October 18, 2023 – Propane Answers
Americans have been warming to the benefits of heating homes with propane gas for several years for good reason. Propane is a far cleaner option than other fossil fuels like coal or oil because its lower carbon content and higher energy efficiency readily support a wide range of applications that meet America’s growing energy needs for the foreseeable future.
Propane is an odorless, clear hydrocarbon gas produced as a byproduct of crude oil refinement and biomass production. The gas is separated from other hydrocarbons during the refinement process and purified to meet specific clean-burning characteristics. In addition, propane can be compressed into liquid form, making it economically viable for domestic and international transportation to provide propane for home heating worldwide.
Propane Uses
Propane is commonly used for cooking, heating homes, and hot water systems. Skilled propane delivery drivers in rural and suburban areas with little access to natural gas pipelines are rightly appreciated when heating homes with propane is the only viable option. Propane exchanges are also critical for various commercial and industrial applications like agricultural machinery, temporary HVAC at construction sites, Home Depot propane stoves, and special propane-powered vehicles like forklifts or small bull dossiers.
While it does emit some CO2, propane has a drastically lower carbon footprint than other fossil fuels. Propane also has ancillary benefits that include lower infrastructure and start-up costs since business and home propane tank gauges are a proven technology that supports environmentally friendly “intelligent” buildings. It even finds favor with cost-conscious school boards that provide propane-powered school buses.
Propane’s 2024 Forecast
Since 54% of propane consumption is for residential use, homeowners will be pleased to learn the U.S. has growing inventories that will translate into lower propane delivery prices for the rest of 2023. For example, in New England, prices fell from $3.596/gallon in October 2022 to $3.580 in March 2023, a three-year low caused by increased domestic inventories and weak global economic growth.
Propane production will decline during the last six months of 2023 in response to those higher inventories. That inventory reduction may result in slightly higher prices for residential propane delivery prices during the first half of 2024. The U.S. Energy Association forecasts that national gas production in the U.S. will decline from 34.5 billion cubic feet/day in 2023 to 33.5 cf/day in 2024. As the nation’s past-COVID economy continues to improve, homeowners will benefit by having an experienced partner like Paraco Gas to help them solve their current and future propane gas delivery needs.
Propane Delivery Services
Total propane production increased annually for the past three years and topped 10 billion gallons in 2019 before the COVID economy forced a 7% percent decline in 2020. However, as the economy recovered in 2022, daily propane gas consumption in the U.S. jumped to 55 million gallons/day during the winter of 2022.
This type of growth requires an experienced company that can secure, store, price, and deliver propane gas to homes and businesses. Based in Rye Brook, New York, Paraco Gas has been a leading full-service propane provider of propane for heating homes for the past 44 years.
Serving 27 communities in the northeast, Paraco offers comprehensive solutions for propane deliveries, tank installations, and cost-effective budgets for single or multi-family homes and commercial enterprises of all sizes. The company’s impressive history as a dynamic thought leader in the evolving propane industry makes it an ideal business partner during merger/acquisition considerations and for customers seeking propane for homes.