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localroger

(3,734 posts)
3. Southern homes use electric heat because the equipment is cheap, simple, and safe
Tue Dec 26, 2023, 09:57 PM
Dec 2023

Efficiency isn't as big a deal when the temperature rarely dips below freezing. Electric heaters have one moving part, the fan, which in a central system is shared with the more complicated and important A/C. There are no pilot lights, no danger of explosion, no need for a second source of power, and the danger of fire is minimal. They do not degrade over time or have circulating fluids to maintain or leak. My house was built in 1974 as part of an all-electric subdivision so natural gas isn't even available and there's no room to install a propane tank. A heat pump might save me a hundred bucks or so a year on the electric bill but would cost a lot more than that to install and maintain. This is in Louisiana and the situation is a little less clear toward the middle of the country, and I think other systems are getting some traction there. But my only real complaint is that I can't get a tankless water heater because the electric ones are garbage and there's no gas service to my subdivision.

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