This Article Is About Converting From Electric To Gas Heat & Water Heating

Al’s Plumbing, Heating & A/C Provides The Services & Equipment

To Convert A Home From Electric To Gas Heating & Water Heating.

Al’s also provides maintenance & repairs for all brands of Central A/C, Gas & Electric Furnace, and Heat Pumps.  Additionally, we sell and install new HVAC Systems from American Standard (same company as Trane), Ameristar (same company as American Standard) and Coleman HVAC (same company as York HVAC).

Why Are So Many Homes Built In Late 1950’s — Early 1970’s All Electric?

To Skip This Section, Scroll Down To Converting From Electric To Gas Heat & Water Heating”.  

Photo Source:  CC0 With Attribution. Photographer: Bill Bradford  Website: Flickr.com

Direct Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrbill/5376672/in/photolist-jATNhy-bVRXUM-cdhbFo-rSZzKa-tyhq-tyif-6trdUt-uiHbrD-L4QP8s

Many homes built before World War II had coal-burning furnaces.  They were dirty and would leave coal ash around the home outside. Other homes had fuel-oil furnaces. There were also homes that still relied on dirty & inefficient wood-burning fireplaces. With the image many people had of dirty heating fuels, it’s easy to see the allure of an all-electric home with clean electric heat.

The Live Better Electrically (LBE) Marketing Campaign Created A New Market For Electric Heat.  The “Live Better Electrically” (LBE) program  began in the mid 1950’s when General Electric & Westinghouse co-sponsored the multi-million dollar nationwide marketing campaign to promote the sales of electric heat & appliances + promote the benefits of electric power.   The campaign ran from 1957 through the early 1970’s.  The initial launch was an offer to send a free, 70+ page brochure which told readers how their lives could be improved by an all-electric home.

LBE was supported nationwide by 900+ electric utilities.   It came with the promise of dramatically increasing electricity consumption during winter.  GE & Westinghouse sold electric residential heating systems plus electric; water heaters, ranges, cook tops, wall ovens, and clothes dryers.  The LBE campaign positioned natural gas, the biggest power source of the time, as an outmoded fuel for; heating, water heating, cooking & clothes drying.

In October 1957, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association launched the “Medallion Homes” campaign.  It’s goal was to sell 20,000 all-electric homes nationwide within a year.   By 1960, over 850,000 Gold Medallion new homes had been built. Many were in western U.S. locations such as Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Phoenix, and Seattle.

The Medallion Homes Program Had 5 Goals:

• Provide a recognized symbol of all-electric excellence for new home construction. The gold medallion identified a new home as all-electric.
• Raise the electrical-service standards in new homes to accommodate their massive electricity demand.
• Help new home builders sell homes by educating their customers about the benefits of all-electric living.
• Show existing homeowners electrical devices that could be added to their present homes
• Give national support to existing LBE programs sponsored by local electric utilities companies.

To earn a LBE Medallion emblem, a house had to be solely sourced with electricity for heat, light, & power. The house also had to have electric cooking appliances, electric water heater, plus at least one “optional” electric appliance selected from an approved list.  Optional appliances included:  dishwasher, food-waste disposer, clothes dryer, or air conditioning. 150 ampere electrical service was also required, along with specified number of outlets & switches per linear foot of wall space. Medallion Homes included built-in lighting.

Homes that met the LBE & Gold Medallion standards were marked with a 3” inch brass plaque (shown above) with the “Live Better Electrically” logo. The brass plaque was near the front entry door, or could be embedded in the concrete sidewalk in front of the home. Some plaques were incorporated into a doorbell or knocker.  For those who wanted a less permanent marker, a 6” inch decal could be affixed to a window.

The Medallion Homes Program was heavily promoted in; magazine & newspaper ads, TV spots & commercials, and radio jingles. The main campaign spokesman was (then-actor and future President) Ronald Reagan.  He was the host of “General Electric Theater.”  During the show, Reagan took television TV audiences inside his own Pacific Palisades, CA all-electric home.

