[MA Survivalist]

Im thinking about the possibility of going all electric, or at least as electric as I can get. What I mean by that is that I will only use electricity as a power source to the greatest extent that I can, no natural gas or fossil fuels. In my house I would have a heating system that uses electricity not gas as well as an electric stove. I do know they make entirely electric stoves and ovens but Im not sure if they do make electric heating systems. An electric heating system however does not seem all that far fetched.

For vehicles as of right now I drive a gasoline/electric hybrid car but I've thought about buying an entirely electric car such as a Tesla. So the idea is to only use electrical utilities and machinery except for perhaps a few gasoline operated machines only for certain uses such as gasoline powered generators and ATVs. This way I will be less reliant on fossil fuels, which is considerably more expensive than electricity, and more off the grid.

 

[KoolAde2]

Yes I use to live in an all electric house for everything including Heat. On Long Island cost per KW is quite high and my electric bills were north of $350 even on the plan. If your cost per KW is low enough it will not bankrupt you.
This was a small two bedroom apt. With just me living there full time.

I don't understand this thinking most of your electricity comes from, Gas, Oil, Coal you still aren't getting rid of fossils unless you have a large enough Solar Network to power all your needs without being tied to the Grid.

 

[soocom1]

Im thinking about the possibility of going all electric, or at least as electric as I can get. What I mean by that is that I will only use electricity as a power source to the greatest extent that I can, no natural gas or fossil fuels. In my house I would have a heating system that uses electricity not gas as well as an electric stove. I do know they make entirely electric stoves and ovens but Im not sure if they do make electric heating systems. An electric heating system however does not seem all that far fetched.

For vehicles as of right now I drive a gasoline/electric hybrid car but I've thought about buying an entirely electric car such as a Tesla. So the idea is to only use electrical utilities and machinery except for perhaps a few gasoline operated machines only for certain uses such as gasoline powered generators and ATVs. This way I will be less reliant on fossil fuels, which is considerably more expensive than electricity, and more off the grid.

Personally as someone who has been there and done that with all electric..
I wouldn't.

When our electric bills skyrocketed over conditions outside our control, we had no electricity for 3 years.

Ergo:
Rotting food in fridge and freezer, no heat in winter, candle light at night, etc.

 

[ttkciar]

I can see the appeal, but you might want to consider the benefits of having heating options for both electric and gas / fuel oil. If one fails, you will have the other. Then you can simply have a policy of always using electric whenever it's available (which would be most of the time).

Certainly there are electric heaters. I remember my parents using them in the 1970's. Pretty sure if you just ask amazon they'll suggest a few hundred models to choose from.

 

[Veloster]

I went from electric heat to nat gas heat. I will hate the day nat gas quits flowing.

 

[Kay]

Options are always good. I have lived in all electric houses and apartments as well houses that also used gas and fireplaces. I would never deliberately lock myself into an all electric house again. Even if you cover all your bases, would you be the only house in your area with options? How would your neighbors respond to that if tshtf? What would they expect from you and what would they demand from you and how would you respond to that?

 

[soocom1]

Now, let me be direct.

In late 2010 our September Electric bill was over $365. We were not using anywhere near that amount of electricity because of various situations but our bill said we were using that amount.
In mid Nov. 2010 after not having paid the bill, they took the meter and we were out. Our bills along with other factors including a situation involving a large bank that uses a horse drawn carriage as a logo took an even darker turn financially and we were out a ton of money.

In Oct. of 2011 I was laid off from my job. We were at that point unable to pay for not much more than the mortgage, food, gasoline and cell phones.
We forgoed car insurance, paying other bills and showered at the local truck stop. We bought food for our critters then us.
I was ineligible for the Tier II and Tier III unemployment offered by His Majesty Manchild BHO.

But we had also sold some land and through the proceeds payed off the electric bill and had electricity again. For 6 months.

When the money from the land and unemployment ran out, they took the meter again.

We were out of electricity from march 2012 until jan 2014 when we moved into a rental.

it was later discovered that a local creep lady who was cooking meth, had been taking our meter and plugging it into her house to cook her meth and we paid for her electric use.
(see what I mean by outside one's control?)

From that day forward I made sure anywhere we were at had at least a wood fireplace, Natural gas and other backups.

Were now using nat. Gas for heating along with wood. Not going to let that happen again.

 

[Offrink]

If you have a way to run everything if the power goes out indefinitely then it sounds like a good plan.

 

[ajole]

I would think securing your meter WOULD be in your control?
But regardless...I GREATLY prefer gas over electric.

In regards to the OP...I LAUGH when people think electricity is going to help them be less reliant on fossil fuels.

In 2019, 62.6% of US electricity was fossil fuel generated. 19.6% was nuclear. And 17.6% was "Renewables" which require fossil fuels in manufacture, construction, and maintenance.

Unless you're in a special situation, or have your own solar cells or wind mill, all you really do when you go electric is ask the power plant to burn more coal or gas, and then give the power company more of your money.

 

[soocom1]

I would think securing your meter WOULD be in your control?
But regardless...I GREATLY prefer gas over electric.

