Natural Gas Advantages

Natural gas is the clear value choice for energy efficiency, reliability and comfort.

Energy Efficiency
Using natural gas in your home for heating, water heating, cooking and drying are some of the best energy efficiency decisions you can make. Direct use of natural gas is more energy efficient than electricity. The reason goes back to the source of the energy and how it reaches your home.

• Only 30 percent of the energy used to generate electricity actually reaches your home and is used by your electric appliances. So, 70 percent of that energy is lost along the way. Part of it is lost when burning source fuel to generate electricity. The rest is lost in the transmission and distribution of the electricity to your home.
  
  In contrast, the natural gas used in your home or business is the same natural gas that enters the pipeline, so there is little energy loss. Just to show you how efficient the process is, 90 percent of natural gas’s energy reaches your home and business. Only a mere 10 percent of the energy is lost in the process.
  
  
• A natural gas home emits up to 50 percent fewer carbon emissions than an all-electric home.
  
  Choosing natural gas appliances is an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint without sacrificing comfort or style. A carbon footprint measures the impact human activities have on the environment in relation to the amount of greenhouse gases produced.

Reliability
Natural gas is an abundant, domestically produced fuel you can count on for your family’s energy needs.

• Unlike other energy sources, 85 percent of all the natural gas consumed domestically is produced in the United States. Natural gas decreases our dependence on foreign energy sources.
• Natural gas supplies are abundant. The U.S. has a 100-year supply and discoveries are outpacing usage.
• Natural gas creates jobs for Americans. Natural gas is produced, transported and sold in America by American companies. The natural gas industry supports more than 2.8 million jobs in the U.S., and natural gas companies directly employed close to 622,000 Americans in 2008.

Comfort
Natural gas delivers comfort and performance and saves energy, while saving you money.  Most of the homes we live in require electricity.  But, for most appliances, such as water heaters, dryers and heating equipment, you do have an energy choice.

• Natural gas water heaters heat water twice as fast as electric water heaters and cost up to half as much to operate.
• Natural gas furnaces are up to 97 percent efficient, last longer than electric heat pumps and deliver heat up to 25 degrees warmer. When it is really cold outside, natural gas provides instant heat you can feel, which immediately increases the warmth and comfort of your home.
• Natural gas dryers dry clothes up to twice as fast as electric dryers.
• A new high-efficiency natural gas furnace and cooling system can save up to $1,200 a year in operating costs.