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Posted by Stubby on September 6, 2006, 9:19 am
trader4@optonline.net wrote:
> Stubby wrote:
>> trader4@optonline.net wrote:
>>> eisenslimer wrote:
>>>> what do y'all think?
>>>> I've heard that electric heaters are a much greater energy consumer,,,
>>>> for a gas tank we neeed to run gas lines which we would prefer to not
>>>> do.
>>>> if it's a huge difference in energy use tho,,,it may be worth it.
>>>> ???????
>>> I think what you really want to know is operating cost. That depends
>>> mostly on how much gas costs vs electricity in your area, which we have
>>> no way of knowing.
>>>
>>> For most of the US, gas has been quite a bit cheaper than electric.
>>> However, in the last couple years, the gap has closed quite a bit.
>>>
>> What you really need to think about is how good is the insulation around
>> the water heater regardless of whether it is electric or gas. If you
>> aren't using any hot water and the insulation is perfect, the water
>> heater won't cost anything in operating expenses.
>
>
> So, you don't use any hot water where you live? Like insulation
> anywhere else, there are diminishing returns for adding more
> insulation. And heating the water you do use is a major factor in how
> much it costs to operate. Also factor in that in gas water heaters a
> lot of the standby loss is up the flue, which more insulation isn't
> gonna fix. I'm not convinced adding more insulation around a water
> heater is gonna do a whole lot. Insulation is cheap, and if it were
> that easy to reduce energy costs, manufacturers would be doing it,
> because they would then have a significantly more efficient unit that
> customers would pay more for.
>
I agree. The question is not simply "gas or electric?" For instance
if you have a teenager who soaks all day in hot showers, your heating
costs are likely to be higher. Of course I use hot water and the OP
needs to consider the limiting cases-- teenager for max waste and no use
for min waste.
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