SoCalGas leak -- opportunity for solar?

[Engineer]

Well... the gas distribution system predated the electric one, and if you need heat, burning it where you need the heat can be more efficient than burning it at a powerplant and sending it over the electrical distribution system. But with heat pumps and solar power, the case for natural gas to the home is getting weaker.

Agree about the history, but is it really true that NG gets to the house more efficiently than electricity? I'd be curious to see a study and/or numbers.

Some people *cough*wife*cough*, especially in historic homes, will want to keep natural gas for stoves and fireplaces. As I sit here in Los Angeles this morning at 9AM on a gloomy June morning, my wife is using our gas fireplance because it makes the family room cozy... sigh.

lol ... yeah used to have a 100 year old house, know what that's like. Well I'm up in sunny Northern California this morning generating from my panels

And I don't see getting rid of both our furnaces any time soon. But at least I can put in a heat pump in parallel (mostly for cooling), switch the water heater to a heat pump, and get a heat pump clothes dryer when the current one needs.

Are heat pumps done much in California? My impression was that it was mainly a Midwest/Eastern thing.

[DanKegel]

is it really true that NG gets to the house more efficiently than electricity? I'd be curious to see a study and/or numbers.

Converting gas into heat and then into electricity and then back into heat is probably about 40% efficient.
Going straight from gas to heat ... well, good gas furnaces these days are rated at 90%-95% efficiency.
It's the multiple conversions that kill you, not the getting to the house more efficiently.

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy07osti/38617.pdf and

http://buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd151-understanding-primary-source-site-energy

have some numbers on the topic.

As for whether heat pumps are done much in California, I couldn't find that data, but there's no shortage of places that sell heat pumps in Los Angeles.

http://www.achrnews.com/articles/120041-heat-pump-sales-depend-on-area--fuel-prices

has some anecdotes (and the priceless comment "Shorten the warranty. We have to make money selling parts. Ten years is crazy; five was bad enough.").