Electricity or LPG for Cooking - Which is better?

[houseband]

Just a quick question that has bugged me for several years:

which is better to use in cooking for a small family?

LPG or electricity in terms of:

a. cost efficiency (high-electricity rates vs erratic LPG prices)
b. safety (i live in a townhouse and kitchen is beside a small lightwell, very limited area)
c. carbon-footprint (in this era of global-warming, environmentalism, etc, it does not hurt to care a little, di ba?)

will appreciate any comments and suggestions.

thanks!

[2diy4]

Perhaps other members can comment on the cost efficiency and safety. What I know is that if everyone starts to use electricity to cook, that will really increas e the load requirement on napocor and the IPPs. As it is now, they are hard pressed to meet the demand. Building new powerplants will be expensive and will certainly be passed on to us the consumers.

As far as carbon footprint is concerned, my intuitive take is that the LPG system will likely have lower CO2 emissions than an electric system, provided that the electricity is generated in thermal plants. A btu from LPG and a btu from electricity is the same. What is different is bringing the BTU to the electric hot plate and to the LPG burner.

An LPG burner will be very efficient, however, there will be some energy expended bringing the LPG to your house. However, converting heat to electricity at the powerplant will likely be much less than 100%, and there will also be transmission line losses. The utilities are allowed around 10% in system losses, the bulk of which are lost in terms of heat as electricity travels the transmission wire.

Of course, hydroelectric and geothermal electricity will have little or no carbon emissions. So we have to factor in the generation mix in determining which has the lower carbon footprint.

[nicolodeon]

I use LPG mostly because it has lower CO2 emmissions unlike electric stoves. It also saves me money on electricity. Also, the LPG stove can churn out heat faster than any electric stove.

On weekends, we use a charcoal/wood burning stove that I made. It saves us on LPG costs. I think it also makes food taste better, especially jasmin rice cooked inside a traditional palayok.

[houseband]

thank you 2diy4 and nicolodeon.

i guess LPG it is. i just hav to convince the wife about the safety of LPG-powered stoves. she seems to have this phobia against LPG, hearing the news and stories of exploding leaking tubes and exploding LPG tanks.

[ronfer2001]

Any heaters or coolers consume high electrical power... I go for the LPG...

I'll just make sure my tank storage is well ventilated to free and dilute in air incase it leaks...

[2diy4]

Remember that LPG is heavier than air. It will collect in the lowest parts of the house, rather than dissipating in the air unlike LNG (liquified natural gas) which is what malampaya produces.

LPG is naturally odorless, but the petroleum companies mix it with a distinct smell to warn homeowners about leaks. Just keep a keen nose, and when you smell LPG, open windows and doors. Never use a match to look for the leak. :)

[junn2006]

abt lpg leaks. it would be better to periodically checkhoses n connections. you can also replace it every 2-3yrs.

hoses arent that expensive...

[happy_gilmore]

Just a quick question that has bugged me for several years:

which is better to use in cooking for a small family?

LPG or electricity in terms of:

a. cost efficiency (high-electricity rates vs erratic LPG prices)
b. safety (i live in a townhouse and kitchen is beside a small lightwell, very limited area)
c. carbon-footprint (in this era of global-warming, environmentalism, etc, it does not hurt to care a little, di ba?)

will appreciate any comments and suggestions.

thanks!


we have two stoves here at home... one is electrically powered, while the other is lpg-based.

in terms of efficiency and consumption, when we are using the electrical-based stove, our energy consumption averages around 1000-1500 pesos more every month, while one 16 kg tank of lpg, which costs around 500 pesos, lasts us for around 2 months.

what i would advise though is for you to periodically check the condition of your hose as well as your regulator, just to be safe. and make sure that the location of the lpg is located in a ventilated place, where air can circulate.

