Nice setup. I grew up in a house with forced air heating in mid-Long
Island. I remember it as being very comfortable in the cool months.
___________________________________
John Hermanson | CPS, Inc.
21 South Ln., Huntington NY 11743
631-424-2121 | www.zuiko.com
Olympus OM Service since 1977
Gallery: www.zuiko.com/album/index.html
Ken Norton wrote:
>> Electric meter must just about spin off the building when you turn those
>> heaters on.
>
>
>
> We have electric heat (forced air, central heating and cooling) in our condo
> and I thought that it would be an electric bill nightmare. Alas, it has
> turned out to be quite the opposite. It has actually lowered our utility
> bills in several ways:
>
> 1. No gas bill--even when you don't use any, you still have a monthly
> minimum that needs to be paid.
>
> 2. No pilot lights on the furnace or hot-water heater. Although, this is
> less of an issue than it used to be.
>
> 3. Lower installed costs. No gas lines or exhaust vents to install.
>
> 4. No heating lag after furnace kicks in. (this one is somewhat debatable,
> but it is true that you don't get that two-minute lag after the furnace
> turns on before the fans start running).
>
> 5. 100% efficiency. (I'm not making any comments about the line-loss in the
> distribution system or electricity generation itself).
>
> 6. Most importantly: Time-based billing. We opted for the
> daytime/nighttime rates. During the coldest month, we saved in the
> neighborhood of $100. Summer cooling is more expensive, but that's minimal
> compared to the heating costs. The furnace runs mostly at night in our
> house, and we go into serious conservation mode during the day.
>
> When compared to our house which we moved from 16 months ago, (and it was
> extremely efficient and partial solar in design, and about the same square
> footage as our drafty in spots condo), we've saved in excess of $200 per
> month in wintertime utilities and an overall average of about $100. At no
> time--even in the depths of the hottest summer did we ever have a gas bill
> under $30.
>
> So, based on my own personal experience, I'd have no qualms about forced-air
> electric heat. However, electric baseboard heat and/or radiant is
> definitely not the most efficient way to go.
>
> Just for points of comparison:
> Our highest consumption meter reading was in January and it was 3981 kWh.
> Electric bill was $282. That was horrid for us, but that was a result of a
> severe cold spell with well below zero temperatures. For baseline
> comparison, our lowest billed month was October when there was little
> heating or cooling, just cooking, lights, television, hot-water, and it was
> 747 kWh.
>
> Our electric bill would be lower, but we contribute to the "Green Energy
> Fund" which means that a portion of our electricity is mandated to originate
> from wind-farms. Wind-energy is BIG BUSINESS here in Iowa now. Those former
> Maytag employees? They're building towers, nacelles and blades for those
> monster wind turbines right here in Newton. (The blade manufacturer did
> build a new MONSTER building, but all three manufacturers are right next to
> the railroad tracks).
>
> AG
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