>In June of 2010 I moved to a place in Montana with only electric heat.
Living that far north and depending on one heat source is crazy! Think about the power going out when its -30 out... or if you used gas, running out or having your furnace break down.
(Not to mention electric is usually the most expensive way to heat). Most houses where I live have 2 or 3 heat sources. I have wood, LP and electric...
I live in the northernmost large city in Canada (where we get -40C pretty regularly for a while in the winter) and every apartment I've ever lived in has only one heat source, and usually it's either electric or water pipe.
If your power goes out long enough for all the heat to leach out of your apartment or house you probably have some serious problems with either the electric company or your insulation.
Heh, last Christmas the power was out for about two weeks at my parents' house, which uses electricity to push the hot air generated by our gas furnace through the house. It was -25 C.
Granted, I might not have had to go to the hospital if we had gone to a warming shelter earlier than the sixth day. (My father is rather stubborn, and it damn near killed me. When I got out of the hospital, I left the house and paid for a hotel room in a part of town where power had been restored.)
I lived in Minnesota and had only electric heat. Most other houses have only gas heat, and it usually requires electricity to run. Luckily the electricity is pretty reliable.
If you do lose heat, the solution is generally to use blankets outdoor gear until it is fixed. But this has never happened in my 20 or so years of living there.
Living that far north and depending on one heat source is crazy! Think about the power going out when its -30 out... or if you used gas, running out or having your furnace break down.
(Not to mention electric is usually the most expensive way to heat). Most houses where I live have 2 or 3 heat sources. I have wood, LP and electric...