natural gas or propane for a home?

[thirtyonebravo]

anyone have any opinions on either, from a buyer perspective of a house? I've removed my oil furnace and tank, and was intending to go with natural gas, but the estimated cost to bring a line to my house from the street is $3300, whereas propane would cost me like $150. Neither includes putting lines inside the house, but that'll be the same, as well as the cost of the furnace/appliances/etc.

Now, apparently NG is 19 cents cheaper per therm, but it comes down to how long that would take to recoup, and another factor is which is better from a home buyer perspective.

[knight0334]

I think NG is cheaper for heating costs. And you dont run out twice in the middle of the winter having to scrounge up $500-600 each time to fill the tank..

[thirtyonebravo]

Well i do happen to know someone at UGI (AmeriGas) and have become familiar with how they run things now in the 21st century. There's no chance i'd run out of fuel the way things are run today... they've got everything computerized now... automatically analyzing my usage, and have mobile computers with the trucks that can dispatch information and distribution needs. it's a pretty slick setup, really.

also, you don't have to suddenly expense the whole amount to fill a tank either, it can be divided evenly through each month like you'd pay a gas bill (most oil companies do that too)

really, i'm just concerned about the perception of resale, but I think that really is based upon each area too... some places are very setup for NG, and some aren't... so it's down to a matter of how well an area is serviced by what resource, be it LP or oil.

[Himni]

I would do with NG since you never have to fill the tanks up or worry about running out and more things are ready for NG out of the box. Propane is more efficient but I think it would be such a hassle to have to get it fill and worry about how much you currently have. NG will also be better for resale I would think.

[Himni]

Well i do happen to know someone at UGI (AmeriGas) and have become familiar with how they run things now in the 21st century. There's no chance i'd run out of fuel the way things are run today... they've got everything computerized now... automatically analyzing my usage, and have mobile computers with the trucks that can dispatch information and distribution needs. it's a pretty slick setup, really.

also, you don't have to suddenly expense the whole amount to fill a tank either, it can be divided evenly through each month like you'd pay a gas bill (most oil companies do that too)

really, i'm just concerned about the perception of resale, but I think that really is based upon each area too... some places are very setup for NG, and some aren't... so it's down to a matter of how well an area is serviced by what resource, be it LP or oil.

Well we all know computers never fail and everything computerized works perfectly.
Also if there were some kinda of disaster and they couldn't make the deliveries then you would be out of luck. In the 23 years in my parents house there has never been an interruption in service.

[Berks_Iraq_Vet]

Propane is alot more expensive than NG. Plus, with NG, no tanks.

[thirtyonebravo]

Well we all know computers never fail and everything computerized works perfectly.
Also if there were some kinda of disaster and they couldn't make the deliveries then you would be out of luck. In the 23 years in my parents house there has never been an interruption in service.

well another point on that issue, to play devil's advocate - if there were some kind of disaster, and PECO/PGW's compressors went out or they lost power to the compressors... no NG will flow through the lines (and if I had a NG generator... no power at all).

The gas in the LP tanks would expand out to my furnace/appliances/generator either way.

[thirtyonebravo]

Propane is alot more expensive than NG. Plus, with NG, no tanks.

Propane is more efficient though (burns hotter), in the end it it's a little cheaper with NG - comes down to $1.40 per therm, versus $1.59, and tanks can be buried.

[thirtyonebravo]

ultimately my personal view is that the perception is from other people buying a house - they would rather have NG, versus one with propane (or especially against oil heating), but I don't expect to move anytime soon, and 3000 dollars is a lot of money to front up just to get some gas lines brought up to the outside of the house. that money could better be spent on a furnace too, with no significant cost to put in the lines.

also, ones the lines are installed, furnace in place, hot water heater, dryer, etc. most of them could be converted later to NG, just need to switch out the burning mechanisms that regulate how much gas is sent through.

[Brick]

Go with natural gas. I think you'll be better served in the long run. No tank, continuous delivery and you could (should) consider direct fired water heating and even converting and running your car on compressed natural gas.