Click Here To See An All-Electric Home Sign: All-Electric Home Sign

Click Below To See A Zillow.com Listing For a Gold Medallion Home Near White Rock Lake In Dallas, TX:

Gold Medallion Home Near White Rock Lake

To earn a Gold Medallion, the house had to be have only electricity for:  Heating, Water Heating, Cooking, Clothes drying + Lights, & Power.  Many of these homes included air conditioning, often the first for their owners.   The Medallion all-electric home was required to have 150-Amp Electrical Service, and a specified number of electrical outlets & switches.   Most homes had either forced-air heat, or electric baseboard heating.  A/C for these homes was: central a/c,  through-the-wall, or a window a/c.

Across the county hundreds of land-developers & new home builders jumped onto the LBE bandwagon.  The Medallion Home badge was a prominent feature of local Parade of Homes programs for numerous years. Entire neighborhoods were planned & built as all-electric Medallion Homes.

Decades later, most of these homes are still all electric.  Many entire neighborhoods are all electric and have no natural gas service.  Other communities offered homes with either electric or gas heat when the homes were new.  Those neighborhoods have gas main lines within them, but not from the gas main to all electric homes.  If your neighborhood has gas main lines, you can considering converting from electric to gas heat, water heating and appliances if you wish.

Converting From Electric To Gas Heat & Water Heating

Image Source: CanStockPhoto

Many homes in DFW were built with electric furnaces.  In many neighborhoods, both gas & electric heat were offered by the home builder.  If this is the case, a natural gas main line exists in your neighborhood and converting from electric to gas heat is possible.   A drive through your neighborhood will tell you if natural gas is available.  You should be able to see gas meters on the side of the house, near the front.  If you have alleys, gas meters are typically visible from them.

What You Must Do When Converting From Electric To Gas Heat:

1. Install and pay for a gas line from the gas main line to your home.  Atmos Gas Company will supply & install a gas meter.

Shown: Residential Gas Line Connected To Gas Main Line

Image Source: ShutterStock

2. Install and pay for gas lines in the attic of your home to supply gas to devices.  Gas lines are installed in the attic, not under the home.

Click Here To See A Photo Of Yellow Gas Lines In A Home’s Attic: Gas Lines In A Home Attic

3. Purchase & install a gas furnace & water heater (+ gas appliances if you wish)

Converting From Electric to Gas Heat & Water Heating

Will Reduce Costs By Up To 2/3! 

(Over Electric Heat & Water Heating)

Shown: High Efficiency Gas Furnace

Photo Source: DreamsTime

Shown: Residential Gas Water Heater

Photo Source: ShutterStock

• Converting from electric to gas heat with a 97% Efficient Gas Furnace + a gas water heater is nearly 2/3 less than with an electric furnace & water heater.

• Converting from electric heat to a Medium Efficiency (HSPF 9.5) Heat Pump is around 1/2  the cost of an electric furnace.  The Heat Pump HVAC System includes auxiliary electric heating for when outdoor temps are too low for the Heat Pump to keep up.   Though the savings is lower, converting to a Heat Pump is dramatically less expensive than converting from electric to gas heat.   Nothing must be changed to go from an electric furnace to an electric Heat Pump with supplemental electric heat.  The power supply to both the central a/c and electric furnace is all that’s needed for a Heat Pump HVAC System.

Click Here To See The First Article (in a 4-part series) About Heat Pumps: AlsPlumbing.com Heat Pump Benefits Part 1 of 4

Photo Source: ShutterStock

EXAMPLE:  FUEL COSTS COMPARISON — A 2,000 SQUARE FOOT DFW HOME WITH 4 OCCUPANTS

• Using 97% GAS Furnace: at $9.71 per MCF:  (1,000 cubic feet of gas)      $    505.00 Annual Fuel Cost – 97% Efficient Natural Gas Furnace. **
• Using 80% GAS Furnace: at $9.71 per MCF                                                    $    565.00 Annual Fuel Cost – 80% Efficient Natural Gas Furnace. **
• Using a Med. Eff. (HSPF 9.5) Heat Pump: at 11.3 cents / kWh               $ 1,085.00 Annual Fuel Cost – Electric Heat Pump Heating. 
• Using an Electric Furnace: at 11.3 cents / kWh                                              $ 1,435.00 Annual Fuel Cost – Electric Furnace Heating.

