Life in an all-electric building: Not for Emeril

By Teri Karush Rogers| March 10, 2011 - 4:10PM

All-electric, no-gas buildings aren't particularly common here in New York City. (Cue sigh of relief from Wolf, Viking and other manufacturers of ubiquitious commercial-style gas ranges.) Over on StreetEasy.com, a buyer wants to know the pros-and-cons of living in an all-electric building. On the not-so-bad side, one commenter notes that there exists an electric induction cooktop "that can heat up higher and faster than a gas cooktop," and in all-electric buildings, the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is nil.

Cons: The cost of heat can be more expensive (no more than 20%, estimates one). Some complain that heat pumps don't work as well as gas heat when it's freezing outside. Another, whose apartment has its own electric water heater, says that showers can be on the cool side: "I can't seem to get as hot of a shower as I'd like, and if my significant other and I shower back-to-back, whoever goes in second is in for some chilly water temperatures. And we have the temp set at 140, which is the highest recommended setting."

(StreetEasy.com)

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics: