Gas vs. Electric Clothes Dryers

[Merewyn]

Here's a mundane question in a magical place... *lol*

We're going to have to buy a washer & dryer set for our new place, but the home is brand new, and no dryer vent was cut in the wall. I'm not overly concerned about this; I'm 99.9% certain my SO can handle the job... but I heard something about an electric clothes dryer does not need a vent, it only needs to be plugged into the special socket in the wall (which is there). Is this true about the vent? I have no clue about such things.

Also, I was wondering what the pros and cons were concerning gas vs. electric clothes dryers.

Thanks!

[Rudas Starblaze]

all dryers need a vent as far as i know. (depending on what you mean by vent, a gas dryer would need an extra vent for the fumes)

and with rising gas prices, definatly get an electric dryer.

[aranarose]

all dryers need a vent as far as i know. (depending on what you mean by vent, a gas dryer would need an extra vent for the fumes)

and with rising gas prices, definatly get an electric dryer.


Second that. I have a gas dryer. It's sitting unused in my basement. My gas bill went up over $400 a month for the winter with heat. They raised the rates. Thus the reason gas and electric (on one bill) is now off.... Couldn't afford it.

Even before that, I stopped using the gas dryer, and put a clothesline up out in my back yard.

Electric dryers dry just as well, still need to be vented, and are a heck of a lot cheaper to run than a gas one.

[Athena-Nadine]

No, it's not true. Most dryers are electric now. They all need vents for the heat.

The only difference between the two is the type of energy they use. Some people prefer gas because they feel they are less expensive. For me, this wouldn't be the case. Gas costs more than my electricity. For most people, there is little to no difference in operation cost. If your home is new it is probably only hooked up for electric, anyway, unless gas was specifically requested during construction. There is already a risk of fire with running a clothes dryer (usually from not cleaning the lint out of the back of the dryer and the vent; most people never do). Most builders don't want the added risk of a gas line.

[Ulfurskona]

oh i dunno.... i have an electric dryer hooked up right now, but come summer I'm probalby going to have the gas one hooked up. Why? Because it balances out the bills. I'm not going to use the gas one in the winter (we have gas heat in the house) and don't really want to use the electric one in the summer (since that's what the Ac runs on)... it keeps the bills leveled out all year.

Then again, both bills are on the budget plan now. so maybe it won't matter much. All I know is I don't plan on having any more 400-500 dollar electric bills this summer. I'll break the AC first.

[Autumn]

It all depends on the cost of gas vs electricity in your area. It depends too if it's propane from a tank or natural gas from a municipal pipe line. If it's propane then you can shop between companies. Generally that won't make more than a few cents a gallon.

You need to know which it is (or if it's neither) and what form of fuel is cheaper. If there is no gas line, as is probably the case, then you need to have the cost of it factored in.

It's very likely that an electric dryer will be your choice. They're cheaper to purchase than gas just now and more common by far. It's true that you could vent an electric in the house but you'll have to be scrupulous about the lint and you'll still have a linty house. In the winter it has an advantage, you get the heat and the humidity into the house but in the summer that's a bad point.

When you vent outside you need to place the hole as carefully as you can and use rigid metal vent pipe, the plastic coil flexible pipe is a HUGE fire hazard because it collects lint. This applies to either electric or gas.

[Ulfurskona]

yeah, but you're supposed to replace the venting once a year anyway... its only when people forget this fact that they become fire hazards.

[Nigel]

Natural gas is less expensive now than it was three years ago. It has never been more expensive than electricity at any point in history, and unless we start generating electricity from primarily non-fossil-fuel sources, it never will be. Most electricity in the US is still generated by burning coal... a fossil fuel. As long as combustion continues to be our primary energy source, it is ALWAYS more efficient to burn it at the consumption site than it is to first convert it to electricity and then transport it to the consumption site. This is an elementary law of physics which CANNOT be circumvented, and it is why electricity will continue to be more expensive than natural gas as long as it is primarily generated from coal.

Natural gas, while not the same as fuel gas which is made from fossil oil, is also a fossil fuel which is harvested domestically.

Here is a price comparison chart which might help:

http://www.nicor.com/en_us/commercial/planning_needs/fuel_comparison.htm

Natural gas is extremely safe. Unlike propane, it is lighter than air, and therefore leaks tend to be smelled and corrected before the gas collects in ignitable levels. Consider the number of natural gas explosions you have heard about in your town, vs. the number of electrical fires. You can research this fairly easily; there have been about 120 natural gas accidents in the last 18 YEARS, vs. countless electrical fires.

The main reason builders in new developments do not always plumb for gas (though they usually do, for the furnace) is because of the cost... not plumbing for gas increases their profit margin in low-end homes. You will not see many high-end homes that are not plumbed for gas.

My suggestion is, if you have gas to your home, use it. Gas is currently less than half the price of electricity, and there is little indication that this will change anytime in the near future.

[aranarose]

Natural gas is less expensive now than it was three years ago. It has never been more expensive than electricity at any point in history, and unless we start generating electricity from primarily non-fossil-fuel sources, it never will be. Most electricity in the US is still generated by burning coal... a fossil fuel. As long as combustion continues to be our primary energy source, it is ALWAYS more efficient to burn it at the consumption site than it is to first convert it to electricity and then transport it to the consumption site. This is an elementary law of physics which CANNOT be circumvented, and it is why electricity will continue to be more expensive than natural gas as long as it is primarily generated from coal.

