super random question: gas or electric stove? (Sandy, Clackamas: apartments, rentals)

[christiner81]

i am kind of surprised by all the electric stoves i keep seeing in houses and apartments for rent, esp in older places. is there a reason for that?

[Random_Walk]

Dunno, but judging by the costly gas bills that some have posted here, I'd say it may be the higher price tag of having/using gas.

[hamellr]

Historically we've had cheaper electricity. There are what, half a dozen dams on the Columbia River alone. The Clackamas and Sandy Rivers both had/have multiple dams. All of them produce electricity. Add in Trojan Nuclear Power Plant and LNG didn't make sense for a long time.

[christiner81]

interesting. so do many people have electric heat instead of gas as well?

[haggardhouseelf]

Electric, or wood or pellet stoves.

Stay away from ceiling heat - it's horrible.

I see "heat pump" sometimes... I'm originally from Texas and still don't know what that means. We had "central heat and air" there. I don't know if "heat pump" means the same thing or not.

And a lot of homes - even newer ones - do not have air conditioning. People claim that it never gets hot enough to use it here. (We install window unit air conditioners for about two months out of the year - when it gets hot enough.)

[khyron]

It's just a cheapness thing. Rentals often have crappy electric ranges and ovens in them, this is true in a lot of places but I've noticed it's especially true here. It's ironic really, such a foodie town with all these horrible electric ranges! To be frank, if anyone actually prefers an electric range...they probably can't cook and they probably don't like to. *sadface*

The electric HVAC thing is just a norm in the Pacific Northwest to get used to. You will find homes with gas heat occasionally, but almost never rentals. Electric heating rightfully gives people from truly cold places hives just thinking about it because it's so ridiculously crappy and inefficient and gets crazy expensive in seriously cold snaps. The thing is, it simply doesn't get Really Cold here. Not ever. Not even for a full night. The worst you can expect is an occasional brush under freezing for I dunno, maybe a few hours at a time in the middle of a really weird week. This entire winter the grand total hours it was under freezing was I dunno, maybe the equivalent of a full day or two. Maybe.

The whole concept of steam radiators or heating oil or weeks and weeks below zero just doesn't exist here, unless you live on top of a mountain (and all of those are far from the city, like 50 miles or more...here in the city the highest you can get is maybe 1000 feet elevation).

[khyron]

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

I see "heat pump" sometimes... I'm originally from Texas and still don't know what that means. We had "central heat and air" there. I don't know if "heat pump" means the same thing or not.

Yes, "heat pump" means "generic electric heat that comes out of the same magic box on the side of the house and vents inside the house as the electric A/C does." It's basically A/C in reverse, physics-wise, and it has an emergency function that runs in super cold temperatures that's essentially as effective as leaving an electric oven door open.

In other words, heat pumps suck ass...but they're cheap and great for parts of the country where you don't need "real" heat.

Beyond a certain latitude, they make absolutely zero sense and nobody has them...but due to air currents that latitude changes a lot as you cross the United States.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by khyron

Yes, "heat pump" means "generic electric heat that comes out of the same magic box on the side of the house and vents inside the house as the electric A/C does." It's basically A/C in reverse, physics-wise, and it has an emergency function that runs in super cold temperatures that's essentially as effective as leaving an electric oven door open.

In other words, heat pumps suck ass...but they're cheap and great for parts of the country where you don't need "real" heat.

Beyond a certain latitude, they make absolutely zero sense and nobody has them...but due to air currents that latitude changes a lot as you cross the United States.

The ones that have pipes buried underground to take advantage of the Earth's natural temperature level work pretty good in most climates.

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by khyron

It's just a cheapness thing. Rentals often have crappy electric ranges and ovens in them, this is true in a lot of places but I've noticed it's especially true here. It's ironic really, such a foodie town with all these horrible electric ranges! To be frank, if anyone actually prefers an electric range...they probably can't cook and they probably don't like to. *sadface*

This is simply not true. There are electric ranges at all price points. True, our rental (house) did not have the best electric range... ... so we bought a better one! We both cook well and enjoy doing it. I cooked on gas for most of my life because gas is what one finds in most homes on the east coast. Here it is not. I have come to like the repeatability of electric cooktops. You can dial in a precise simmer and keep it there. Try that with an affordable gas stove.

H

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by khyron

Yes, "heat pump" means "generic electric heat that comes out of the same magic box on the side of the house and vents inside the house as the electric A/C does." It's basically A/C in reverse, physics-wise, and it has an emergency function that runs in super cold temperatures that's essentially as effective as leaving an electric oven door open.

In other words, heat pumps suck ass...but they're cheap and great for parts of the country where you don't need "real" heat.

Beyond a certain latitude, they make absolutely zero sense and nobody has them...but due to air currents that latitude changes a lot as you cross the United States.

Yes, heat pumps don't work well in cold climates for heat, but in Western Oregon they are very practical. They are about 300% efficient. I heat and cool a 1750 sq. ft. house with a heat pump. My electric bill (PP&L) never goes over $125 a month. During the months when I can just shut down the heating system, my electric bill drops to just over $60 a month, so heating and air conditioning cost me about $65 a month. Granted, I have carefully upgraded the energy efficiency of the house, but I find my heating bill to be entirely reasonable. As long as it's raining, heat pumps work just fine.