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    kattygirl's Avatar
    kattygirl Posts: 131, Reputation: 3
    Junior Member
    		  
    #1

    Jul 2, 2007, 09:52 AM
    Changing gas to electric
    I am thinking of buying a home. The one I want uses gas for heating and cooking. How hard would it be to convert that to electric? I am terrified of blowing myself up in a home that has gas. The house I am looking at is about a 100 years old. Any information would be great.
    ebaines's Avatar
    ebaines Posts: 12,131, Reputation: 1307
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    #2

    Jul 2, 2007, 11:31 AM
    Changing from gas to electric for the stove is not too difficult - obviously you need a new stove, and if there isn't already a 220 volt line to the kitchen you will have to have an electrician install one. As for the heat - you're talking about a whole new furnace unit, or perhaps electric baseboard. This could cost several thousand $$.

    I would encourage you to stick with gas, and not make the change. In general, gas is more efficient than electric, so costs less to run. Plus, personally I find that a gas range is much, much better than electric - you can control the temp setting much better. I believe that homes with gas have higher resale value than those that don't.

    You shouldn't be to afraid of gas. Problems do occur, but then again people also get electrocuted! Use common sense, and you will be quite pleased with gas heat and cooking.
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
    Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
    		  
    #3

    Jul 2, 2007, 11:36 AM
    Ebaines is correct, I'd stay with gas or propane over electric. In my area an electric water heater cost 3x more to run than propane. My home was electric heat origionally and I switched that out too. Homes blowing up from gas are quite rare, never ever seen one personally.
    kattygirl's Avatar
    kattygirl Posts: 131, Reputation: 3
    Junior Member
    		  
    #4

    Jul 2, 2007, 12:26 PM
    What about pilot lights blowing out and filling your home with gas or things like that? Yes I have probably watched too many TV shows but since I know nothing about gas all I can think is kaboom.
    ebaines's Avatar
    ebaines Posts: 12,131, Reputation: 1307
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    #5

    Jul 2, 2007, 12:31 PM
    Assuming you have appliances that are less than 30 years old - if the pilot goes out, gas stops flowing. There's a device called a "pilot sensor" that controls this.
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
    Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
    		  
    #6

    Jul 3, 2007, 10:10 AM
    Yep, too many TV shows. Most appliances don't even have a pilot any more, they have spark ignitors. On an old appliance the pilot blows out and the thermcouple won't allow any fuel to reach the burner.
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