Very Bad Fires

Discussion in 'San Jose Earthquakes' started by Kaitlyn, Jul 26, 2024.

  1. Kaitlyn

    Kaitlyn Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 25, 2014
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    How do you go full electric?

    Where my stove is, i di have a power outlet for an electric, but how do i shut the gas line off?
     
  2. QuakeAttack

    QuakeAttack Member+

    Apr 10, 2002
    California - Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm in the progress of going full electric in my house. Last year, we had to replace our furnance (gas) and transitioned to a heat pump (electric) which provides both heat and air. The next steps is to replace my gas cooking top and gas water heater. The challenge with both of them is that many take 220V as opposed to 120V. So, you may have to run a new circuit. However, for gas water heaters, they have started to have 120V come on to the market which means my standard outlet next to the water heater could be used. However, it may not as efficient and capacity may be limited (I'm doing research at the moment).
     
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  3. Kaitlyn

    Kaitlyn Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 25, 2014
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I only have a gas stove and gas water heater. My AC and Heating are done by electric. I do have solar on this house but my gas bill sucks.
     
  4. bsman

    bsman Member+

    May 30, 2001
    MadCity
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    I guess basically you install non-gas appliances and then send PG&E a note requesting your line be disconnected. This place was like it is from the time it was built so none of the units have any gas line coming into them.
     
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  5. naopon

    naopon Member+

    Jan 2, 2007
    California
    Club:
    Kawasaki Frontale
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A heat pump water heater (HPWH) is like your existing gas water heater, except it heats the water using heat from the surrounding air instead of natural gas - in other words it works similarly to A/C units. It also uses less electricity than electric water heaters since it doesn’t really generate heat on its own, just moves it around essentially. Usually when people just say “heat pump” they are referring to a heat pump used for heating and cooling the house, which is a different thing altogether.

    If you own/plan on staying in your house for a long time and have solar it’s sort of a no brainer, especially if you live in a hot area.

    If you want to get rid of your gas bill entirely you should also get an induction cooktop (assuming your oven and clothes dryer are electric already)….basically you just have the installation contractors cap off the gas lines, take a photo for documentation (for state/local utility rebates etc) and tell PG&E to turn off your gas service.
     
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  6. SoccerMan94043

    SoccerMan94043 Member+

    May 29, 2003
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You gotta consider your electric panel capacity before going down the all electric route. Especially if you have an electric car.
     
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  7. Kaitlyn

    Kaitlyn Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 25, 2014
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    How do I find all this out? I'm going to be investing in Tesla soon.

    I own my house and I do have solar already, its my gas and water bill that kill me every month its grouped into 1 bill though Water, Gas, Electric, I pay like 2 bucks in electricity, but my Gas and Water is almost 300 bucks!!!!!
     
  8. naopon

    naopon Member+

    Jan 2, 2007
    California
    Club:
    Kawasaki Frontale
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I got a consultation from a "home energy advisor" - basically someone who you have a call with then they come check out your home (appliances, windows, doors, insulation, etc) to recommend upgrades to improve your energy setup. Looks like you can get connected with one in Redding through the city here. Ideally they should be able to answer questions like:
    • What are the biggest impact upgrades I can make in terms of utility bills, comfort, and reducing emissions footprint?
    • How much will it cost me, taking into account the rebates available at the CA / county / local utility levels, as well as the Biden / Inflation Reduction Act tax credits?
    • Which parts of my house need upgrading? Windows/doors, insulation, electrical panel capacity, home battery, EV charging...
    • Recommendations for local contractors (sometimes) for your upgrade work
    This consultation stuff should be free to you - it's not a way for someone to charge you to blow smoke up your ass lol, hopefully as it's promoted by the city government.

    If you have solar already I wonder if the electrical panel is also pretty new and (ideally) 200W capacity, but an energy advisor and/or a good HVAC/plumbing contractor should be able to tell you if you need a panel upgrade. Paying a ton for gas when you have solar makes no sense so it's probably worth looking into all this.
     
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  9. SoccerMan94043

    SoccerMan94043 Member+

    May 29, 2003
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
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  10. Beerking

    Beerking Member+

    Nov 14, 2000
    Humboldt County
    I LOVE fireworks but there's a time and place for them and a damn cow pasture isn't one of them!!:mad:

    As for the juniper bushes, if they burn i won't lose sleep at night, i hate those things. :D
     
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  11. Earthshaker

    Earthshaker BigSoccer Supporter

    Sep 12, 2005
    The hills above town
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think you mean 200 amps, not watts.
     
