Natural Gas vs Propane

[Scott]

We currently have propane.
$3.50 a gallon.

Our neighbors are hoping to pull in Natural Gas lines (have never been available before) that are now nearby.
$8.33 per thousand cubic feet

HOW do you compare those prices?

Is Natural Gas any better than Propane?

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Natural gas is more efficient. You don't need a pipeline to have it either. My grandmother had hers trucked in. IMO, the big deal with you would be converting all of your propane appliances to NG. But at the price difference, I'd switch.

I have NG in my house. I heat with it and in the coldest months, my bill is $240, Warmer months the bill goes down to nearly $70. And that is me running a heater in my garage and keeping it at 50°f all day. Now Electricity, there is a scam going on there. My bill won't drop no matter what.

 

[Scott]

We have two water heaters, furnace, dryer and shop heater.
We topped off our 1k gallon tank in Dec. Then in Feb we put $875 of propane in it.
That's a little steep for my blood.

 

[NorthMNSledder]

This seems wrong but per google:

1 Cubic Foot = 7.48051948 Gallons

 

[jzanc532]

We have two water heaters, furnace, dryer and shop heater.
We topped off our 1k gallon tank in Dec. Then in Feb we put $875 of propane in it.
That's a little steep for my blood.

Holy sh**! I would go for natural gas for sure! I know around here where I live, the natural gas company will bring in NG to your house for a fee, then deduct money for the appliances you have to run off it, and a lot of the time it ends up being free to get gas in your home. As far as converting to natural gas, you should be able to do that yourself, you just have to drill out the orfices on the burner to a bigger size (at least thats what you do on grills).

 

[winter brew]

I used to be on propane, switched to NG....DO IT!!! MUCH cheaper and no more getting ripped off by the propane company.
You'll need a new water heater and some appliances you can change the orifice...even if you have to buy new appliances it will be cheaper.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

We have two water heaters, furnace, dryer and shop heater.
We topped off our 1k gallon tank in Dec. Then in Feb we put $875 of propane in it.
That's a little steep for my blood.

You should be able to modify each and every one of those to adapt to NG. Maybe not the dryer but those are cheap.

 

[Scott]

One water heater is 1 year old.

The other is only 3.

 

[excav8ter]

Not sure if NG prices are the same across the country, but where I am, in west Michigan, NG is WAY cheaper than propane. I heat my home 3,000 sq. ft. and my attached garage (900sq ft). Last year 2010, my TOTAL cost of NG was $791.80. There are people near me that have to spend that in 2 months because NG is not available.

 

[Mafesto]

For accurate comparison numbers, find out the btu's per unit each produce.
Don't compare volume, as NG is a gas & LPG is a liquid.
Some googleing should yeild the formulas needed.

I would also consider electric as long as your in the comparing mode.

We have an electric heat pump which is quite ecenomical, particularly for cooling.
Our power company has cheaper rates for this!

 

[ruffryder]

For accurate comparison numbers, find out the btu's per unit each produce.
Don't compare volume, as NG is a gas & LPG is a liquid.
Some googleing should yeild the formulas needed.

I would also consider electric as long as your in the comparing mode.

We have an electric heat pump which is quite ecenomical, particularly for cooling.
Our power company has cheaper rates for this!

The heat pump uses the energy in the ground though, doesn't it? The electric part just circulates the working fluid?

 

[JSCC]

That would be a geothermal heat pump. Standard heat pumps work just like a air conditioner just backwards.
Different parts of the country have different rates so like mentioned check your local rates. 9 times out of 10 natural gas is the cheapest if it is available where you are located. Far less than propane!

 

[DOO DAWG]

This seems wrong but per google:

1 Cubic Foot = 7.48051948 Gallons

True, but that is for liquids. What counts is the btu content of one gallon of propane,as opposed to a cubic foot of gas. Water expands 1600 times from liquid to gaseous (steam) state.

 

[Jeff C]

Here are some BTU comparisons:
1 cubic foot of natural gas = 1,015 BTU*
1 gallon of #2 fuel oil = 132,000 BTU**
1 gallon of propane = 91,700 BTU
1 kW of electricity = 3,413 BTU
1 cord white birch (1 yr seasoned) = 20.3 million BTU

 

[Seedie_Man]

Propane Vs. Natural Gas Cost Comparison

The cost comparison between propane and natural gas is much easier due to the fact that unlike electricity, natural gas and propane can be directly compared based on their individual BTU ratings. Seeing that natural gas contains approximately 1,030 BTU per cubic foot and propane contains 2,490 BTU per cubic foot, we can easily derive each fuel's cost per BTU and compare their differences in price for more realistic volumes.

Let's assume the cost for natural gas is $15.00 per 1,000 cubic feet. This means that $15.00 will purchase approximately 1.03 million BTU's of energy. This would be equivalent to 11.26 gallons of propane. At $2.50 per gallon of propane, natural gas would be a more cost effective energy solution. Breaking it down even further, natural gas needs to be more than $28.00 per 1,000 cubic feet for propane to be a more cost effective energy solution (provided the cost for propane is $2.50 per gallon.