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PG&E: Electric is 5x as expensive as natural gas
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Looking at my PG&E bill, I just calculated that using an electric appliance costs 5x as much as using a natural gas appliance.

This is even after taking into account that natural gas appliances have only ~ 80% thermal efficiency compared to 100% for electric, and conservatively assuming only off-peak electrical usage (TOU-D rate plan).

The Natural Gas price of an 80% efficient appliance assuming winter Tier 1 usage is:
($2.17 / therm) * (1 therm / 29.3 kWh) / 0.8 = $0.0925 / kWh

Electric price is $0.46 / kWh (winter, off-peak usage on TOU-D rate plan)

So using an electric appliance is about 5x as expensive as using an equivalent natural gas appliance.

This goes for any appliance where there is a choice of gas vs electric:

  • furnace / heater
  • clothes dryer
  • water heater
  • pool / spa heater
  • stove / oven / range

As an added benefit, with natural gas, you don't have to worry about what day or time you use it (if you're on a time-of-use electric rate plan).

Comments
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Your in-laws are dumb. Home charging EVs have a much lower cost per mile than most ICE vehicles. The only way to make them comparable in terms of cost is to use public charging stations all the time, which charge a large premium for their power.

[not loaded or deleted]

Naw. Even the coldest areas of the Bay rarely go below freezing; we're talking like half-a-dozen nights a year where the temperature briefly goes into the high 20s. If what you were saying was true about Napa County, they couldn't reliably grow grapes there.

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7 months ago