Gas furnaces vs electric furnaces

Ceege

Ceege

Senior Member
Location
Michigan
Sometime this or next year, I need to replace the furnace in this house. I've read that gas furnaces are more expensive to purchase but less expensive to run. Does anyone here have an electric furnace? How do you like it? How much more expensive to run do you think it is compared to a gas furnace?
 

I'm thinking of getting rid of the gas water heater for an electric one for the reason fmdog44 wrote.
My bill is always higher in winter when using the gas furnace, so I'm thinking gas is more expensive to use.
 
fmdog44 said:
I never fancied gas appliances because the thought of my home exploding does not set well.
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I grew up with a gas stove and have one now. We also had coal heaters with pretty much open fires for heat a few feet away.

I have a coal fired furnace now.
A few times the whistle on the kettle failed and it boiled over putting out the fire underneath allowing gas to escape and fill the room before I smelled gas. You'd think it would have blown me to bits by now. Knock on wood. 😨 Just don't flip a light switch they say.
 
Ceege said:
Sometime this or next year, I need to replace the furnace in this house. I've read that gas furnaces are more expensive to purchase but less expensive to run. Does anyone here have an electric furnace? How do you like it? How much more expensive to run do you think it is compared to a gas furnace?
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When we lived in the city, we had natural gas feeding the furnace and hot water heater. That was the better part of 20 years ago, so I can't give an accurate assessment of the costs....however, I do remember rather high heating bills in the Winter. When we moved to the country in 2002, we went with total electric. Out here, our electricity rates are fairly low, compared to most, but we can wind up paying 200+/month during the coldest months and the hottest Summer months. Many people out here use Propane...no natural gas lines available in the boondocks, and talking to some of them, the Propane costs in the Winter can get pretty high.
I was always a bit leery about the gas appliances, and the constant pilot light burning....if there was ever a gas leak, that pilot light could trigger a house fire or explosion.
As time passes, and gas/fossil fuel prices begin to rise....both from supply issues, and government "climate change" regulations, I suspect gas appliances will become quite a bit more expensive. Meanwhile, the increased electricity generation from solar/wind, etc., should help keep electricity charges fairly reasonable....I hope.
Bottom line...I am quite happy with electric appliances, and have no regrets over losing gas.
 
connect1 said:
I'm thinking of getting rid of the gas water heater for an electric one for the reason fmdog44 wrote.
My bill is always higher in winter when using the gas furnace, so I'm thinking gas is more expensive to use.
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Gas is usually much cheaper than electricity. Compare the two prior to changing. You’d expect your bill to be higher, no matter the source, in the winter. Heat is expensive.

How many gas furnaces/water heaters blow up? My concern would be carbon monoxide from a deteriorating appliance.

Now a gas stove, I really worry about. My mother turned on the stove for the kettle. Except it didn’t catch and gas was pouring out. Good thing it stinks. We turned the stove off, opened the windows and then my DD walked in, picked up the fumes and turned on the fan. Everyone ran to get that off. (P.S. I‘ve said before I don’t like gas stoves, so I’m biased).
 
Thanks for all the input. I grew up using only gas for furnace, stove, dryer, & hot water heater. And had all gas in this house for over forty years. Only once did we have a gas leak. We called the gas company and they came out right away. They traced the leak to a pipe under our house, turned our gas off, and we had a plumber come out to fix the leak. After that experience, we got a gas alarm.
Even if I go for an electric furnace, I'll still have a gas stove, hot water heater, and dryer. I worry more about carbon monoxide, but we have a detector for that, also. One of my husband's aunts died from carbon monoxide from a faulty furnace though, and I have worried about that.
I just wondered if anyone here had an electric furnace and how they liked it. :unsure:
 
Ceege said:
Thanks for all the input. I grew up using only gas for furnace, stove, dryer, & hot water heater. And had all gas in this house for over forty years. Only once did we have a gas leak. We called the gas company and they came out right away. They traced the leak to a pipe under our house, turned our gas off, and we had a plumber come out to fix the leak. After that experience, we got a gas alarm.
Even if I go for an electric furnace, I'll still have a gas stove, hot water heater, and dryer. I worry more about carbon monoxide, but we have a detector for that, also. One of my husband's aunts died from carbon monoxide from a faulty furnace though, and I have worried about that.
I just wondered if anyone here had an electric furnace and how they liked it. :unsure:
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I have a propane furnace but rarely use it; my main heat is coal. My cook stove and shop furnace are also propane and leaks, etc. are not something I even think about.
 
I can only speak for the UK, but here electric heating is the most expensive with gas and oil(kerosene) being considerably cheaper. Most towns will have 'mains' gas (which is primarily Methane ) supplied to properties via a pipeline. Rural areas tend to rely on the more expensive LPG (propane) or kerosene delivered by tanker.

There are occasional accidents caused by gas leakage - usually from faulty appliances or installations. We haven't received any official notification, but I gather that houses here will have to be fitted with CO detectors if they have rooms with "combustion devices" eg gas stove.

In general, because of its high cost, I would only use electricity as a backup.
 
Since electric heaters are sometimes based on inefficient resistance elements (like electric toasters); folks considering them should definitely check the price impact on their utilities... It can be extreme, depending on the local electric rates. Electric heat pumps(which work like air conditioners) are an possible exception which depending on the climate and electric rates could be cheaper.

I prefer gas for most heating applications. Gas explosions are normally a result of poor maintenance or leaks in very old pipes. Explosions are not something that I am concerned about. ... never had a leak nor any fuel issues with gas appliances, personally, and I grew up in houses that were plumbed for gas lighting.
I recently purchased a chinese propane heater that worked a less than a month before the thermocouple died (had to disassemble it and install another thermocouple - it was cheaper & easier than shipping and warranty hassles).

I prefer to cook with gas, My present stove/range is electric and does not cook as well as most of the gas ranges that I have cooked with. I could run a gas line through the crawl space to the kitchen and install a gas range, but it is more trouble than its worth to me.

I may replace the current water heater with more efficient point of use heaters when it fails, the point of use units will likely be electric as it is usually easier to run wiring than hard gas lines.

If my current gas furnace were to fail I would replace it with a more modern, more efficient gas furnace, likely with an auxillary heat pump that could heat the place with electricity as well as provide central air conditioning in the summer.

Enjoy!
 
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It depends on the price of gas, and electricity where you live. It also depends where you live. If you only have to use once or twice a year, it may not matter. Some places have cheap gas, other places cheap electricity. Generally gas is less expensive than electricity. Years ago, my neighbor had a similar home to me, She had electric heat, and I had gas. I live in the ski country of PA, and it gets cold here. Her electric meter would be spinning , and she got huge bills, I had gas and got good sized bills, but not as big as hers. There really isn't much of a difference between electric and gas water heaters. Any water heater can explode if it isn't properly vented with releases.
You've got some homework to, before you make a decision.
 
Gas is more efficient than electric. And cheaper.
What do you think powers the electric plants?
OK, OK, Nuclear powered heater for your house is not an option.
 

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