say you shouldn’t be concerned.

[shelley77]

Originally Posted by Scbang

Hi, I've noticed that many new TV houses are electrically heated. Besides the fact the cooking is also electric, coming from northern part of the country, electric is much more expensive than gas heating even though it may not require much heating in TV. So, for those of you living in a new TV house with electric heating, do you have any complaints on the cost of heating?

Cheers!

My home here in The Villages is 11 years old, about 2000 SF. I like it cool in the summer and use the heat alot also, so I'm a heavy electric user. Everything is electric, including Kitchen and Laundry. I spend $250-$275 month. Electric is cheap down here! (I'm from NYC).

[Nick B]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

Houses with gas cost MORE than all electric.

Long time members will know me as the guy with an whole house electric monitor. With 10,000 reads per second 24/7 my Sense monitor, Sense: Track energy use in real time to make your home more energy efficient., identified appliances usage and I did this for three years. This included an all electric home that I rented giving me insight on how different people use electricity.

First, the things that you think use a ton of kilowatts do not. Second the monthly availability of service fees for gas more than cancel any savings with gas. I have a gas home now so I have compared

The big users in the electric over gas are water heater, dryer and hvac heating.

Let's dispense with the water heater, a tanked water heater costs 10.00 to 14.00 a month to operate. A dryer is 4.50 to 8.00.

Heat is harder to assign a cost. But know this emergency or resistance heat, rarely used, is 94-96% efficient. Heat pump heat (the one that is used) is approximately 250% efficient.

Say what!!! The efficiency standard was established for resistance heat. Heat pumps are just that good at all temps when outdoors is 40 degrees or greater.

Now the exceptions, if you heat your pool with electric resistance heat (not a pool heat pump) then gas is better.

Notes: No, tankless water heaters are not great cost savers with no tank of super insulated water to keep warm. How do I know? I used a remote water heater switch to measure the cost of keeping the heater on and compared the holding costs of keeping a water heater on 24/7 vice on 12, off 12. In order to eliminate bias in water usage I conducted this test while the home was rented, the tenants were unaware of the test. I even had a water heater -water usage (gallons)- to measure hot water usage. I also kept a tank of water hot in a vacant home for a month and measured the cost of keeping water hot I.e. standby costs. You use far less hot water than you think.

If anyone has conducted more analysis than I have I would love to hear about it.

Bored Engineer?

[merrymini]

The distinct disadvantage of all electric is when you have a power loss. If you have gas for hot water and cooking, you can manage more easily. Does not make a difference for heating or cooling since the fans operate on electric. If necessary, you can get a generator installed. I have never felt the need for one but others may have medical issues necessitating such a device. Miss the gas on the stovetop tho!

[keepsake]

Since heat hates to fall from the ceiling vents, for the handful of days heat is needed here, I run a space heater.

Another useful device is the newer electric mattress pads as the coldest times are overnight.

Back some 5 years ago I ran some bitcoin miners in the house for the heat they made. Actually had one in the fireplace rather than wood that winter. Run the heat up the chimney on warm days, close the damper and push the heat into the house on a cold night.

[Rodneysblue]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

Houses with gas cost MORE than all electric.

Long time members will know me as the guy with an whole house electric monitor. With 10,000 reads per second 24/7 my Sense monitor, Sense: Track energy use in real time to make your home more energy efficient., identified appliances usage and I did this for three years. This included an all electric home that I rented giving me insight on how different people use electricity.

First, the things that you think use a ton of kilowatts do not. Second the monthly availability of service fees for gas more than cancel any savings with gas. I have a gas home now so I have compared

The big users in the electric over gas are water heater, dryer and hvac heating.

Let's dispense with the water heater, a tanked water heater costs 10.00 to 14.00 a month to operate. A dryer is 4.50 to 8.00.

Heat is harder to assign a cost. But know this emergency or resistance heat, rarely used, is 94-96% efficient. Heat pump heat (the one that is used) is approximately 250% efficient.

Say what!!! The efficiency standard was established for resistance heat. Heat pumps are just that good at all temps when outdoors is 40 degrees or greater.

Now the exceptions, if you heat your pool with electric resistance heat (not a pool heat pump) then gas is better.

Notes: No, tankless water heaters are not great cost savers with no tank of super insulated water to keep warm. How do I know? I used a remote water heater switch to measure the cost of keeping the heater on and compared the holding costs of keeping a water heater on 24/7 vice on 12, off 12. In order to eliminate bias in water usage I conducted this test while the home was rented, the tenants were unaware of the test. I even had a water heater -water usage (gallons)- to measure hot water usage. I also kept a tank of water hot in a vacant home for a month and measured the cost of keeping water hot I.e. standby costs. You use far less hot water than you think.

