Since individual natural-gas fueled water heaters in homes do not have air pollution control devices, it has been proposed that water in homes be heated with electrical energy generated at a distant power plant that is equipped with effective air pollution control devices. The power plant burns natural gas and produces electrical energy with 40% efficiency; the electric transmission line between the plant and the home loses 10% of the electrical energy as heat. All that remains goes into heating the water. In contrast, a water heater gets only 60% of the fuel energy into the water. Which scheme uses more natural gas to heat a given quantity of water?

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Total efficiency for the power plant is given by 40x 1... View the full answer