[peklat]

wala akong makitang basehan ... dahil obvious naman na in terms of cost efficiency... siyempre sa lpg ako.... kaya lang may mga gamit or very usefull sila parehas.....

ex: may bigla kang bisita.....(sunday).... family time di ba? nagluluto ka at biglang naubos ang laman ng lpg mo(if ever iyun ang gamit mo)... well ano ang gagawin mo.... tatakbo ka sa store para bumili... eh sunday.... baka sarado ang store.... so what you will do... turn on you electric stove and.... wala"".... may heating element ka na para makapagluto without any problem at all..... nasa sa ito how often you want to used your electric..... di ba ???? self dicipline.....

[tatoski]

Not counting hydroelectric power plants, almost all power comes from heat. Heat comes from geothermal or by burning a fuel such as coal or bunker or wood or by nuclear. In the our country, I think most of the power still comes from thermal power plants that burn coal. The heat is converted into steam and steam drives the turbines and the turbines drive the generator. The generator produces power and this power is transmitted thru high tension wires for hundreds or even thousands of kilometers. This power is converted back to heat by using your stove. See the long chain of conversion? LPG in your tank is burned directly to produce heat. single conversion. If my memory serves me right only 30% of the heat from the coal or bunker is ultimately converted to electricity. Add another 10% transmission losses then power gets to your doorstep so only about 27% of the original heat gets to you in the form of the highest order, electricity! So what does this translate to? Electricity is so pure and perfect to convert back to heat. It is also expensive! Better use lpg for heating purposes.

Using electricity for cooking will also require good and capable wiring system at home. A range will require about 5 to 20KW of power. Is your house system designed for this? Ranges also heat up slower and if the pan is not flat only radiant heat is used. A lot of heat escapes.

For LPG users make sure room is well ventilated and for condo dwellers better use LPG alarms to warn you of leaks.

Buy LPG from reputable sources not from the fly by night dealers that use dilapidated tanks. These tanks are pressure vessels and should be treated like one.

I'll go for LPG anytime.

[VtEC]

i think it's better to have them both.just incase you ran out of lpg you still have your electric stove while if there is power failure, you still have your lpg ;D

[Raisedroof!]

Hi, I just noticed that nobody has yet espoused the benefits of cooking using our modern electric appliances. It seems almost everybody are convinced absolutely about LPG. But are you still using LPG to cook your rice? to heat water for your coffee? or to grill your meat?
Just because fire, using LPG, is directly under your pot does not mean that heat from such fire are not wasted. In fact, you can put your hand near it and feel how heat are wasted just as much as those used up in the pot. That chemical energy of gases being converted into heat energy through combustion is also wasted during such process of conversion(as in LPG), just as elecrical energy wasted when converted into heat energy (as in electric stove) because both have to contend with some heat transfer dynamics, from heat source to the pot and food in it, not to mention losses in the generation of both medium. LPGas are lost in refilling a tank, in transporting, or while in storage, just as electricity are lost in transmission, in transformers, in faulty connectors, etc.. Both have their advantage/disadvantage but the question is whether which one can better serve modern man.
Since electric appliance is the later invention to introduce safety and convenience in the modern kitchen, I would say electric stove are better. It is just unfortunate that the cost of electricity in this country, unlike in most modern countries, is higher, which puts 3rd world countries, and the rural kitchen, for that matter, at a disadvantage.

[VtEC]

case to case basis yan bro.ofcourse for those who can afford to have the likes of rice cooker, coffee maker, oven, and the likes will say they prepare the electric but for those who cant, well, they still prepare the lpg.

[Raisedroof!]

8)Of course, everybody understands that the extra safety and convenience that electricity can provide, necessarily mean additional financial burden. Just as modern feature-packed cars are more expensive than older and less fitted cars. As nothing can be had in this world for free. But having them both, means having the best of both worlds. Do you agree?

[VtEC]

yup. that's what iv'e said on my previous post.

[fake_silhouette]

by better what do you mean?

