Propane Or Electric Home Appliances: What’s Better?

Just about any major home appliance or home comfort system can run on either electric or propane power. But which is better?

Consider these facts, courtesy of the National Propane Gas Association and the Propane Education Research Council:

• You hear a lot about the efficiency of electric appliances, but what about the efficiency of electrical power generation? When you take into account the total cost to deliver electricity to your door – including fuel extraction, production, and transportation – the process of delivering electricity clocks in at about 32 percent efficiency. Propane production? About 87 percent efficiency.
• On average, propane water heaters cost 30 percent less to operate than electric ones—up to 50 percent less if you use a tankless propane water heater. The average home saves about $174 a year using propane vs. electric water heaters, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E).
• A conventional propane water heater (one with a storage tank) can heat water almost twice as fast as an electric water heater, which means you won’t wait as long for a shower if you’ve used up all your hot water.
• Propane appliances are more eco-friendly than electric appliances: a propane tankless water heater, for example, emits about half as much carbon as a storage-type electric water heater.
• Propane ranges and outdoor propane grills offer precision temperature control, allowing you to raise and lower heat instantly as needed – a big reason why more than nine out of ten professional chefs cook with gas.
• Today’s clean-burning, high-efficiency propane space heaters and furnaces can operate with efficiency ratings of 95 percent or more. If electricity is produced by a coal-fired power plant, more than half the energy used to produce and deliver energy to your home is wasted.
• The average lifespan of a propane gas furnace is about 20 years; the average electric heat pump? About 13 years, according to the D.O.E.

Still using electric appliances? Consider switching to propane gas. The expert technicians at Hocon will install and service your propane gas-fired space heater, water heater, and other appliances – contact us today to learn more!