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Electric makes sense if you've got a good clean source of power like nuclear, solar or wind. But if you're getting power by burning fossil fuels then it seems

Electric makes sense if you've got a good clean source of power like nuclear, solar or wind. But if you're getting power by burning fossil fuels then it seems more efficient to use that heat directly rather than to use the heat to generate steam to turn a turbine to turn a generator to produce electricity, and then turn that electricity back into heat again.

Scoundreller 7y ago
For indoor heating, sure, but these are outdoor switches. Propane/natural gas switch heating is like sitting in-front of a campfire, while electric would be like having a heating pad on your skin. Or maybe the electric ones are just blowers too with one central heating point and a bunch of vents. Dunno.
- zdragnar 7y ago
  Electric heating pad and tape usually have a pretty short lifespan; the kind you might get to prevent ice dams on old, poorly insulated eaves / roofs might maybe last 5 years if you have cold winters. Higher grade industrial elements might last longer, but nat. gas is going to be significantly more cost effective in the US
- catalogia 7y ago
  Some of the electric heaters are blowers (https://www.rwy.com/products-rwy/track-heaters-accessories/electric-hot-air-blowers/ https://www.rwy.com/products-rwy/track-heaters-accessories/e...) while others use heating elements in direct contact with the tracks (https://spectruminfrared.com/railroad-products-and-track-switch-heaters/flat-jacket-snow-melters-and-crib-heaters/ https://spectruminfrared.com/railroad-products-and-track-swi...). I suspect any of these mechanisms, however they work, are going to be wildly inefficient. The very premise of melting ice outside in the winter on big pieces of metal exposed to the elements seems like a huge energy sink. Whether electric heating is sufficiently more efficient to offset the inefficiencies in power generation and transmission I couldn't say, but it's far from clear to me that the 'American method' of using propane is crazy.
the_mitsuhiko 7y ago
Gas heated switches were common in Europe too. Operators switched not for cost or environmental reasons but ease of operation.

Scoundreller 7y ago

For indoor heating, sure, but these are outdoor switches. Propane/natural gas switch heating is like sitting in-front of a campfire, while electric would be like having a heating pad on your skin. Or maybe the electric ones are just blowers too with one central heating point and a bunch of vents. Dunno.

zdragnar 7y ago
Electric heating pad and tape usually have a pretty short lifespan; the kind you might get to prevent ice dams on old, poorly insulated eaves / roofs might maybe last 5 years if you have cold winters. Higher grade industrial elements might last longer, but nat. gas is going to be significantly more cost effective in the US
catalogia 7y ago
Some of the electric heaters are blowers (https://www.rwy.com/products-rwy/track-heaters-accessories/electric-hot-air-blowers/ https://www.rwy.com/products-rwy/track-heaters-accessories/e...) while others use heating elements in direct contact with the tracks (https://spectruminfrared.com/railroad-products-and-track-switch-heaters/flat-jacket-snow-melters-and-crib-heaters/ https://spectruminfrared.com/railroad-products-and-track-swi...). I suspect any of these mechanisms, however they work, are going to be wildly inefficient. The very premise of melting ice outside in the winter on big pieces of metal exposed to the elements seems like a huge energy sink. Whether electric heating is sufficiently more efficient to offset the inefficiencies in power generation and transmission I couldn't say, but it's far from clear to me that the 'American method' of using propane is crazy.

the_mitsuhiko 7y ago

Gas heated switches were common in Europe too. Operators switched not for cost or environmental reasons but ease of operation.