Natural Gas vs. Propane

When you say home generator, is that just when electrical power is out? My great grandparents had a big propane tank out in their yard for hot water and a gas stove. Can’t remember if they also had a gas furnace. They did have a gas wall heater, since it was an old farm house, but don’t think they had central heat.

Also my aunt has a tank to run gas logs and a range. Has it filled about once a year. I think she even switched her water heater to gas when the electric one died. I guess it just comes down to what refills cost and how long you plan on being there. If a long time it might be more costly but more convenient to go ahead and run the line.

I am faced with same issue if/when I build. Here's my thought process:

1. Do a rough count on appliance demand. You should be able to get BTU/hr ratings on everything except the generators. Also factor in hours used per day.

2. Liquid propane produces about 96,000 BTU's per gallon

3. If your calc's in step 1 result in, say, a demand of 100,000 BTU/day, then your demand is about 1 gallon/day.

4. Your propane consumption will dictate the tank size; tank prices are listed here

You will generally pay more for a BTU of heat from propane versus natural gas. But a $10k up front cost for gas will help level the field.

There are some on-line calculators you can play with to compare natural gas vs propane. Here is a simple one LINK. Using some of the info you provided and plugging it in this calculator looks like you could save as much as $1200 per year using natural gas, giving you a break-even period of about 8 years if you paid the $10K upfront to run a natural gas line. How long do you plan to live in this house?

No doubt there are some more detailed calculators you can play with to dial it with greater accuracy but it seems to me the key is length of time you plan to live in the house.

I have a friend in Boyce LA who lost power for 2 weeks last year during Hurricane Laura. He is all propane and had a whole house generator with a 500 gal tank - he had to fill it 4 times, as I recall, during that 2 week period. He was out of power at one point for 1 or 2 days waiting for the propane truck to refill him as demand for propane was so high. So you might want to consider that factor as well.

For a 2700 sq ft house, you would probably want 2 propane tanks in the yard with 1 dedicated to the generator.

Paying the $10k should help the resale value if you ever sell.

If you are a BAW or prepper type go with 2 propane tanks in the yard, then you control your own destiny. Just keep in mind that there will be more work for you.

If you are normal type, go with the $10k gas line. Less for you to worry about.

That generator is going to suck the propane real quick at a time when you most want/need it and getting it refilled could be nearly impossible.

Unless the 10,000 is impossible, this is an easy decision.

Many propane dealers will also give you a better price of you have 1000 gallons of more of storage capacity.

In an emergency, you know you will have propane available but limited quantity. With natural gas you don't know that you will have it but if you do you will have unlimited amount.

I've been looking into getting a large propane tank at the house for a generator. Here's what I've found:

Just like every other product in this country right now, tanks are hard to come by. A lot of propane companies don't have 250's and 500's in stock.

You can either rent or buy a tank. For reference, for me to rent a 250 in Hammond, and have it installed and filled, would cost roughly $1300. To buy a 500 and have it installed and filled, $3-4k. You can bury a bought tank, but a rented tank must stay above ground. A rented tank is maintained by the propane company.

If I had the option of paying $10k to run natural gas, I definitely would. Unfortunately it would cost me $40k to have it run to my house.

Run the gas line.

$10k in the grand scheme of building a house is nothing and well worth it.

I’d suggest even saving on the generator now and offsetting the run the line. Add the generator later if necessary.

In Natchitoches, what’s the driver for the generator? Hurricanes shouldn’t be too bad up there, and it’s not really far enough north for heavy freezes.