Making a decision on the source of fuel for your home. It’s one of those tricky tasks that doesn’t really cross your mind until you’re faced with it, and many of us don’t know the differences between natural gas vs propane.
We’re going to discuss those differences in this article, hopefully giving you some insights into which choice will be the right one for your home. We’ll break down the specifics of both natural gas and propane so that you can make an informed choice on how to move forward.
Let’s get started!
Choosing Natural Gas vs Propane
It’s important to note that some homes won’t have the option to use natural gas. Natural gas is delivered to your home through gas lines from your area’s company, and delivery is not always possible immediately.
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing has some good insight into gas lines and how to understand them. With that in mind, let’s jump into some details about natural gas.
Natural Gas
Again, the primary distinction to keep in mind is that natural gas must be sent to your home through a pipeline. Installation of gas lines often requires that you have lines dug into your yard by a company.
Additionally, you should ensure that your home and your appliances are prepared to use natural gas, and those updates can require the help of a contractor. It’s important that your gas lines are laid properly and your appliances are ready for the natural gas, so installing yourself might be too risky.
That said, when you have natural gas installed and running, you pay as you go and you’ll rarely have any issue with your fuel source. In other words, it’s hands-off once the ball gets rolling.
Installation costs can get high, though. At the same time, it’s a one-time payment and natural gas typically costs less to run than propane per-unit.
Propane
A clear advantage of propane is that it comes individually in refillable tanks. You take your propane tank to the nearest filling station or replace your empty tank with a full one.
You can also set up regular deliveries with a company. Additionally, you don’t have to worry about your gas lines getting interfered with or causing problems. Preparing your home and appliances for propane fuel is relatively simple compared to natural gas.
That said, you may spend more money than you have to with installations and maintenance if you use natural gas for a home that you only plan to live in for a short time.
Propane is cheaper in the short-term, while natural gas is cheaper and more hands-free in the long-term. The decision you make should definitely factor in the amount of time you plan to live in a particular location and whether or not you want to be responsible for maintaining propane tanks.
Want More Home Improvement Tips?
The choice of natural gas vs propane can be a difficult one. Hopefully, this article has helped you make the right decision for your home.
If you’re in need of more home improvement tips and tricks, explore our site for the information you need.
