I am moving to a new,older home. I need to decide to go w/ gas or electric range & dryer(laundry room right next to kitchen). I wonder about the best energy use for the environment and from a cost standpoint. Any help or opinions will be appreciated.

I think it all "evens" out cost wise. We've always had gas stoves (I can't cook on an electric I burn everything when I do, one of my sisters is the same way but her new house doesn't have a gas stove). So for me I always want a gas stove, it cooks better in my opinion. As for the gas or electric dryer. I've had both and I have to say the gas is better, for some reason the gas dryers don't die as fast as the electric ones do. We went through two electric dryers in a short amount of time but have had this gas one for years without any problems. As far as our gas bill vs' electric, well that's hard to compare especially with the price of gas these days. But I will say we cut our electric bill by 40% by unplugging anything that isn't being used, such as the tv/cable box, computer, lights etc. We are still amazed at how much our electric bill has gone down by doing this, takes some time to get in the habit of it though.

it is what you're used to....i like electric stoves better...only have had electric dryers...current dryer is about 8 yrs old...

I wouldn't want anything but gas appliances. Gas dries clothes faster. And have you ever seen an electric range in a restaurant?

I have a gas cooktop but electric ovens... it depends on how you cook...
If you're a baker .. electric is a big plus ... but with a cooktop you can get the higher heats needed...

Until 20 yrs ago Tomball provided free and I mean free gas to all ... so a/c ( not just heat) were gas as were many appliances... when Exxon began to shut down the field .. things changed ...

I grew up with cooking on gas and was disappointed that the first home I purchased had electric. But I learned to cook on it, it's different, but once you learn to cook on it it's easy. Each of the 6 homes I've purchased after that first home have also had electric cooking and I've grown to love it that I don't think I could switch to gas now after 30 years on electric ranges.

I've also had all electric dryers as well. I'm on my third dryer in 30 years of doing laundry for 4 kids, my hubby and myself so I don't think they have a problem with durability.

Go with what you prefer to cook on. I wouldn't go back to gas, but others that cook only on gas wouldn't go to electric. Cook on whichever you prefer.

We have electric dryer in MN and gas dryer in AR. For us the electric dries faster so I guess it depends more upon the appliance than upon the source of the heat.

Cooking is what you are used to. Electric does just fine but you have to let the burner warm up where gas is instant on. People swear by gas but I know many excellent cooks who use electric.

So the answer is..... it is up to what you want.

I'll add my two cents.

The winter of 06/07 we were without power for 12 days here in rural Missouri. It would have been real nice to cook a hot meal but we have an all electric kitchen. Something to think about if power outages are a potential problem in your area.

Last winter with heating costs rising I plugged my outside dryer vent hole and let the dryer vent into the house. It not only kept perfectly good heat from going out the window, so to speak, but it added moisture to the extremely dry air. This can only be done safely with an electric dryer. BTW, our dryer is 14 years old and works fine.

Blonde. I assume you didn't just plug the outside hole but disconnected the vent from the back of the dryer to vent into the room... other wise you have a buildup of heat in the vent...

Re: Your question about energy usage... Unfortunately the EPA's Energy Star system doesn't label either dryers or cookstoves. It says on its webpage, "ENERGY STAR does not label clothes dryers since there is little difference in the energy use between models." From the environment's standpoint, line-drying is best. Explore their site at http://www.energystar.gov

From cost standpoint, natural gas has traditionally been cheaper to use than electricity, but natural gas prices are currently on the rise, so it's tough to say for sure. I don't have any experience with propane gas, which is a whole other animal from natural gas in terms of cost and ease of use.

A natural gas dryer typically costs slightly more to purchase than an electric one, but they tend to last a lot longer. I'm using my second gas dryer within 37 years. (That's not to say that any appliance made within the last 10 years will last as long, unfortunately.) Electric dryers have parts that burn out which gas dryers don't have, and which is why they tend not to last as long. The main efficiency feature to look for in a dryer is a moisture sensor to prevent overdrying.

As for cooking, I suspect the cost of operation between gas and electric is similar, and that it comes down to preference. I far prefer natural gas cooking to electric. In terms of efficiency, I have found an electric cooktop burner usually doesn't exactly fit the size of the pot bottom, so the extra heat around the edge of the pot is wasted. Worse yet, the heat rises to overheat both the cook and the kitchen - which annoys the cook no end and raises the AC bill. A gas flame can easily be tailored to the size of the cooking utensil, causing less heat to be wasted.

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Originally posted by Becky42:
Blonde. I assume you didn't just plug the outside hole but disconnected the vent from the back of the dryer to vent into the room... other wise you have a buildup of heat in the vent...

Yes, I "let the dryer vent into the house". I suppose I should have been more precise and said I disconnected the hose.

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Originally posted by Becky42:
I have a gas cooktop but electric ovens... it depends on how you cook...

Oh, gosh, my second house had a gas oven.

NEVER AGAIN!

I hated it.

When the oven reached temp, it would turn the gas off. Then, later, when the oven cooled a bit, it would turn the gas back on.

You would hear the hissing of the gas.

Next you would hear the frantic "click, click, click" of the igniter.

Finally, you would hear the "poof" of the gas finally igniting.

OK, I might be paranoid, but I was always worried about what if the gas fails to re-ignite? Because of that, I felt I had to stand there, and be ready to turn the gas quickly off, if the oven ever failed to ignite.

Simply not worth it. An electric oven is the only sane way to go.

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An electric oven is the only sane way to go.

Sanity, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.