Final Version of Propane Research Essay

Rethlake 1
Andrew Rethlake
Miss Van Straten
Physlit
1 April 2016
Dos and Donts of Liquid Propane
What would be a good source of energy in order to make a house sustainable? One of the
options is liquid propane although it really shouldnt use it to power a house. Its not very
reliable. Liquid propane tanks always have to be filled up which is always a major setback to
using anything propane related. There are many other options that could be used over liquid
propane to power a house. Such as natural gas or the energy that is provided to the house from
the city. Liquid propane should not be used as a sustainable energy source because it is not an
efficient form of energy, has a fairly large carbon footprint, and has a large cost per gallon.
Liquid Propane is not a very reliable source of energy and it should not be used as a
sustainable energy source because it is not efficient. By the time the work is put in and the cost
of the generator and the fuel to burn it will be using more money than you would get using its
leading competitors of gasoline and diesel. Propane is capable of producing 84,300 BTUs per
gallon, gasoline is capable of producing 114,000 BTUs per gallon, and diesel is capable of
producing 129,500 BTUs per gallon (Hahne). Propane isnt worth the time of getting the parts
for the generator to make it able to burn liquid propane when it would be more efficient to just
burn gasoline or diesel and get almost a quarter more power than using propane. The part to
convert the generators that burn gasoline or diesel to propane is around 129 dollars to 150
dollars. Then add in the cost of the generator and still lose money. There will be no money saved.
Only money lost.
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Although propane is on the lower side of the carbon footprint charts, it still has a fairly
large carbon footprint compared to natural gas. Propane has a lower footprint compared to the
gigantic carbon footprint of burning coal for energy. When it is looked at in a chart it is
considerably one of the fuels with the lower carbon dioxide emissions. Coal(anthracite) 228.6,
Diesel fuel and heating oil 161.3, Gasoline 157.2, Propane 139.0, Natural gas 117.0(EIA).
Burning gasoline and diesel will be more efficient they have a really large carbon footprint which
makes it bad for the environment. It has almost a quarter to half less of the carbon footprint that
diesel and gasoline have. Which for environmentalists is a considerable amount. Most people
would say it doesnt hurt the environment that much to use gasoline or diesel and they are not
wrong in thinking it. It would be more efficient to just use gasoline or diesel to create a
sustainable form of energy. 1 gallon of propane only produces 74% of the energy that 1 gallon
of gasoline can produce or 65% of the energy that 1 gallon of diesel can produce(Hahne). Even
though the carbon footprint for liquid propane is lower overall the footprint will be higher just to
match the efficiency of power of a diesel or gasoline generator.
The cost for liquid propane per gallon is a considerably larger price than the fuels that it
completes with. According to the United States Energy Information Administration the cost of
gasoline per gallon is roughly $1.76 in February 2016 and the cost of diesel per gallon is roughly
$2.00. This is substantially lower than the cost of propane per gallon $2.02 per gallon March
28, 2016(U.S. Department of Energy). Filling up a 500 gallon tank for a whole winter season
will cost roughly around $1,000. On average depending on how much propane is used during
the winter months, a 500 gallon tank will need to be filled up about twice in the winter months
(November-March). So on average around $2,000-3,000 will be spent during the winter months.
Rethlake 3
Or buy a 1,000 gallon propane tank to heat and use a generator on. These prices are only during
the winter months.
Liquid Propane should not be used as a sustainable energy source for many reasons.
Some of the reasons being that it does not produce the amount of power needed for the work and
cost of money put in to make the generator work. There will always be money lost during the
process of using propane as an alternative fuel source. Propane has decently sized carbon
footprint. And finally the cost per gallon is higher than its leading competitors such as gasoline
or diesel generators. There are many other options that are either good or absolutely terrible for
the environment. Use one of the alternative fuels sources for energy. Dont use liquid propane as
a sustainable energy source.
Rethlake 4
Works Cited
Hahne, Patty. "How Much Propane Does A Generator Use?" Booney Living. PDH
Rebooted, LLC, 16 Dec. 2011. Web. <www.booneyliving.com/906/how-much-propane-does-agenerator-use/>.
"Cost of Propane - Estimates and Prices Paid .com." CostHelper.
http://home.costhelper.com/propane.html, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
"Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update - Energy Information Administration." U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA). U.S. Energy Information Administration, 4 Apr. 2016. Web.
11 Apr. 2016. <https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/>.
"How Much Carbon Dioxide is Produced when Different Fuels Are Burned? - FAQ."
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). U.S. Energy Information Administration, n.d.
Web. 11 Apr. 2016. <https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=73&t=11>.
"How Much Does It Cost To Fill A Propane Tank? | HowMuchIsIt.org." How Much
Money Is It? | HowMuchIsIt.org. T2 Web Network, LLC, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. <T2 Web
Network, LLC>.

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Why should liquid propane not be used as a sustainable energy source for powering a house?

What are some of the alternatives to liquid propane that could be used instead?

Rethlake 1

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