Natural gas, while not the same as fuel gas which is made from fossil oil, is also a fossil fuel which is harvested domestically.

Here is a price comparison chart which might help:

http://www.nicor.com/en_us/commercial/planning_needs/fuel_comparison.htm

Natural gas is extremely safe. Unlike propane, it is lighter than air, and therefore leaks tend to be smelled and corrected before the gas collects in ignitable levels. Consider the number of natural gas explosions you have heard about in your town, vs. the number of electrical fires. You can research this fairly easily; there have been about 120 natural gas accidents in the last 18 YEARS, vs. countless electrical fires.

The main reason builders in new developments do not always plumb for gas (though they usually do, for the furnace) is because of the cost... not plumbing for gas increases their profit margin in low-end homes. You will not see many high-end homes that are not plumbed for gas.

My suggestion is, if you have gas to your home, use it. Gas is currently less than half the price of electricity, and there is little indication that this will change anytime in the near future.


My gas bill says otherwise :( Over $400 a month through the winter, while electric only ran around $80.

[Athena-Nadine]

My energy bill says otherwise every year as well.

[Nigel]

Um, that is because you are using far more gas than you are using electricity. If you were using electricity to do the same things you are using gas to do, your bill would have been much higher.

[Athena-Nadine]

I have gas forced air heat and central AC. My heat costs more than my gas, though both run round the clock in my home when needed. I also live in a state that now gets a good chunk of it's electricity from solar power, most through purchasing surplus solar energy from its customers.

It may be that I use more gas, but the ONLY thing in my home that uses gas is my heating system and that only runs in the winter. Everything else runs on electricity, including my water heater, stove, washer and dryer. I do not think that it uses more gas to heat my house than it uses electricity to run everything in it year round and cool it. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong.

[Nigel]

Oh, also, electric dryers can be vented into your home, with a filter, if you don't mind the heat... the reason gas dryers HAVE to be vented outside is because they produce carbon monoxide, an unavoidable byproduct of combustion.

[Nigel]

I have gas forced air heat and central AC. My heat costs more than my gas, though both run round the clock in my home when needed. I also live in a state that now gets a good chunk of it's electricity from solar power, most through purchasing surplus solar energy from its customers.

It may be that I use more gas, but the ONLY thing in my home that uses gas is my heating system and that only runs in the winter. Everything else runs on electricity, including my water heater, stove, washer and dryer. I do not think that it uses more gas to heat my house than it uses electricity to run everything in it year round and cool it. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong.

Heat is by far the bulk of most people's energy bills, except for those who live in tropical regions.

Try heating your home with electricity for a winter, and you will see.

Prepare for heat bills that are more than twice what you are currently paying for in gas, though.

[Nigel]

Gas prices vs. electricity prices, per unit used, is an easily researchable fact.

Saying that your gas bill is higher than your electricity bill to prove gas is more expensive is absolutely meaningless. It's like saying that gasoline costs more where my neighbor buys it, as proved by comparing his receipts to mine, if he drives a Hummer and I drive a Prius.

[Athena-Nadine]

Gas prices vs. electricity prices, per unit used, is an easily researchable fact.

Saying that your gas bill is higher than your electricity bill to prove gas is more expensive is absolutely meaningless. It's like saying that gasoline costs more where my neighbor buys it, as proved by comparing his receipts to mine, if he drives a Hummer and I drive a Prius.
True. That isn't what I was trying to do, but I can see that I probably did so.

Ultimately, how much it costs to run things on gas or electricity also depends on how much energy each uses. I admit that I have a highly energy efficient washer and dryer. Since I had to replace my water heater not long after I moved in I also know that I have an energy efficient one of those. I don't know much about my AC compressor, but I assume it is more energy efficient than my furnace. So if all of the major electric appliances in my home are far more energy efficient than my gas furnace, it stands to reason that the furnace could, in fact, use more energy than everything else, which causes the gas portion of my bill to be higher than the electric.

[Nigel]

This may be helpful:
http://www.friendlyplumber.com/plumbing101/dryer.html
http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/appliances/dryers.html

[Tanya]

dare I suggest.... SOLAR?

that which was once known simpley as... a clothes line.

[Ulfurskona]

Or just hanging your clothes on hangers in doorways in the house...

My only problem with "solar" drying...well ok, I have a couple.

1. Dogs to tear down the clothes
2. Towels that are stiff as boards when you take them down
3. Clothes that are stiff as boards when you want to wear them...
4. Bugs.

[Merewyn]

Wow! Everyone's posts have been incredibly helpful and enlightening! Nigel, I will definitely be checking those links as soon as I finish posting my little reply.

I think at this point I am going to go with the electrical dryer and vent it outside. I'm not too keen on having it vent into the house...

Everyone has given me a lot to think about and things to look into... I think I'm going to go grab our Consumer's bill and see what we're being charged here now and see what I can guess-timate.

Thanks so much!!!