Whats The Difference Between An Electric And Gas Furnace? As Far As Cost And Upkeep Go?
Posted on
November 14th, 2009
by Jerry
I’m looking at Condos right now one has a gas furnace and water tank, while the other 2 have an electric(forced air) furnace and an electric water heater.
Which is more expensive to run in terms of energy bills? Do Electric Furnaces last longer then gas? Are they cheaper to replace? Does an electric furnace use a heating element or what?(vs a gas using a flame)
The one I’m looking at still has an electric furnace from the mid 70’s. Should i be worried?
Electric is MUCH more expensive to operate. It uses something called “heat strips” to provide heat. Have you ever seen a fake fireplace that provides heat by blowing air over a coil that heats up? It provides heat but is very expensive to run because it has to keep the coil red hot to provide heat. Well that’s the same way an electric furnace is going to heat your condo, except it has strips that it heats up and blows air over.
I would definitely go with the one with gas heat. By the way, a forced hot air furnace can still be gas. That’s what we had in New Jersey and my bills were not out of line.
A gas furnace costs more to replace, but a lot less to operate. Same with a gas dryer. It’s more to purchase, but less to operate.
An electric furnace from the 70’s is probably not a very energy efficient model so I would definitely think twice.
Good luck with finding your new condo and happy moving!!
Electric is more expensive.
It depends on where you live if the temperature falls below 30 degrees then the heat strips kick in if the temperature is 30 degrees and above then a cost effective new heat pump would be great. Also you don’t have to worry about the danger of gas.