I live in Florida, do I want gas?

[Lassen Forge]

I forgot above the real reason we put gas (LPG) in our last house, tho - 1050 gallons spread across 3 tanks - we had our generator set up to run on it. Considering LPG lasts, what, forever in a tank, and doesn't contaminate out like diesel or gasoline, with as fubarred as our grid electricity was, added to PG&E's infamous "Fire and Wind Safety Blackouts" which lasted up to 3 1/2 weeks at one point. Kept the lights on, the fridge and freezer cold, and the shop open.

Best investment we made, so much so we put a generator in our home here... considering, like NE California, the power can dump off without warning, again, yeah. This one runs on gasoline, tho eventually I want to swap it over to LPG... better for the generator, and cleaner for the environment.

 

[john.k]

The big advantage of gas engines vs diesel for gensets is running light or no load wont hurt a gas engine.

 

[mike93lx]

Natural Gas is cheap here. Both of our hot water heaters are gas. Our stove is gas and prefer it that way. In my opinion it is the best way to cook. Our dryer is also gas- it is efficient.

If you haven't, you should try induction at some point. It heats and cools faster than gas. Downside is it requires the pan to be flat

 

[NUTTSGT]

Totally different conditions in Florida compared to Ohio.

New home build, I would probably put it in. Sole for a garage build no.

If they were putting in a new main down the the street, decided to forego the NG, I would still check possibility of paying for the tap to be put in at the street.

 

[mpire]

Solar makes a lot of sense.

My heat pump is also a chiller. We don't need it as the pool is heavily shaded, but I'd consider it a necessity in AZ

Idk about chilling a pool, maybe in South Florida.

The problem with solar is where to put it. You can't put it on the house, becuase if you have storm damage the roofing guys won't want to touch them, and the solar guys won't do it either. If you get a re-roof the solar panels pretty much go into the trash. Its a major headache.

I know some guys who created a parking shelter for their trucks and put the solar panels on that, then they didn't have to worry about it so much.

Anyway, solar is going to be dramatically less cost effective if you didn't have it in service by June 30, 2025, they are dropping net metering becuase there is too much solar and the generation gap at sundown is becoming a serious problem.

 

[mike93lx]

Idk about chilling a pool, maybe in South Florida.

The problem with solar is where to put it. You can't put it on the house, becuase if you have storm damage the roofing guys won't want to touch them, and the solar guys won't do it either. If you get a re-roof the solar panels pretty much go into the trash. Its a major headache.

I know some guys who created a parking shelter for their trucks and put the solar panels on that, then they didn't have to worry about it so much.

Anyway, solar is going to be dramatically less cost effective if you didn't have it in service by June 30, 2025, they are dropping net metering becuase there is too much solar and the generation gap at sundown is becoming a serious problem.

Even here in VA, pools need chilling. 90+ degree water *****. My neighbor doesn't use their pool much in the mid to late summer, but mine stays perfect

For solar, I mean solar thermal, not PV

 

[PCustoms]

@mpire is the house done, and you are purely referring to the shop build here?

@mpire still not clear if this is a shop, house or both...

 

[firebirdparts]

I'd like to have it for a backup generator. That's all, though.

 

[Jackfre]

Idk about chilling a pool, maybe in South Florida.

The problem with solar is where to put it. You can't put it on the house, becuase if you have storm damage the roofing guys won't want to touch them, and the solar guys won't do it either. If you get a re-roof the solar panels pretty much go into the trash. Its a major headache.

I know some guys who created a parking shelter for their trucks and put the solar panels on that, then they didn't have to worry about it so much.

Anyway, solar is going to be dramatically less cost effective if you didn't have it in service by June 30, 2025, they are dropping net metering becuase there is too much solar and the generation gap at sundown is becoming a serious problem.

That is when you add the battery. The net metering got hammered here in CA a few yrs ago making the battery pretty much of a necessity to realize the advantage of the solar.

 

[rsparks64]

If you haven't, you should try induction at some point. It heats and cools faster than gas. Downside is it requires the pan to be flat

Never wanted to deal with something that scratches so easily or requires the pan to have magnetic qualities. Besides, gas is dirt cheap.

 

[mpire]

@mpire still not clear if this is a shop, house or both...

The plan is a shop of some undetermined size, I am getting lots of input and trying to learn as much as I can.

A 2500 square foot farmhouse with a nice big back porch, an 875 square foot 1 bedroom ADU, both made out of block, and then the barn/garage/shop. Needs room for 2 lifts, and the cars. 4 M Coupes, 2 Z3s, 2 Miatas, NSX, S2000, and a 70 Cuttlass. I really want a 1995 BMW 540 Sport, and then there is the low-cost roaster built out of my old totalled miata and then I need storage and a small office.

So I have no idea what I'm doing or how much space I really need, I'm thinking I can always rent storage space to my friends(They have been asking already,) but they say you never wish you went smaller on the shop, only bigger. I've got the land, I've been saving money my whole life, its time to start spending it.

Right now we are working on the overall site plan so we can take it to the county and get preliminary approval.

 

[PCustoms]

Right now we are working on the overall site plan so we can take it to the county and get preliminary approval.

So it's bare land?

 

[finn]

Never wanted to deal with something that scratches so easily or requires the pan to have magnetic qualities. Besides, gas is dirt cheap.

Try it, you’ll like it.

I was a staunch gas / propane guy… until we bought a class B camper (Sprinter / Revell 4x4). The van has an induction cooktop, and we love it.

Our next kitchen will have induction cooking.

 

[mike93lx]

Never wanted to deal with something that scratches so easily or requires the pan to have magnetic qualities. Besides, gas is dirt cheap.

I have experienced no s rating issues with good quality electric ranges and the pans aren't magnetic, they just need to have steel in them. Are you using aluminum pans? We used calphalon aluminum for a long time and switched over to a set from IKEA that works really well.

Electric is also very cheap in many places.

I'm not telling you to switch, I'm just suggesting to try it at some point. I also preferred gas until doing so myself

 

[mpire]

So it's bare land?

Essentially yes, there is a small shed that's ~25x30 with recent 2024 flood damage and a 1600 square foot house that you don't want to enter without a mask on. However there is a good working well and existing septic tank.

We bought it for the land.

 

[kald]

Not for heat exclusively. But if you cook at home a lot and use a lot of hot water like we do, I can see it would be a good deal. Electricity is staggering here now since so many people have moved here in the last few years,

The weather we had earlier this year was a fluke. I don't recall it ever being anywhere close to that cold for that long in the 50+ years of me being here.

 

[theoldwizard1]

There is a flag for a gas line at the end of my driveway. Its roughly 500 feet from the future garage.
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Worth getting it setup before they ban natural gas?

It would probably be cheaper to install a propane tank !

Cheaper in the long run also. No monthly bill !

 

[dwk000]

I would run the line, I am in central Florida but did not have gas available, so I went with electric instant hot water in my shop, if gas were available I would have went with a gas version (faster heat) along with line for a generator and gas stove in the kitchen.