Natural gas prices ridiculous in Atlanta - Better to switch to electric. (real estate, house prices)

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

georgia power has been a lot cheaper...my house is total electric and my bill has been about 130.00 per month...although i do hate electric cooking.

[DENNEL80]

Hello there do you currently use gas now

[Missingatlanta]

We are thinking of converting to electricity also. Our gas bill has been in the mid 300s the entire winter.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by Missingatlanta

We are thinking of converting to electricity also. Our gas bill has been in the mid 300s the entire winter.

I find this very shocking, especially coming from New England where bills are consistently in the 200s for heating in the winter.

However, is it really that natural gas prices are so out of control or is it a different usage mentality of heat here in Atlanta? I know for me, I was shocked to hear some of my Georgian friends say that they keep their homes at 70 F. 70?!?!?! That is WAY too warm. Thermostats in the winter should be near 65-67 at the maximum. Secondly, how many people actually turn DOWN their thermostats when they leave for work or school in the morning? Or turn it down when they are leaving the house for > 1 hour?

Perhaps it is building quality here that allows so much "cold" (and I use that term consciously as I realize January was cold but the last month has not been).

By the way, my take on electric heat - you get what you pay for. It's cheap but it is also terribly inefficient. I have yet to find my condo appreciably warm using electric heat even when set at ridiculous temperatures like 71 or 72. Also electric cooking is not good. I miss gas cooking for sure.

[FlyiMetro]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Yeah, but just wait until you experience your first ice storm here and power is out for 3-4 days or more. No cooking... no hot water.... with gas you at least have those.

If your house isn't insulated properly, even electric will run more than it should. Check your attic/wall insulation levels as well as for cracks around windows and doors.

What exactly is an ice storm and how often do they happen?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by FlyiMetro

What exactly is an ice storm and how often do they happen?

I've only really experienced one down here.

Imagine it being foggy, or maybe slightly drizzly, and hovering around 30-32 degrees, for more than 24 hours.

Ice coats almost everything, the night is eerily quiet except for the crashing of broken tree branches, driveways become too slippery to walk on, and cars, trees, flowers, roads, power lines, and sidewalks are all encased in 1/4 to 1/2 inch of shiny ice. Or more.

Branches and bushes bend down to the ground in many cases because of the weight, especially if they were covered with kudzu, and while it's really pretty to look at, that weight can really wreak havoc in interesting ways. We had several 4" pine branches in our rental house's front yard and a lot more smaller ones.

Also, there's all of that that icy road surface, and only a handful of trucks around to dump sand to help provide traction. Add some excited southerners and a lot of hills to the equation, and you have Atlanta.

That's what happened in the fall/winter of 2004 when we first moved down here, and it taught me (a native Minnesotan) that ice storms down here are something to take seriously. Even a mild one that that one was.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by Missingatlanta

We are thinking of converting to electricity also. Our gas bill has been in the mid 300s the entire winter.

Let us know how that works. I've been looking at houses recently, and some nice ones have gas heat and stove. I don't like gas myself. We also want to convert, and set money aside for it, in case we find a nice house that uses gas.

(We set money aside for a tankless water heater, electric stove/oven, haven't priced a furnace yet).

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

georgia power has been a lot cheaper...my house is total electric and my bill has been about 130.00 per month...although i do hate electric cooking.

What's the big deal with cooking with gas over electric? I have a few friends that say the same. The food tastes the same to me.

Do tell.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

I've only really experienced one down here.

Imagine it being foggy, or maybe slightly drizzly, and hovering around 30-32 degrees, for more than 24 hours.

Ice coats almost everything, the night is eerily quiet except for the crashing of broken tree branches, driveways become too slippery to walk on, and cars, trees, flowers, roads, power lines, and sidewalks are all encased in 1/4 to 1/2 inch of shiny ice. Or more.

Branches and bushes bend down to the ground in many cases because of the weight, especially if they were covered with kudzu, and while it's really pretty to look at, that weight can really wreak havoc in interesting ways. We had several 4" pine branches in our rental house's front yard and a lot more smaller ones.

Also, there's all of that that icy road surface, and only a handful of trucks around to dump sand to help provide traction. Add some excited southerners and a lot of hills to the equation, and you have Atlanta.

That's what happened in the fall/winter of 2004 when we first moved down here, and it taught me (a native Minnesotan) that ice storms down here are something to take seriously. Even a mild one that that one was.

How popular are generators here, during the winters?

I'd assume many buy them in case a storm would hit. I'm thinking about that, either that or price out living in a hotel for a few days, until the power comes back up.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by MisterNY

What's the big deal with cooking with gas over electric? I have a few friends that say the same. The food tastes the same to me.

Do tell.

Restaurant chefs never cook with electric. The amount of heat being delivered by a gas element is instantly adjustable to whatever level you want. Electric elements heat up slooowly and cool down slooowly. You must not be a serious cook or you'd know this.

Gas water heat is faster than electric, for the same reason. Your objection to gas mystifies me. Apart from cost (and traditionally, gas has mostly been much cheaper), it's far superior to electricity in residential use.

[Missingatlanta]

Originally Posted by wxjay

I find this very shocking, especially coming from New England where bills are consistently in the 200s for heating in the winter.

However, is it really that natural gas prices are so out of control or is it a different usage mentality of heat here in Atlanta? I know for me, I was shocked to hear some of my Georgian friends say that they keep their homes at 70 F. 70?!?!?! That is WAY too warm. Thermostats in the winter should be near 65-67 at the maximum. Secondly, how many people actually turn DOWN their thermostats when they leave for work or school in the morning? Or turn it down when they are leaving the house for > 1 hour?

Perhaps it is building quality here that allows so much "cold" (and I use that term consciously as I realize January was cold but the last month has not been).

By the way, my take on electric heat - you get what you pay for. It's cheap but it is also terribly inefficient. I have yet to find my condo appreciably warm using electric heat even when set at ridiculous temperatures like 71 or 72. Also electric cooking is not good. I miss gas cooking for sure.

I really don't know, it seems like our bill is high no matter how low we set the temp. We leave our heat on 60 degrees when we are at home and let it fall to 55 when we are not here. We have a programmable thermostat so it does it automatically. It really sucks though, because the house is cold all the time at these temperatures. We've had all windows weatherstripped and even had an energy auditor come out, nothing has helped. We do have high ceilings so that may contribute to it.

I've come to the conclusion that gas prices are just high here. When we lived in Maryland, we never had 300 and 400 gas bills. We definitely plan to switch before next winter.