Posted on 11/21/2019 5:23:36 PM PST by karpov
The thing about using electric heat is that it generates more than 2.5 times more green house gasses as natural gas heat. As if that actually matters to these people.
The process of generating electricity is limited by the laws of thermodynamics and the max efficiency of these plants is about 40% of the heat being converted to electricity. But, line loses in transmission decrease the system efficiency of “heat” being delivered even more.
The waste heat from creating this electricity must be released to the environment and it is not very useful because it has to be released at the lowest temperature possible or the efficiency of the generation process is reduced more. So, most of the heat is dispersed via cooling towers that just heat the air around the plant or into rivers which is another version of useless. And, that is the way of thermodynamics.. from useful to useless.
But, that same heat used to heat a house is useful until it leaks out the walls and into the ground around the house as heat. So, natural gas gives every BTU of heat as heat to heat. Why are these people so silly? Because that Electric Plant is a target for taxes and regulation and a choke point to control people. Which is what this is really about, power, not electric but political.
I’m surprised that you don’t have one of those on demand natural gas generators to power your house. Seems like a worthwhile investment in that state.
Costco had them for few years. The problem was getting them installed properly to meet the codes and PG&E’s requirements.
The total installment costs were often equal to or more than the unit.
The people, who had them installed properly, businesses and private citizens like them.
Back then before the fires and shut offs, it was hard to justify the expense that could equal several years of electrical bills. Gas ‘ain’t’ cheap out here.
We have a friend, who just retired from PG&E, who is a licensed mechanical/electrical engineer. He is looking @ working a packaged deal with a buyer of the equipment & his licensed workers.
You sound like my wifel who grew up in the mid west. Her parents had gas ranges/ovens. She is a great cook like her mother.
Our home was basically, new, when we bought it, and the all electrical stuff was big at that time. Electricity was cheap and clean. So our range was electric and the double oven.
About 12 years ago, we redid our kitchen. She had a 5 burner gas Jenn Aire range installed. She took our mothers’ cast iron and top of the range pans out of storage. It is amazing how good everything tastes that is cooked properly over that range.
We replaced our twin electric ovens with the newer model. It works great, but now with the power outages, she would have gone to the gas versions.
Individual freedom and markets that adapt to that freedom certainly need to be replaced by the decisions of government planners. How ever can the success of the USSR and more recently, Venezuela, be duplicated by Americans without following this sensible solution.
Yes. Ban natural gas.
Let liberal cities pay 4 times more for energy.
Leave the cheap stuff for the conservatives.
A ‘standard’ cubic foot of gas (the mass of gas that fills one cubic foot at 70F and atmospheric pressure), has around 1000 btus in it.
Your bill will have a ‘billing factor’ or ‘energy factor’ or something like that, a number near 1.00 that adjusts for the heat content of the specific gas they’re selling you.
My Atmos Energy bill did not include such.
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