LPG is cheaper and is used by most people
Elec is more expensive and is used by less people

LPG has more people who can fix
Elec has less people who can fix

LPG can cause fire (leaks) so more hazardous
Elec can cause fire (improper wirings) so less hazardous (not for old establishments)

LPG runs out and needs to be replaced (you can't buy LPGs whenever wherever
Elec is postpaid (but would not work if there's no power)

LPG has more fakes and imitation
Elec has less fakes and imitation (i don't think there is even one but i can't be too sure can I)

LPG can be misused by children more (highten the stove?)
Elec can be misused by children less (you can easily put up a breaker though)
*they are both dangerous if played at though

anyway my point is
there is no perfect tool / machine / people / whatever
everything has its pros and cons
so think of something that best fits your needs

[kchan]

guys, when u say electric vs lpg.. kasama ba dyan yung electric stove na ceramic top. may alam po ba kayo regarding this kind of stove compare to lpg?

[joey81]

We went for the Imarflex induction cooktop, but we had to do some calculations before making the final decision.

Our average consumption is one 11kg LPG tank per month. The energy density of LPG is 46.44 megajoules per kg. Thats a total of 510.84 mj per tank. I've read gas stoves are only 40% efficient, meaning only that percentage of the energy actually goes into the food you are cooking. The other 60% is dissipated unused in your kitchen.

<I'll split this into several posts, para maka-post na ako ng link later>

[joey81]

So we are actually using only 204.34 mj for our cooking.

Punta tayo sa electricity. 1 kWh is 3.6mj. Induction cooktops
is 84% to 90% efficient. Lets take the conservative side. 204.34/0.84 = 243.26.

We will consume 243.26 mj or 67.57 kWh if we used the induction stove.

[joey81]

Based on our latest electric bill, Meralco is effectively charging us P11.46 per kWh. So that's 774.53 petot!

[joey81]

And yung latest purchase namin ng LPG (yes, we need it pag brownout) is only P575.

Waaaahhh!!! Lugi na pala ako at today's Meralco rates. :'(

Sa computation namin two years ago mas mura pag induction.

[joey81]

Pwede na pala akong mag-post ng link.

kWh to joules (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt_hour)

Induction stove efficiency (http://theinductionsite.com/manuals/cookgtsd.pdf)

LPG (propane) energy density (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propane#Energy_content)

How induction works (http://theinductionsite.com/how-induction-works.shtml)

AFAIK, induction is the most energy efficient cooktop, because heat is generated by the pot/pan itself. There is no radiant heat lost from the stovetop, no matter the size of your cookware.

@kchan, I don't know yet what is the efficiency of the ceramic hob, but I'm pretty sure mas makakatipid ka pa rin pag LPG.

[kchan]

@joey boss thanks sa explanation mo. yan pala ung iniisip ko induction nasa dulo na nang dila ko kanina hindi ko lang maalala. anyways thanks very much sa explanation mo, so ill go for lpg parin.

sa charcoal vs lpg naman, based sa observation ko mas mura parin lpg, kasi walang control ang heat nang charcoal and matagal, magpapabaga ka pa hehehe

[joey81]

You're welcome!

BTW, depending on your place, you might need to consider where the 60% goes.

If you live in a condo that 60% heats up your room and will give extra load to your aircon. That's 306.5 megajoules of heat (assuming 1 tank per month).

I don't know how efficient air conditioners are but lets assume it consumes 1joule per joule of energy removed from the room:

306.5 / 3.6 = 85.14kWh

That's 957 pesos spent getting rid of unused heat! Way much more than the ~200 pesos na natipid mo if using LPG instead of induction.

[kchan]

ok naman, normal kitchen na napakainit din pag nag cook dahil kulang sa ventilation.

what about ung lpg stove saver something na nabibili sa mga tyangge stores, ung bilog na may wire mesh. do u guys consider na this really works? i tried this before mukhang ok naman dahil mas nakakafocus ung fire but i dont know if it really works dahil hindi ko mamomonitor, madami kasing nagamit nang stove