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Old 12-17-2012, 09:54 AM
 
12 posts, read 33,852 times
Reputation: 20

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Hello,
I am from up in Northern New England. We are moving to Knoxville or Corryton in 6 months. I am searching for a house to buy, online, and the two forms of heating that I see for the houses that I am interested in (Ranch, 1400-1800sq ft) are heating by electric or gas.

Background: Where I live - winters are very cold and most people will not even look at a house that is heated by electricity (because it is expensive up here and the heat is on for about 9 months per year). Available heating sources may include: Electricity (maybe 2% of the population), Oil (at least 60% of the homes use this), is an option for rural people up here and if you live close to a larger town, a person is very fortunate to be able to hook into a natural gas line. Up here, natural gas is by far the most affordable and then propane or oil and then, worst of all, electricity. Other heating sources up here - wood, wood pellet stoves, propane.

My questions:
1. When I am seeing "gas" as the heating source....is this natural gas or propane - on average, I realize that it would be on an individual basis to be 100% certain.
2. Which is more economical.....electric or gas? I really would appreciate people's opinions!

Thank you for any help! I am very excited to be moving to TN (lower cost of living, MUCH better weather, very friendly people!).

 
Old 12-17-2012, 01:46 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,029,539 times
Reputation: 13612
Electric is more economical down here thanks to the Tennessee Valley Authority - the TVA. And I mean REALLY affordable, some of the lowest electric bills - if not the lowest - in the country.

I'm from New England and the electric bills are a fraction of what they were up there. I heard of people paying $70 a month up to $275 a month in the winter months. That's a far cry from New England electric bills. But gas can be much more expensive. I know it is preferable in New England and I preferred it too, but down here I avoid gas like the plague. I purposely didn't buy a house due to having gas. Bear in mind that if you have a house you are interested in you can always call the power company and find out what the bills are running.
 
Old 12-17-2012, 02:20 PM
 
12 posts, read 33,852 times
Reputation: 20
Thank you so much. Is the gas referred to as natural gas or propane? I really appreciate your response. I'm looking at the Farragut area or Northern Knoxville area or Corryton. We visited this past June. Is there anything else that you can think of to add from one New Englander to another......it appears that we will not be needing snowtires? We will also go from paying $4,000 in real estate taxes to probably around $1,200 (guestimate) and we will not have to pay $3,000 in state taxes any longer! yippee
 
Old 12-17-2012, 06:58 PM
 
Location: Knoxville
4,705 posts, read 25,184,090 times
Reputation: 6129
Electric heat pumps have a shorter life span.
The heat that comes out of the registers is about 90 degrees with a heat pump and about 130 degrees with gas heat. While both will heat a house just fine, the air coming out from a heat pump does not "feel" warm on the skin.
While electric heat pumps are economical to operate, straight electric resistance heat (older styles) will cost a lot to run. Same with older gas furnaces.

Newer gas furnaces and heat pumps are very energy efficient and will probably come out about even over the life of the system.

Farragut and North Knoxville will generally have natural gas (KUB). Corryton may not have natural gas in all areas and will have to use LPG.
 
Old 12-17-2012, 08:16 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,029,539 times
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Plus there are a lot of hidden taxes in New England and other states. Tenn. is dead last for tax burden. We do have a very high sales tax, though, but it does even out.

No, you won't need snow tires or a shovel for that matter. Wave goodbye to that stuff. Locals will tell you they get a lot of snow. It's all about perspective and their idea of a lot of snow and ours are two very different things. By a mile. Also, prepare for winter to be very, very short. Mild and short.

I lived in Florida for about ten years before moving here so I don't think the summers are too hot at all. You, on the other hand, will probably think they are very hot and humid.

I don't live here for the low taxes or even the very cheap electricity. I live here because of the great weather and the friendly, polite people. Prepare to do things at a different pace. Get use to chatting while standing in line at the grocery store or bank. And above all, do not cut off people in traffic or honk your horn. Ever. Even if the guy in front of you sits through a green light. After awhile you will decompress and get into the vibe of the area. Or not. In which case another area might be a better fit.

By the way, I think Corryton and Farragut are very different places. Not that one is better than the other. They are just very different.
 
Old 12-18-2012, 06:36 AM
 
6,333 posts, read 11,488,468 times
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Natural gas would be my first choice if it is available, then a heat pump, then propane.

I have a heat pump and it is very economical, but then I go to the trouble of bumping up the heat in the afternoon and turning it down at night as heat pumps are the most economical when the air outside is warmer. That strategy requires more interaction - or you can buy a specialized thermostat. It is not advised to scale up the thermostat more than 3 degrees at a time as you don't the auxilliary heat coming on. That is very expensive.
 
Old 12-31-2012, 08:24 AM
 
12 posts, read 33,852 times
Reputation: 20
Thanks for all of the details. If I buy a newer home, it sounds like I should be fine with either natural gas or electric? If we choose an older home, I'll keep what you wrote in mind.
 
Old 12-31-2012, 12:01 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,029,539 times
Reputation: 13612
It's going to be a lot more affordable to heat with electric, old home or new.
 
Old 12-31-2012, 10:57 PM
 
16,174 posts, read 32,329,827 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EmilyLaura View Post
Thanks for all of the details. If I buy a newer home, it sounds like I should be fine with either natural gas or electric? If we choose an older home, I'll keep what you wrote in mind.
Gas is ridiculously high in Knox County (KUB). I love gas heat but would go with electric if I was in Knox County. Welcome to the area!
 
Old 01-01-2013, 12:17 AM
 
Location: Anchorage
1,923 posts, read 4,691,205 times
Reputation: 871
Wow! this is almost like moving to a foreign country! I'm excited to learn that many things in TN are much more affordable then they are here in Alaska.
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