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  12. SalinasQuakesFan

    Mar 27, 2010
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    If the main panel does not have the capacity for more amps the easiest thing to do is just have a sub panel put in for the new stuff.
     
  13. markmcf8

    markmcf8 Member+

    Oct 18, 1999
    Vancouver, WA, USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Be careful of the shutoff. It should be done so that it can be undone by turning a valve. If a future homeowner wants the gas back on, an actual reconnect is scary expensive.

    :thumbsup:
     
  14. SoccerMan94043

    SoccerMan94043 Member+

    May 29, 2003
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have a 200 amp panel and to expand, I'd need to run another line from a neighbor two houses over. PGE quoted me 30K 6 years ago for that (underground lines where I am in Almaden).
     
  15. SalinasQuakesFan

    Mar 27, 2010
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    A sub panel comes off the main panel, hench sub panel.

    https://www.thespruce.com/subpanel-uses-and-their-connections-1152735

    Pge quoted you a complete new panel with it's own line.
     
  16. TyffaneeSue

    TyffaneeSue moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 15, 2003
    Upstairs
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Our house has solar and storage batteries - otherwise I'd be afraid to rely on electricity with PG&E so frequently going dark for days at a time.
     
  17. Earthshaker

    Earthshaker BigSoccer Supporter

    Sep 12, 2005
    The hills above town
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A sub panel doesn't increase the amount of amps coming into your house, and as your link stated, they are just used for space, convenience and efficiency. It sounds like Soccerman needs more amps than the 200 his house is getting.
     
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  18. SoccerMan94043

    SoccerMan94043 Member+

    May 29, 2003
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    SalinasQuakesFan repped this.
  19. naopon

    naopon Member+

    Jan 2, 2007
    California
    Club:
    Kawasaki Frontale
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah if anything the service upgrade (to 200 amps) is the part that is expensive/lengthy afaik because you're at the whim of PG&E. But you might be able to squeeze more circuits onto 100A service if you get a smart panel (https://www.span.io/) and take advantage of rebates - it will figure out which circuits/appliances to deprioritize during peak hours so that you don't trip breakers.
     
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  20. SalinasQuakesFan

    Mar 27, 2010
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    You are correct. My intent was to show how to add the capability to add the circuits needed without have to install a whole new service, which can be quite costly compared to adding a sub panel. I missed the amperage part.
     
  21. SoccerMan94043

    SoccerMan94043 Member+

    May 29, 2003
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is great... thanks!

    I'll look into this soon.
     
  22. scotto

    scotto Member

    Feb 13, 2001
    Bonny Doon, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #47 scotto, Jul 31, 2024
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2024
    If you have 200A service you will be more than fine. (We have 200A service and a very large house with multiple water pumps and a pool and we also have 3 electric cars and 1 plug-in hybrid.) I also have friends with EVs who only have 100A service and they are also fine. You will need to run a separate 240V circuit for the EV. For what it's worth, I wouldn't go Tesla if I were you. There are much better values out there with better service and reliability.

    You should have plenty of capacity to switch to an electric stove and also a heat-pump based water heater. We are in the process of doing all of that. We live in the Santa Cruz mountains and were evacuated in the CZU fires. Most of my weekends are spent working on our defensible space maintenance. We recently installed solar as part of an overall plan to move away from propane tanks, in part to be able to run water pumps to power roof sprinklers in the event of another evacuation. We are installing backup batteries and converting our furnaces, hot water heater and stoves to electric over the next year or so.
     
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  23. SoccerMan94043

    SoccerMan94043 Member+

    May 29, 2003
    San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Best value on the road is a Tesla Model 3 imo (though I might consider a Y since she has a baby to cart around).

    My 200AMP service is full. We have my electric car (only a 30A connection), two furnaces with aircon hooked up, hot tub, jacuzzi bath, electrically warmed floor in the bath room, etc. It's not that hard to fill 200A now a days.
     
  24. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I assume this pink sky is coming from your fire

    IMG_1965.jpeg
     
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  25. bsman

    bsman Member+

    May 30, 2001
    MadCity
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
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