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Saving Electricity

On this page:

Gas vs. Electric

Saving Electricity 101:

Start Here
How much it costs / how they charge
What's a Watt / Kilowatt?
How much energy stuff uses
How to measure electrical use

Mr. Electricity is your guide to saving energy in your home.


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Natural Gas vs. Electric appliances

Electric vs. gas ovens/stoves

The answer to the question of whether gas is cheaper than electric depends on the cost of gas and electricity in your area. It varies widely from state to state, and even within states -- and even significantly throughout the year. The examples I give below are just that: examples. Your mileage may vary.

Of course, the best way to find your exact cost of energy is to look at your utility bill or check your utility company's website. In the examples below we'll use the U.S. average cost of electricity and average cost of gas from spring 2006.

 

Electric vs. gas ovens/stoves

Gas
Electric

Model

Kenmore 30", #73052
Kenmore 30", #93052

Price

$350
$360

Avg. fuel price

0.0013¢/BTU
($1.30/therm)
9.86¢/kWh

Burner

Energy used

9,000 BTU
2,500 watts

Yearly cost

$14.24
$29.99

Oven

Energy used

18,000 BTU
+ 350 watts
2,600 watts

Yearly cost

$27.93
($24.34 + $3.59)
$26.66

Burner + Oven together

Total yearly cost

$42.17
$56.65

Prices from Sears.com in July 2006. Fuel rates are U.S. national averages in spring 2006; see more on electricity prices and gas prices. Yearly costs assumes using two burners for ten minutes a day each on high, and the oven for two hours a week.

What this means is that under normal conditions you won't save much money by cooking with gas vs. electric. And gas has other big downsides, such as that gas combustion is unhealthy to breathe, and gas-based homes are way more likely to accidentally burn to the ground or blow up. See our full report on energy used by cooking.

 

Electric vs. gas clothes dryers

Electric
Gas

Energy used

4 kWh
0.22 therm for heat, +
0.5 kWh to spin the drum

Energy rate

11¢/kWh
$1.42/therm ($0.31)
11¢/kWh ($0.06)

Cost per load
(assumes 45 minutes per load)

$0.44
$0.37

The table uses average prices; use your actual prices for a valid comparison. Electric component of gas dryers from Multi-housing Laundry Association. Gas cost per load from Lawrence Berkeley Labs. Note that MLA gives 3.3 kWh for an electric dryer cycle and 0.17 therm for a gas dryer cycle. Note that you can't use the label on an electric dryer to figure the amount of energy used, because the heating element isn't on the whole time during the drying cycle.

See our full report on energy used by clothes dryers.

 

Electric vs. gas heat

I don't have comparison tables for electric vs. gas heat specifically, but I do have quite a bit of info about saving energy on heating.

 

Cost of Natural Gas

Here's the average price of residential natural gas in 2003 by state, in dollars per MCF. Don't assume the state rates are accurate for you, because rates vary even within a state.

U.S. Dept of Energy
In October 2008 the national average was estimated to be $14.23 Mcf, or $1.42/therm.(source) This is the figure we'll use throughout the site, although the price could be very different in your area, and can change rapidly in a short period of time.

Gas is measured in therms, Mcf, or BTU. Therms are used on customers' gas bills, and Mcf is used in the industry and financial markets.

  • Mcf = thousand cubic feet, or 10.31 therms
  • BTU = British thermal unit = 1/100,000 therm (1 therm=100,000 BTU) (Source: American Gas Assoc.)

Some gas bills measure the gas in cubic meters instead of therms. One therm is 2.75 cubic meters, and 1 cubic meter is 0.36 therms.

The U.S. Dept. of Energy shows historical prices for gas in both table and chart form.

 

Cost of Electricity

The average cost of residential electricity was 12¢/kWh in the U.S. in June 2008. The average household used 920 kWh/mo. in 2006 and would pay $110.40 for it at the 12¢/kWh average rate. (Dept. of Energy) Like gas, the cost of electricity varies by location. Don't assume the state rates are accurate for you, because rates vary even within a state.
We have more info about electric costs on our cost of electricity page.

 

Comparing the operating cost of electric vs. gas appliances

Above we provide tables comparing the cost of gas and electric appliances, but you may wish to do your own comparison. To make such a comparison you'll need to know:
  1. The price of electricity in kWh.
  2. The amount of electricity used in kWh.
  3. The price of gas in therms.
  4. The amount of gas used in therms.

#1 and #3 are easy to find, just look at your bill. For electricity, make sure you add all the kWh costs for electricity, since some utility companies have separate charges for delivery and fuel. (More on electrical charges.)

#2 is also pretty easy, using the tables and methods described on this site. For starters, here's our page of electricity used by typical appliances, and how to measure electrical use.

#4 is usually the hardest, because the amount of gas used by appliances for a given task or amount of time is usually not so easy to find. But I'll make it easy by listing those figures for you now, and throw in the electric version for comparison:

Appliance

Therms
per hour
kW
per hour

Range pilot light

0.0035

n/a

Range burner, small

0.05

0.6

Range burner, large

0.09

1.0

Oven

0.25

3.0

Clothes Dryer

0.23

5.4

Water Heater pilot light

0.0075

n/a

From Wisconsin Public Service, Okaloosa Gas, and the Sears catalog. 1 therm = 100,000 BTU


©1998-2008 Michael Bluejay, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reprinting is prohibited
All advice is given in good faith. We're not responsible for any errors or omissions. Electricity can kill you; if you're not competent to work on your electrical wiring then hire a professional to do it.
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If you liked this site, you might like some of my other sites:

Guide to Household Batteries   Finding Cheap Airfare   How to Buy a House   Bicycle Safety   SEO 101: Getting good search engine rankings