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)

Teri Karush Rogers

Founder & Publisher

Founder and publisher Teri Karush Rogers launched Brick Underground in 2009. As a freelance journalist, she had previously covered New York City real estate for The New York Times. Teri has been featured as an expert on New York City residential real estate by The New York Times, New York Daily News, amNew York, NBC Nightly News, The Real Deal, Business Insider, the Huffington Post, and NY1 News, among others. Teri earned a BA in journalism and a law degree from New York University.

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