The Benefits of Propane Heating

Only 5% of US homes use propane for home heating, but there’s a lot of evidence that it can boost efficiency and lower costs.

There are many home heating options available to us. Most homes use a central furnace, which pushes air warm air through the ductwork to heat each room as you see fit.

Other homes use boilers, which transport water through a set of pipes, and use radiators to heat the rooms. To function properly, furnaces and boilers both need a fuel source – electricity, natural gas, or propane.

In this post, we will tell you about some of the many benefits of propane for heating your home. As mentioned, a small percentage of Americans opt for propane, but keep reading and you’ll see that the benefits may see that number grow significantly in the future.

Propane Is Safe

One of the best things about using propane in the home is that it’s safe and non-toxic. You’ll never have to worry about any health issues from burning propane to heat your home or use your appliances.

Tanks are generally impenetrable and can be buried underground. Even in the event of a propane leak, however, it releases as a gas instead of pooling up in liquid form like other gases.

The best thing to do to avoid this is to hire a great company for propane tank installation and maintenance. Your propane tank should be inspected on a regular basis to ensure it doesn’t leak. You can also install a gas detector to get quickly notified when a leak does happen.

It Burns Clean

Propane burns clean, so you don’t have to worry about it causing issues with your appliances. This isn’t the case with other “dirty” fuels, like gas or diesel, which leave behind particulates and nitrogen dioxide. When you burn them, soot and scaling result, which can damage appliances, which then need maintenance.

When you burn clean fuels like propane, the heating efficiency is way higher as well. You’ll be able to use your appliances for longer without them breaking down. 

Propane Can Power Everything

There’s nothing in your home that can’t be used with propane, making it one of the most versatile ways to heat your home and use appliances. Anything that can run on natural gas or electricity will also run on propane, so you won’t have to buy an electric stove or water heater.

Here’s a list of appliances commonly used with propane:

  • Space heaters
  • Hot water heaters
  • All cooking appliances
  • Washers and dryers
  • Fireplaces
  • Pool heaters
  • Outdoor grills

It’s High Octane

Propane is a high-energy fuel that actually has a higher octane rating than gasoline. It heats up faster and hotter than other fuels, as well as electricity. If you’re heating up a hot water tank, for instance, it might take electricity an hour to do the job, but with propane, it might only take 20 minutes.

You Can Get Big Propane Tanks

A lot of homeowners think that choosing gas over electricity just creates more complications, but that’s not necessarily true. With propane, you can choose between tanks up to 1,000 gallons, so your home heating needs can be well-looked after for months before you need to get another propane delivery.

What’s great about having a large tank is that you can wait until propane prices go down before filling your tank up. If you decide to bury your tank underground, you won’t even have to look at it. You’ll just have to keep an eye on the gauge to find out when you need to order more.

Propane Is Greener Than Other Fuels

As we said earlier, propane was deemed a clean fuel way back in the 1990 Clean Air Act. There are no fossil fuels that burn cleaner than propane, so you don’t have to worry about propane contaminating anything under or above ground.

When you compare it to natural gas, propane has around 60% less carbon monoxide, 20% less nitrogen, and 20% fewer greenhouse gas emissions. If energy efficiency and carbon emissions are a concern for you, propane is about as green as you can be short of installing solar panels on your roof.

It Works During Emergencies

When the power goes out in a home powered by electricity, you’re out of luck. If you have a propane-fueled home, however, everything will still work like normal aside from your lights.

This makes it the best heating option for reliability, especially in the colder months when going without heat could be extremely uncomfortable. Of course, you need to make sure that your propane tank is maintained and full. If you’re low on propane and the emergency lasts for days, you could still be in trouble.

Propane Is Convenient

We’ve already touched on propane’s convenience as a fuel source. Homeowners who choose to use natural gas will find it difficult and expensive to create the infrastructure to house it. It’s also worth noting that natural gas isn’t always easy to access in every part of the country.

The propane industry has enough pipelines, vehicles, and tankers to reach pretty much everyone in America. A good propane company will allow you to schedule deliveries and check up on your tank to ensure it’s still in good shape. This way, you don’t really have to think about how much propane you’ve got left because your delivery will come on a regular basis.

It’s Affordable

Propane is easily the cheapest option when compared to natural gas and electricity. This is due to a few of the things we’ve discussed here already, like its ability to heat more quickly and the fact that it’s generally affordable to purchase.

Yes, natural gas is much cheaper to buy per gallon, but propane is so much more efficient that it becomes more cost-effective. You can also fill up your tank whenever prices come down.

Use the Best Home Heating Option

Home care is important, so getting the best home heating option for your needs is essential. Propane is a better, greener, and more efficient fuel source than natural gas and electricity. It also promises to work with your existing heating infrastructure, so make the right heating choice and get your propane tank installed today.

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