Aha! I have finally decided. We are going electric for now. By my calculations, it is far cheaper even if it does fall behind in efficiency. I'll bet you guys are just dying to know hos I figured it out, hey?
Natural gas has gone up 13.5% here this month, on top of a 5.5% increase last spring. This actually makes it considerably more expensive to use than electricity. OUr electricity is mostly produced by hydroelectric so although it will rise when the rest of North America's does, it won't rise as much. We currently pay 6c/KWh for electricity and a $12.50 per GJ of gas.
All things being equal, it would cost us over $75 per year more just to run a gas stove, at least until electricity prices catch up. Thanks Gale Force! The addition was a little mort complicated because I had to convert it all from metric. Heh.
I expect Hydro to increase in the spring, but not as mucha s you think.
A gas dryer would cost us $2 more per year, plus $300 for the hookup and an extra $150 just to buy the darn thing. I already have an energy-efficient washer and dryer, so really that gas dryer would run us $700 more than making do with what we have now.
The gas water heater and furnace will actually cost more to operate as well, until electric catches up. Oh well, they come standard and I don't have to pay extra for hookups. See, the gas line is already run into the house for those, I was talking justto run it the few feet upstairs to the kitchen would cost $300.
Canning really isn't too bad on an electric, but I do all of my canning at my mother's house where she has a whole summer kitchen geared for canning without heating up the rest of the house. There is an electric stove, but once the pressure canners are heated, they stay hot enough that it isn't that difficult.
Plus, our gas company just got bought out by a US multinational, but our hydro is still a provinically-owned crown corp. I kind of dislike the multinationals, so it makes me feel better about using somewhat more sustainable hydro than the gas.
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