Whether you currently have an oil or electric furnace, there are many reasons why converting to a natural gas furnace is smart for your family. From saving money to being more convenient and environmentally friendly, here’s why Portland Oregon homeowners should seriously consider converting to natural gas.
Gas furnaces are more efficient
There are many makes and models of gas furnaces on the market today and the most efficient is rated at 98% while the most efficient new oil furnace is only rated at 86.6% efficiency.
With a 98% AFUE-rated furnace, 98 cents out of every dollar goes towards heating your home while an oil furnace (at 86.6%), almost 14 cents out of every dollar is being wasted.
That may not seem like much though over the lifetime of a furnace (10-15 years or more), it adds up to a significant amount.
Don’t have to fill the tank
Like water, natural gas is piped to your house so you don’t have to remember to call and have the tank filled every couple of months. This brings me to another advantage over oil and that is the fact that natural gas is ‘pay as you go.’
With oil or propane, you have to prepay as you pay when it is delivered whereas gas is billed monthly-you receive an invoice only for the amount of gas used in the previous month.
Save money on heating costs
It’s easy to understand the savings you’ll have in your monthly energy bills when you install a new high efficiency gas furnace but the savings don’t end there.
Most of the natural gas consumed in the United States (84%) is produced in the U.S. This makes the cost less volatile and therefore, less likely to increase than oil, which is a world market.
Also, depending on where you live, natural gas can cost as much as 50% less than electricity per Btu of heat.
More efficient in every way
We already mentioned gas furnaces are more efficient than oil furnaces and gas burns more completely than other fuel but the efficiency doesn’t stop there. Did you know natural gas is more efficient to deliver to your home?
Only 30% of the energy used in producing electricity reaches your home whereas 90% of the natural gas that is produced is delivered as potential energy to your home. That’s quite a difference.
Better for the environment
When comparing natural gas and electricity, we first have to understand how electricity is produced. Since most electricity in the U.S. is currently produced by coal or fossil fuels, a home using natural gas emits 50% fewer carbon emissions than an all-electric home. We all need to do our part to help the environment and lowering carbon emissions is a good place to start.
As you can see, there are many reasons to convert to natural gas but if you need another reason, here’s 1 more. NW Natural offers an instant rebate and tax credits to new customers who convert to natural gas and install a high efficiency gas furnace.
Free estimates on conversion
We are a NW Natural Preferred Contractor which means we are skilled and experienced in doing conversions. Contact Midway Heating for your free estimate on converting to a natural gas furnace.
