[Phys-L] Re: Natural Gas vs Electricity

[anngeorg at PACBELL.NET (Bernard Cleyet)]

"If you have a gas-fired hot-air system the equivalent of my water
temperature would be your bonnet temperature.  To get faster recovery,
you might be able to increase your bonnet temperature, but doing so will
reduce your overall efficiency."

Consumers' Union recommends metering water heaters -- their word for
closing the gas valve so the heat input is lower.  They claim it's more
efficient, but recovery is, of course, slower. Where ever I've lived
I've closed the valve * to just above the point where flame speed is
faster than the gas speed (so combustion is not inside the burner).  I
also adj. the thermostat to ~ 50 deg. C. -- the temp above which the
water is painful.  If I had plumbed my house, it would have only one
pipe, except for bathing, and a separate kitchen pipe for reverse
osmossed water for drinking.  Yard water comes before the ion exchange
system.


As I've posted before, switching to nearly all CFL's (compact
fluorescent) halved our e bill.  Gate Keeper thinks they're ugly, but
has accepted it.  We replace the din. chandelier w/ incandescents when
we have guests and use the dimmer.


* the two floor furnaces here also.

bc


Edmiston, Mike wrote:

> I'll offer some of my thoughts and experiences with conservation by
> temperature set back during the night and during unoccupied times.
>
> (1) The general idea follows from Newton's Law of Cooling that
> thermal-energy loss is proportional to the temperature difference.  That
> being the case, the closer your inside temperature is to the outside
> temperature, and the longer it stays that way, the more money you'll
> save.  This would imply you should turn the heat as low as possible when
> you are not home and, as low as you can tolerate when you are asleep.
>
> (2) In my house it does not do any good to turn the thermostat below 60F
> on a typical day when the outside temperature is 25F or above (which is
> cut