Click Below For A Calculator That Compares Operating Costs For: Gas Furnace, Electric Heat Pump, and Electric Furnace. 

Gas Versus Electric Heating Costs Calculator

** NOTE: The calculator’s Total Cost includes a gas: water heater, clothes dryer & gas cooking appliances.   If you incur the costs to convert to gas heat, it’s well worth the cost to also convert to a gas water heater.   Gas cooking & clothes drying cost (as compared to electric) don’t create enough savings to warrant converting them to gas.  You can see details for each in the calculator.

Can You Convert To Gas?  Yes.   

Should You?  It Depends.

Converting from electric to gas heat is possible in neighborhoods with natural gas service. Whether it makes sense to do it depends on many factors.  We provide the primary questions you can ask of yourself before incurring the cost of converting from electric to gas heat water heating.

• How Long Do You Plan To Own Your Home?

• How Many People Live In The Home?

• How Warm Do You Keep Your Home?

Click Here To Read Our Article About Electric Space Heaters: AlsPlumbing.com Electric Heaters May Save On Heating Costs

• Is The Home Heated To That Temperature 24 Hours Each Day — Or Is The Heat Lowered At Night And / Or When You Are Away?

Click Here To Read Our Article About The Nest Smart / Learning Thermostat: AlsPplumbing.com Nest Thermostat Benefits

• How Much Attic Insulation Does The Home Have?

Click Here To Read Our Article On Attic Insulation: AlsPlumbing.com Lower Heating & Cooling Costs By Adding Attic Insulation

How Weather Tight Is Your Home?

Click Here To Read Our Article On Weatherizing A Home (making it more air tight):  Alsplumbing.com Reducing Home Heating Demand

(NOTE: Scroll Down Until You See: “Reduce Air Leakage Into The Home.”)

How Does Your Lifestyle Affect Heating Costs?

Click Here To Read (Part 1 of 3) Of Our Article “20 Uncommon Ways To Lower Heating Costs”: AlsPlumbing.com 20 Uncommon Ways To Lower Heating Costs

There are a myriad of inexpensive ways to notably reduce your home’s heating and cooling demand.

Example Of A Lifestyle Habit That Can Save Notably On Heating Costs Savings:

• Upgrading from Single-Pane, Metal Frame windows TO Vinyl, Low-E windows raises the windows’ R-Value from R-.75 to around R-2.5.

• Simply adding insulating draperies to the existing, original windows raises the R-Value as to as much as R-7. **

• To maximize heating costs savings, the drapery must be closed when it’s dark or cloudy outside and open on sunny days (if sun shines through that window).

** Source: http://www.acmehowto.com/decor/window-coverings/thermal-drapes.php

Other Notable Considerations

Substantial savings will occur when converting from electric to gas heat & water heating.   But, the savings generated will take several years before you recoup the expenses generated while converting your home from electric to gas heat & water heating.

The cost to upgrade to an electric Heat Pump is for the equipment only – if you have currently have central a/c & electric furnace.  Heat Pumps are and A/C that runs in reverse while heating.  They use the existing electrical service connected to the a/c & electric furnace.

If you make the energy-saving improvements above, you may be able to reduce your heating costs nearly as much with an Electric Heat Pump than with a gas furnace (without the energy-saving upgrades).  The energy-saving upgrades provide year-round savings, and also notably reduce cooling costs.

This Article Was About Converting Your Home From Electric To Gas Heat & Water Heating.

Al’s Plumbing, Heating & A/C in Plano, Texas provides maintenance & repairs for all brands of Central A/C, Gas & Electric Furnace, and Heat Pumps.  Additionally, we sell and install new HVAC Systems from American Standard (same company as Trane), Ameristar (same company as American Standard) and Coleman HVAC (same company as York HVAC).