Cost Comparison: NATURAL GAS vs. PROPANE
Significant saving
Fuel cost comparison
| Energy Input | Fuel | Monthly Cost* | Cost Comparison | |
| 1 | 90,000 Btu/hr |
Natural
Gas** Propane1 |
$346 $2,128 |
+$1,782 (515% more expensive) |
| 2 | 400,000 Btu/hr |
Natural
Gas** Propane1 |
$1,537 $9,457 |
+$7,920 (515% more expensive) |
| 3 | 1,000,000 Btu/hr |
Natural
Gas** Propane1 |
$3,844 $23,643 |
+$19,799 (515% more expensive) |
Notes:
* Costs based on construction heater operating 24 hours/day, 7
days a week
** Natural Gas delivered price - $0.2263/m3 (Union Gas average
regional price @ April, 2012)
1. Corresponds to a propane price of $70.85/100 lb tank
A standard 100 lb propane bottle contains 90 litres of propane. You can find the price you are paying per litre by dividing the price per bottle by 90. For example, if you are paying $70.85 per bottle, you are paying $.79 per litre for propane.
To accurately compare the price of propane and natural gas, you must consider the energy value of each fuel. Propane has about 24,500 BTUs per litre, while natural gas has about 35,500 BTUs per cubic metre (m3). This means it takes a little less than 7 m3 of natural gas to do the same amount of work as 10 litres of propane.
So, if the price of propane is $0.79 per litre, and natural gas is at $0.1919 per m3, then a job using 10 litres of propane would cost $7.90, while the same job using 7 m3 of natural gas would cost $1.34. And this does not even take into account wasted propane as we have discussed above!
