Heating House with electricity ? (Coeur d'Alene: how much, houses, heat pump)

[skittles2u]

I've been looking at some house listings, and I notice that many of the houses are heated with electricity. Knowing how much electricity to cool costs here in Calif ($250-$400 + in summer is not uncommon) I'm concerned of the cost to heat a house with electricity (especially if a home doesn't have the best of insulation).

Why is electricity used instead of gas? (again, I'm more used to heating the house with gas) What does it cost per month to heat? Also, are wood burning stoves allowed? are wood burning fire places common? I've been looking at some of the mobile/manufactured homes.

I'm in a manufactured home now, and it is more "rare" to see a fireplace in them, yet I am lucky enough to have one here.

[micrguy]

Electricity in Idaho is dirt cheap. I have a 2800 sq foot house and I keep my A/C set at 78 degrees all summer, but my highest electric bill this summer has been $128. Thought I saw something in the paper once that said Idaho has about the lowest electric rates in the country.

[Trace_Rinaldi]

Skittles, I dont even know if its legal to burn real wood in a fireplace here anymore. A friend of mine in Murrietta was actually fined for "stockpiling wood"!!
Its getting more and more uncommon for wood burning fireplaces in California. In Idaho its VERY common, and manufactured homes still have them up there too.

Electricity is going to be MUCH less there than here. Gas on the other hand seems pretty expensive there. Im going electric on heat, and water, and forgetting all about the gas PITA;-)

[IdahoEagle]

I live just north of Coeur d'Alene and our electricity bill last month was $123, with the air conditioning running at 74 degrees. In the winther we use a natural gas furnace and I think our highest bill was about $170 for our 2,200 sq foot house.

[Sage of Sagle]

Yup...and gas is VERY expensive. So in our new construction, we only did gas for the clothes dryer (we think they dry faster) and the cooktop.

[esselcue]

Sage, is that natural gas or propane?

[cleosmom]

Our home is around 1100 sqft, and we rarely have a bill during any time of the year over $110. We're all electric too. Window a/c that I usually have around 65* and in winter set the heat to 60*.

[Sage of Sagle]

Originally Posted by esselcue

Sage, is that natural gas or propane?

We have LP gas...

[Niners fan]

Aren't some of the new electric heaters actually heat pumps? I think they are pretty efficient to run. I've heard they are comparable or cheaper than gas to use.

[Sage of Sagle]

Yes. We have dual 5 ton heat pumps, with powered electronic air cleaners (we have allergies so we figured it was a good idea). MUCH more effective from what we hear. We'll know this winter when we use it...