In regards to the OP...I LAUGH when people think electricity is going to help them be less reliant on fossil fuels.

In 2019, 62.6% of US electricity was fossil fuel generated. 19.6% was nuclear. And 17.6% was "Renewables" which require fossil fuels in manufacture, construction, and maintenance.

Unless you're in a special situation, or have your own solar cells or wind mill, all you really do when you go electric is ask the power plant to burn more coal or gas, and then give the power company more of your money.

When your ignorant of the situation, no its not.
We were away from the house 12 hours a day.
No fence and open opportunity to do the damage.

The little wire lock device was cut but left on the meter.
I had no clue at that time that it was a clue to the situation.

 

[ajole]

When your ignorant of the situation, no its not.
We were away from the house 12 hours a day.
No fence and open opportunity to do the damage.

The little wire lock device was cut but left on the meter.
I had no clue at that time that it was a clue to the situation.

OK....but being ignorant is ALSO within your control, at some level.😁

But hey...you are no longer ignorant, though the lesson cost a lot more than it should have; and that's what is important. We've all learned something the hard way.

They caught a local grower using his power usage patterns, he was running grow lights in a tunnel he dug. Surprised no one was investigating YOU for meth production!! That would have been no fun.

 

[soocom1]

OK....but being ignorant is ALSO within your control, at some level.😁

But hey...you are no longer ignorant, though the lesson cost a lot more than it should have; and that's what is important. We've all learned something the hard way.

They caught a local grower using his power usage patterns, he was running grow lights in a tunnel he dug. Surprised no one was investigating YOU for meth production!! That would have been no fun.

Actually the house was entered multiple times.

IMO the DEA and poss. other acronymal agencies probably had us hard wired.

But I also think that we saw other things that DoD didnt want us to brag about.
but thats a diff. story.

 

[charliemeyer007]

I'll never give up my wood stove, sometimes the power people don't have anything to sell. I could do solar only easily enough in the summer, but winter I need heat. I use electric and only heat my bedroom and bathroom, less than $150 per month usually less than $100 for 1/2 the fall and spring. Summer is like $30.

Amazon Sucks!

 

[roseman]

Way too expensive to do that here.
Years back, the power company was giving a special rate for all electric homes. They were calling them golden medalion homes I think. Builders loved them as they could realize a higher profit with not having to include an actual heating system in the home.
What happened was that after a decade or so went by, the power company dropped the special rate and the homeowners got s*****d. The rates here are 2nd or 3rd highest in the country.

 

[soocom1]

What's more is that if your in an area subject to natural cat-astrophies (pun intended) electric can go out in an instant.

ergo, no power, no fun life.
dont be reliant on electrons. They have a bad habit of doing their own thing.

 

[ajole]

Yep. We've had small power outages over the years, but gas? Never interrupted, not once.

 

[link_77]

All electric here, Love it. if you worried about impending doom you can always have wood stove as backup as well as a back up generator.. In Georgia the electric rates make all electric very doable. If I wanted gas here it would be propane, Did that once and that was very expensive and inconvenient

 

[Bad Frog]

I have a weekend house that is all electric including the well pump. It works because I have sufficient solar panels and large LiFePO battery bank. My electric bill is $0 and I am never concerned about running out of power unless there is a system failure (which I have never had because of built in redundancy). I turn up the heat as high as I want or the A/C as cool as I want without a second thought. The cost was upfront and the LiFePO batteries need to be replaced every 10 years or so at a cost of around $1K each. The reality is that power costs money and if you want power, you are going to have to break out the checkbook.

 

[phil74501]

My house is all electric, except for the heat. Heat is natty gas. Few years after I bought the house, it was about 20 years old at the time, I had a company do an energy efficiency update on the house. The head guy of the crew that came in said that electricity was the worst thing to use for heating. Take that for what it's worth. I have all of my bills, except water, on monthly average payments...whatever it's called. Bad part is, I get a gas bill even in the summer. Good thing is, I don't get a $350 a month electric bill.

Only reason why I could see going all electric, even the heat, is if you're going to power your house with solar/wind.

 

[Toyboy]

. This way I will be less reliant on fossil fuels, which is considerably more expensive than electricity, and more off the grid.

Your kidding right? I second the poster who stated most electricity is generated through fossil fuel use...that aside, i have a few thoughts

electric homes are convenient. they certainly have all electric central heat.IMO it is no where near as efficient as gas.

Having a gas stove/range is a very good simple prep to have. the ability to cook in a power outage without bringing in the coleman, alcohol or backup stove is substantial. Further, cooking with gas is superior to electricity, which is why you see restaraunts with gas stoves and ranges not electric.

Gas hot water heaters use less energy and are far superior in recovering hot water as opposed to electric, they also last longer in my experience.

I am yet to be convinced that electric cars are better for the environment than gas. I have too many questions about battery manufacture and disposal, not to mention the life of those batteries. I suspect that may change in the future, but it isn't there yet.

as stated prior, if you can run your home on solar or even wind (there are a few of those homes here in Kansas), you are probably absolutely right. Otherwise, I fear you may exercising a bit of self delusion (something most of us in the prepper community have been guilty of once or twice, myself included)