Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
Light bulbs are 100% efficient at generating heat, every joule that is used by the bulb ends up as heat. Only 85% of the natural gas burned by my furnace ends up as heat on the other hand.
Now if the question is which has a greater/lesser impact on the environment, 1j of energy from the electrical grid or 1j of energy from burning natural gas in your furnace, that's a good question. EDIT: And I think the answer depends on where you are, if your electricity comes from hydro or nuclear, then I'd rather leave ALL my lights on (from an environmental point of view). If it's coal fired plants, maybe not so much.
That's the big problem I see in all these things, no one seems to look at things from end to end, but just at one small portion of the system.
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ya that's essentially my point, the majority of electricity around here, and in many places is via burning coal, furnaces generally are nat gas.