If anyone has conducted more analysis than I have I would love to hear about it.

Wow, Toymeister. You have really done your research. With such information, you should do a seminar to help and instruct people on energy usage. Thank you for the information.

[tophcfa]

Been here all winter and when we got up one morning in January I turned on the electric heat for about 10 minutes. We sleep most winter nights with the windows and the slider to the birdcage open. There really is no need for any heat in the Villages, just A/C.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

Some of the new villages south of 44 have gas cooking, hot water, and dryer but electric heat. You will rarely use the heating elements. I don't know about the older homes but the new ones are pretty well insulated and hold the heat very well.

People have a lot of variabilities as to how well they can handle cold temperatures, or the summer heat. You will notice that from Dec through March that some people rapidly enter a swimming pool - some take a long time to get used to the water - and some just stay on their recliner all winter. Rather than waste money by heating the whole home, you could use a space heater or an electric blanket at night.

[JSR22]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Been here all winter and when we got up one morning in January I turned on the electric heat for about 10 minutes. We sleep most winter nights with the windows and the slider to the birdcage open. There really is no need for any heat in the Villages, just A/C.

We use the heat frequently. I keep the heat and air at 74 year round.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by Scbang

Hi, I've noticed that many new TV houses are electrically heated. Besides the fact the cooking is also electric, coming from northern part of the country, electric is much more expensive than gas heating even though it may not require much heating in TV. So, for those of you living in a new TV house with electric heating, do you have any complaints on the cost of heating?

Cheers!

We are ex-northerners at one of the cooperative extension lectures the speaker asked how many of you are northerners. Typical show of hands kind of thing. His next line was forget everything you knew about gardening.

The same is true for heating. First of all the cost of electricity is roughly half of what we used to pay per kilowatt hour. Cold? When it drops to 40 you will see some pulling out their ear muffs.

Heat. In most homes your heat is provided by a heat pump. Essentially your,
same air conditioning system running in reverse-pulling heat from the air. Our home is roughly 2x the sq footage of our used to be N.Y home and our cost for utilities, we did not have central air in NY is roughly half what it was.

We have 2400 sq feet, elect hot water and cooking average electric bill about $100 per month.

[MJCtalk]

We removed our gas stove and dryer upon moving in to a new home here in 2007. Our heat and Hot water is still the original gas. When the time comes I'd like to convert to electric instead because gas pipes located in our attics are a danger if lightning was to strike. Does anyone know what the additional cost would be to convert gas heat and hot water to electric service in The Villages? I'd appreciate answers from home owners and heating pros.

[MJCtalk]

Does anyone know the cost of switching from gas to electric heating in The Villages when replacing a system? The reason to do so is gas pipes are located in our attics which poses a dangerous condition when lightning is present. I'd appreciate the cost from residents and Heating Pros too. Thank you.

[The Mountaineer]

I live in Ohio. I have spent 30 years winterizing in Florida, most of the past decade in The Villages. My winter all-electric home bill is $300 a month, but I wouldn't trade for gas. Those with gas still have to pay for electric. But I don't worry about, at the age of 88, setting the house on fire with a gas stove. Life is all about making choices. And there are good and bad in every choice. I'm delighted with my all-electric home. Yes, power outages every year or so. No bid deal unless you make it a big deal. So, consider your comfort zones, check the pro and cons of gas/electric and all-electric, make your choice. And live with it happily!

[Mortal1]

It's electrically "powered" heat, but the delivery system is forced hot air(at least in my cottage). No electrically heated elements along the base board(like in Maine...where we changed to wood stove and then forced hot water with a heating oil boiler).

There is a large difference between forced hot air and electric.

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by Nick B

Bored Engineer?

Actually I used the info to maximize my profit on the rental.

For one renter I had a steep electric bill, I checked the temp occasionally and didn't see anything unusual. It turned out he was changing the temp frequently, like 118 times in a month. The guest would hyper cool the home for sleeping and kick in the resistance heat in the morning. I didn't rent to them again. Later I disabled the emergency heat. I don't enjoy being a big brother but some people just don't treat your home like it is their own.

After a near miss hurricane I couldn't reach anyone to find out about any damage. I looked on the monitor and saw they cooked breakfast and brewed some coffee, all was well. Finding that out was priceless.

The essence of the Sense monitor is information. How many times have you heard unplug your phone charger to save the planet. Wrong it will cost 10.24 cents a year. Or tanked water heaters are expensive, no not if eleven dollars a month is change.

It is amazing how many myths are repeated over again. TOTV is as bad as any source in the internet.

But yes, many guess that I am an engineer.