Propane/Natural Gas Versus Electricity Costs
When comparing the costs of electricity and propane gas, the cost per BTU of each energy source must be considered in order to give the comparison a "common denominator." Electricity has 3,413 BTUs per kilowatt hour (kwh) and propane has 91,500 BTUs per gallon. Since electricity is considered 100 percent efficient at the point of use, there are 3,413 usable BTUs in one kwh of electricity (100% x 3,413 BTUs=3,413 BTUs). But even when 80 percent is used as the efficiency factor for a propane appliance (although some propane equipment is 97 percent efficient), there are still 73,000 usable BTUs in one gallon of propane (80% x 91,500 BTUs=73,000 BTUs).
Therefore, one gallon of propane contains the usable energy equivalent of 21.44 kwhs of electricity (73,000 BTUs / 3,413 BTUs=21.44). Simply, this means that if one gallon of propane sold for 21.44 times as much as one kwh of electricity, the cost per BTU would be equal. But propane sells for much less than this. In fact, according to 1991 Department of Energy figures based on national averages, gas costs about half as much to use as electricity.
Natural Gas & Propane Advantages:
Using Natural Gas in place of other fuels can help ease a number of environmental concerns — greenhouse gas emissions, acid rain, smog, solid waste and water pollution. When natural gas is burned, it produces virtually no emissions of sulfur dioxide or particulate matter and far lower levels of "greenhouse" gases and nitrogen oxides than such competing sources of energy as oil and coal.
Canada's natural gas wealth is abundantly obvious... we produce around 8 billion litres each year: 80% from natural gas wells in western Canada; the rest from oil refineries throughout the country. The total is about 10% of the world's supply!
There are six very good reasons why you should consider propane for your home energy needs:
Propane has a wide variety of uses: heating, water heating, cooking, clothes drying, swimming pool water heating, hot tub and sauna heating and emergency generators. Propane is also used to fuel car and trucks.
Propane is a clean-burning, environmentally-friendly fuel that can be stored safely in residential and commercial underground tanks.
Propane heating equipment is designed to operate efficiently. Some equipment can be as high as 96% efficient. that means for ever heating dollar you spend, you get 96 cents worth of heat.
Propane heats water at one-half the cost of electricity.
Propane heating and water heating equipment can be installed with special direct venting systems which do not need a chimney. This will save you money on retrofitting and unnecessary construction.
Unlike competitive fuels, most of the propane used in the United States come from North American sources.
A 1991 study by the Department of Energy (DOE) rated residential energy sources by the average dollar cost per million Btus of heat they produce. Natural gas was found to be $6.05; heating oil $9.30; propane $9.74; and electricity a whopping $24.15. Obviously, these amounts vary with local energy prices and do change over time, but in the relative world of energy, natural gas is by far the cheapest, most convenient fuel for water heaters.
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