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Old 12-17-2009, 01:49 PM
 
31 posts, read 179,688 times
Reputation: 20

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I live in the middle unit of a 3 townhouses with a square footage of 1,400. I was amazed that the first months gas bill was $118 for 63 therms ($25 AGLC base, $9.99 customer service, $10 sales tax, $72.66 gas charge). This is in addition to a $60 connect charge AND $150 deposit. In total, this first month of gas costs a whopping $327.90 for 63.240 therms!

I've done my own research and have found out gas is pricier than even electric heat. In all I would pay about $140-150 for gas and electric each winter month. This is mainly because of the extra fees like the AGLC base charge and customer service charge and tax.

My friend with a similar townhouse pays about $50-60 a month on electric (electric heat) and $30-50 on gas (water heater and stove) which is a max of $110.

Another friend with a 3-bedroom house in Buford is all electric and pays about $150. Mind you, this is a larger house, not a middle unit townhouse. He told me electric is surprisingly cheaper to heat in Georgia. I think I would agree.

It seems deregulation hasn't made the prices any better.
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Old 12-17-2009, 02:33 PM
 
Location: West Cobb County, GA (Atlanta metro)
9,191 posts, read 33,765,959 times
Reputation: 5308
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.
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Old 12-17-2009, 02:48 PM
 
31 posts, read 179,688 times
Reputation: 20
Actually I'm glad to say I just confirmed a switch from Georgia Natural Gas to mxEnergy (which my friend has) and they don't require a $150 deposit and allow fixed rates for new customers, as well as a cheaper customer rate.

Georgia Natural Gas:
Deposit - $150
Customer fee - $9.99
Rate (they gave no fixed rate) - $1.149 per therm

mxEnergy:
Deposit - $0 (get my $150 back)
Customer fee - $5.95
Rate (they gave fixed) - $.779 per therm

I would save $30 on this bill a month. Hoorah!
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Old 12-17-2009, 04:29 PM
 
Location: Johns Creek, GA
17,404 posts, read 65,552,552 times
Reputation: 23516
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlDesign View Post
I've done my own research and have found out gas is pricier than even electric heat.
Are you sure about that?

Welcome To Home Energy Magazine Online

It maybe cheaper on your wallet, but it ain't cheaper.
I've been involved with Southface Southface Home Page/Earthcraft for several years and I'm quite familiar with HERS (Home Energy Rating System).

What is a HERS rating? (http://energystar.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/energystar.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2607 - broken link)

Every home I've built over the past 6yrs did better with gas heat than electric.
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Old 12-17-2009, 07:43 PM
 
Location: Norman, OK
3,478 posts, read 7,226,508 times
Reputation: 1200
Electric heat and electric cooking is TERRIBLE! I would pay more for gas to have better quality if I could.
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Old 12-17-2009, 08:18 PM
 
1,020 posts, read 2,524,676 times
Reputation: 553
When we moved, our old house had gas and the new one electric (for cooking). Heating is still gas. My God, I hate electric cooking! If there were some induction cook tops, it wouldn't be so bad. It takes FOREVER to heat up, and it is more prone to failure. Also, our stove shorts the circuit many times because of power surges caused by the crappy stove top (one of the eyes is broken, and if you try to turn the know, it sparks).

I want my gas stove back
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Old 12-17-2009, 09:02 PM
 
Location: Atlanta,GA
2,685 posts, read 6,398,901 times
Reputation: 1232
To the OP,

If the house is yours, and you prefer electric, by all means convert it.


That's one of our worries once we buy a house here. I don't want to miss out on a nice house because it's not electric (for cooking and heating). We hate gas. I just want to make sure we can find someone reliable and experienced for the conversion (from gas to electric).

I have friends with both in the Metro area, and those with electric heat (and stove) love it, and don't complain about their bills. A friend in Kennesaw claims to pay around $120 avg for the summer, and around $150 avg for the winter. (4/2 split level home).

Anyone have ideas as to how much it would cost to convert from gas to electric? I will not do without electric.

If power goes down during winter, I'll consider going to a hotel for a few days, or get a generator (if permitted). But gas is a no no for us.

*Before even moving to our next house, we'd want it converted to electric heat, electric tankless water heater, and an electric stove to name a few things. The appliances are the least of our issues, it's the conversion process.
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Old 12-17-2009, 10:53 PM
 
Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
8,468 posts, read 14,904,169 times
Reputation: 7263
Quote:
Originally Posted by runningncircles1 View Post
When we moved, our old house had gas and the new one electric (for cooking). Heating is still gas. My God, I hate electric cooking! If there were some induction cook tops, it wouldn't be so bad. It takes FOREVER to heat up, and it is more prone to failure. Also, our stove shorts the circuit many times because of power surges caused by the crappy stove top (one of the eyes is broken, and if you try to turn the know, it sparks).

I want my gas stove back
An easy solution to that is to obtain some "Restaurant style pans". A little known fact about the type of pots and pans used in restaurants and hotels is that they tend to be thinner, but made from higher quality metals than your standard cook wear. This means they heat faster than your average pans, which translates directly into using less resources to cook food. I have electric stoves in my building, and hated cooking on them until someone hyped me to that type of cook wear. Now, I can actually cook a meal several minutes faster than before...and on medium heat to boot!
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Old 12-18-2009, 11:59 AM
 
Location: Acworth
1,352 posts, read 4,359,472 times
Reputation: 476
all utilities are through the roof in ga, including electric.

gas is just a total rip off however.

and your friend is full of it or lives in a trailer or keeps the temp at 10F or is out of the "house" for 23.9 hours of the day

a 2 bedroom apartment will run you 150 in the winter, easily. cooling i can buy, but not the energy required to heat something to any decent temperature
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Old 12-18-2009, 05:43 PM
 
651 posts, read 1,555,991 times
Reputation: 342
aprox $1500 low to about $2500 for electric heat pump (2ton unit installed) may be up to 3k

aprox $400 for electric water heater (instant on tankless) +$200 install

aprox $300 for elctric stove (wire materials + breakers) installed aprox 50' run.

aprox $300 for electric dryer wire & breakers installed..


i converted from gas to elc last year, gas bill was $150 month,
Electr was $80month, now $130month. (winter)

but i had to spend like $4k to convert everything
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