If you’re a homeowner who cares about the environment, but you also want to keep your energy costs under control, propane is a win-win option for running many of the appliances and systems in your home. A lot of customers opt for propane because it’s a versatile and efficient choice to power a range of equipment and systems in your home. Because it’s so efficient, it can be budget friendly, offering savings over electric heat and water heating, for example. But many customers are surprised to learn that propane offers a host of environmental benefits, too.
It’s true that using electricity produces zero emissions. But generating electricity is another matter. The fact is, the generation of electricity is the second-largest creator of greenhouse gasses in the United States. Only the transportation sector creates more greenhouse gases. That’s because 60% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas. That’s something to keep in mind as the push to go all electric gets stronger—at least until we can reliably generate and store electricity from carbon-free sources like wind and solar.
Propane, on the other hand, is much more clean burning. It produces 43% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than the equivalent amount of electricity. It also produces fewer of the chemicals that lead to acid rain and respiratory problems. And there’s an even “greener” type of propane that’s gaining in usage and availability. Renewable propane is made from sustainable sources—most commonly animal fats and vegetable oils. Much like other biofuels, it has a very small carbon footprint and requires no new or special equipment.
Unlike fuels like coal and oil, propane is not mined. That means is doesn’t contribute to deforestation or destruction of other natural resources. It is primarily manufactured from natural gas as a by-product of methane purification. Propane is also domestically sourced—not shipped from across the globe.
Propane is nontoxic, so it doesn’t harm soil or groundwater, and will not create an environmental hazard if spilled—an important factor when it comes to determining whether a fuel is “green.” When propane vapor is released into the environment, it’s harmless.
What does efficiency have to do with the environment? Propane generates more Btus than an equivalent amount of electricity, so you need much less propane to produce the same amount of heat or energy. Likewise, propane appliances are very efficient, so they waste very little fuel in the combustion process. That kind of efficiency is as beneficial to the environment as it is to your wallet.
For homeowners looking to reduce emissions without sacrificing comfort or reliability, propane offers a practical, cleaner-burning solution.
The experts at Rand Wade have the experience and knowledge to answer all your questions and help make adding propane to your Greene County-area home easy, with great services like automatic delivery, tank monitoring, smart payment plans to help keep costs manageable and so much more.
Contact us today for more information.
