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Thread ID: 106704	2010-01-19 20:12:00	Gas or electric water heating	nofam (9009)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
850129	2010-01-20 00:31:00	We have a 5 year old grandson who would also stay in the shower all day if we let him! And even though he is wee, he still takes the same amount of shower water as an 18 year old lump!	John H (8)
850130	2010-01-20 00:42:00	It's not just the cost of gas you have to look at - in Auckland (don't know about elsewhere) we have to pay for water too . With a "never run out of hot water again" system, it is very easy to forget about how long you are in the shower, especially with the wonderful pressure!! We had a Rinnai Infinity at our last place - excellent . But I wouldn't go out of my way to install one now, having teenagers in the house!!! The water bill is bad enough with a limited supply of hot water - I shudder to think what it would be if there was no chance of running out! My daughter would LIVE in the shower! John H's friend with the 18 year old daughter is spot on about the time spent allegedly washing themselves! Good Point Johcar, but we're not on metred water here in Dunedin (for now . . . ) . And I'd like to think SWMBO and I don't take long showers . Unless I manage to sneak in there with her . . . . . :blush: :clap	nofam (9009)
850131	2010-01-20 01:00:00	Can anyone advise me on the pros/cons of gas? I know the price of gas has gone up a lot recently, but there's only the two of us, and we're pretty energy-conscious (last power bill was $59) . TIA :thumbs: For our place, defined before . We use hot water for laundry each morning . Well they are into that thing, hygenic freaks . We pay $200/month for gas and $200/month for power . That's in summer . Dunno how you manage it . I have heard that older houses may have a older power / gas meter so they tick slower :p	Nomad (952)
850132	2010-01-20 01:09:00	For our place, defined before . We use hot water for laundry each morning . Well they are into that thing, hygenic freaks . We pay $200/month for gas and $200/month for power . That's in summer . Dunno how you manage it . I have heard that older houses may have a older power / gas meter so they tick slower :p Our house was built in 1959 (brick & roughcast), so all single-glazed, no insulation in the wall/underfloor, but some in the ceiling crawlspace . It does get all-day sun, which makes a big difference . All our lights are energy saver bulbs, which saves a lot over a year, especially if you get in the habit of turning lights off when you're not in the room . We heat the whole house with a single 8Kw heatpump, and both shower at least once a day . We cold-wash our clothes, and don't have a dishwasher, which I think saves a bit too . Interesting topic really; our fridge/freezer is only 18 months old, so would be pretty efficient, and we don't have a chest freezer . The biggest power bill we had this past winter was $161 .	nofam (9009)
850133	2010-01-20 01:43:00	Hot water laundry every day. 2 fridge/ freezer and 3 chest freezer. Don't use dishwasher. No energy saving bulbs. Those prices are in summer so heater is not a variable. In winter, yeah maybe 2 oil fin heater in main room, should get a heat pump thou after our kitchen is done, 3 bedroom tend to use heater as well. No insulation whatsoever, single glaze windows. They tend to use the oil fin heater in winter for drying clothes too. Which doesn't help. Folks now nearly retirement age, dad is, but mum isn't so they spend some hours at home more than fulltime working people.......... We seen over $300 bills for power in winter, not sure about gas thou, cos we only use the hot water, currently and historically all cooking was electric. Don't use the installed gas taps around the house's floor carpet. Now thinking about it, if you spend 70 together for 2 and we have 4, we can double that to $140, so we spend $60 more than you but we have more appliances and do hot water laundry and a lack of any insulation, maybe it is accurate. Not sure about gas thou - just for hot water - $200 a month :lol:	Nomad (952)
850134	2010-01-20 01:45:00	I prefer cooking with gas too. A couple of comments. We didn't have to pay a rental charge for our cylinders. When we signed up we paid a deposit for our two 45kg bottles (?$185) and paid no rental. We got the money back from the gas company when we sold. However, that deal is no longer available from that company. Not surprising really. However, you do have to factor in the cylinder rental charge now. Regarding power cuts - we were in ChCh and had no power cuts during the 6 or so years we had the gas on. However, there is a battery kit available as an add on to the installation if your power supply is uncertain. The gas company told us about it but talked us out of installing it, and they were right in our circumstances. However, with the dickhead Brownlee in charge of electricity these days, anything could happen! We had a Bosch installation, but I assume Rinnai has a battery pack as well. We are all electric now, and our power costs are way down (we used to pay for firewood, gas, and electricity). However, that is probably because we are now in a brick, double glazed, aluminium fittings, two year old house, compared with a 1920's timber, single glazed (doors and windows fit where they touch), bungalow... Yeah, the same with you, I also use the gas to cooking, to take a shower, it is so convenient, and not very expensive, I bought a [edited] from a website store , it works fine.	sakura88 (15580)
850135	2010-01-20 01:54:00	(snip) I bought a gas lighter, (snip) it works fine. They are fine with your gas cooker, but they won't work with the gas water heater I'm afraid. You need electricity from mains or battery pack to make continuous gas water heaters go.	John H (8)
850136	2010-01-20 02:21:00	Our house 1959 single-glazed, no insulation in the wall/underfloor. all-day sun lights are energy saver bulbs single 8Kw heatpump, The biggest power bill we had this past winter was $161. Mine is 1920. No insulation except batts in the ceiliong and then only 70% of it. Gaps around some of the single glazed windows so no condensation. Polished floors in part of it. One woodburner. Only a few energy bulbs. No all day sun. One dishwasher used every day. One clothes dryer used every 2 or 3 days in wet months. Power bills around $150 - $170. My mum had gas, she liked it for cooking but once the price went up she said she'd never get it again. They moved.	pctek (84)
850137	2010-01-20 02:31:00	there's only the two of us, and we're pretty energy-conscious (last power bill was $59) . How the heck do you manage to have a power bill of only $59?? :confused: Our power bill for October/November, was $163 for 30 days and from memory the December bill was slightly cheaper for a four-person household . We use a dishwasher everyday (one drawer in a Dish Drawer) and have night-rate water heating and do warm water clothes washes . Even when two of the family are away the power bill doesn't drop by half . Winter time is a different story . The power bill is over $300 with a heat pump going most nights . With regards to gas, when we renovated our kitchen and bathroom I wanted to change to a gas stove and shower but it was uneconomical because the cylinders had to be placed at the other end of the house . You might need to consider the location of the cylinders if you decide to go that way .	FoxyMX (5)
850138	2010-01-20 02:38:00	How the heck do you manage to have a power bill of only $59?? :confused: Our power bill for October/November, was $163 for 30 days and from memory the December bill was slightly cheaper for a four-person household . We use a dishwasher everyday (one drawer in a Dish Drawer) and have night-rate water heating and do warm water clothes washes . Even when two of the family are away the power bill doesn't drop by half . Winter time is a different story . The power bill is over $300 with a heat pump going most nights . With regards to gas, when we renovated our kitchen and bathroom I wanted to change to a gas stove and shower but it was uneconomical because the cylinders had to be placed at the other end of the house . You might need to consider the location of the cylinders if you decide to go that way . I think there's quite a different in what power companies charge - SWMBO's parents live at the other end of Mosgiel from us, and they regularly have $300+ bills . . . . they're with Contact, and we're with Meridian . I'm currently paying 16 . 46c per unit . . . . is that cheap?	nofam (9009)
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