Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Mon 02 Jan 2006 01:12:50p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it sf?
>
> > On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 05:02:05 GMT, Kathy in NZ wrote:
> >
> >> On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz >
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> >Did I mention, I hate electric ranges? Whomever thought up the idea of
> >> >an electric range out to be slaughtered and forced to eat my burned
> >> >meatballs!
> >>
> >>
> >> Sorry for your loss! I have always had electric ranges. In a perfect
> >> world I would choose gas hobs but electric oven.
> >>
> > I know what you mean. If I ever remodel here or design a kitchen in a
> > new house, I'd have at least one gas burner. They are always good for
> > really fast or really hot... plus I hear their design is better now so
> > they don't have hot spots on low. My ideal would be four electric,
> > two gas and an indoor grill. The other plus is that gas is charged at
> > the same rate as my furnace. Electricity is more expensive.
>
> If you have an all-electric home and high-efficiency appliances (which we
> do), you usually get a discount from the electric utility. Electricity is
> a given in any home, while gas is definitely an option. If I had both, my
> overall costs would be greater.

That's not necessarily true. The discount given for all-electric homes
is miniscule compared with the difference in cost between gas and
electric, which is significant... propane is like 1/3 the price of
electricity, natural gas is about 1/6 the cost of electric... so even
if you're given a 15% discount (which is extremely generous, usually
it's more like 5%) you're still not even close to equal. I already
looked into it... if I'd switch from my propane heat to electric heat I
couldn't afford to live here, well I could, just couldn't afford to eat
nearly as well... electric heat would run me about $6,000.00/yr more
than my propane. I would like electric heat, it's much cleaner, and
maintenence free then burning fossil fuel... but $500/mo buys a lot of
groceries. All electric is fine for a small cabin in the woods if you
only use it occasionally... or if you live in a hot climate where you
don't need heat... but if you use air conditioning gas A/C is far less
costly then electric, substantial if you live where A/C is used all
year. I really only use A/C about four months but if I used it all
year I'd switch over to a propane unit in a NY second.

The only real argument when comparing electric cooking to gas cooking
is about how important professional style cooking is to the
individual... it's just not possible to cook like a professional with
an electric cook top... cost is really not the issue.