[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, in general, people live in areas where they need to control the indoor climate. And it’s a good thing that we have technology to allow us to set the temperature we like, light up the house the way we want, and run our appliances and electronics. Solar is great technology to lower the cost of comfort. Isn’t that wonderful?
BTW, natural gas is not the most efficient way to cook. There’s a lot of heat loss, and associated cooling. The most efficient way to cook would be to use insulated electric appliances like electric rice/slow cookers.[/quote]
Understand, FIH. I have many relatives who live in “flyover states” with 85-90 deg heat with 80%+ humidity at least 8 months per year. It’s just that we in coastal CA have a “choice.” Anyone living in oppressive heat in SD County is “choosing to.” Households residing =<7 miles from the coast likely use half the energy that more inland households do (with similar family sizes and house sizes and comparable windows/insulation).
I like a gas cooktop. I like the flames .... for tortillas and other things. I also like downdraft cooktops (which are only available in gas). I don't have high-end appls but high-end ranges (for "serious" cooks) almost all run on natural gas as do professional cooktops for restaurants. There are good reasons for this.
I do use a slow cooker once in a while (if I have other people here to share the food).
A gas furnace in SD is way more economical than an electric wall heater or electric furnace (I haven’t actually seen an electric furnace in SD but I’m sure they exist … somewhere). We are very fortunate here in that we don’t have to use the furnace very often. If we did, our utility bills would be much, much higher.
