Home Standby Generators Use Natural Gas Or Propane

Generators come in all different sizes. There are generators for your home or your business. They can run on different power sources - from natural gas, propane, diesel, or gasoline. Deciding which one is right for you can be overwhelming. You must take into consideration what your needs are and how you will use it. The type of fuel depends upon whether you can have access to diesel or gasoline or to natural gas (compressed natural gas or CNG or NG) or liquid petroleum gas commonly known as propane (LPG got shortened to LP). Wikipedia says that an "odorant such as ethanethiol or thiophene is added so that people can easily smell the gas in case of a leak." When the utility power goes out at your home, there is a good chance that it went out at your local gas station, too. But if you use natural gas or propane, you won't be standing in lines for fuel.Back in 1910, the New York Times reported on Dr. Snelling's work with liquefied gas and that "...a steel bottle will carry enough [gas] to light an ordinary home for three weeks." But do you want to light your home or do you want to live in comfort of central air and heating and have hot water for showering? The size of your home standby generator depends upon your needs and wants.Natural gas is made up of several gases including propane, and mostly consists of methane. Is one more energy efficient than the other? Does one have more power than the other? The propane companies will tell you it is propane. There are comparison charts available if you would like to figure a little. Some more complicated than others. Many generator companies have designed formulas for their installers to use. These may not be fully correct. If you use their formulas, you may have underestimated which unit your home would need.Homeowners need to be informed before purchasing a generator unit. If you purchase a 20 kW generator, when it is delivered to the homeowner, look on the box. On the box, it states that the unit is 18 KW. One homeowner said she paid for a 20 KW. The salesperson tried to explain that the unit she purchased was an 18 KW in natural gas or a 20 KW in propane. It is the same unit just different fuels. Does that affect your household and how it would run your house? No, the unit was sized according to their needs. Is there a price difference? Depends upon the manufacturer. Some standby generators can be converted easily by the homeowner or installer. Other units must come from the factory using a particular fuel.There are conversion kits that will convert a generator from natural gas to propane or the other way around. But these kits are mostly for portable generators and not used for standby generators. Remember, standby generators are permanently installed with an automatic transfer switch. They need a factory trained installer who is an electrician. A factory trained dealer who is an electrician can trouble shoot a problem without blowing the board and costing you more money.

Natural Gas Generators Vs Propane Generators

Generator maintenance needs to be performed on a regular basis no matter what fuel type you use. Most people are not caring about the generator until it breaks. They don't care where they get it. They don't care how they get it. They only care about the bottom line or how much it costs. What that thinking does is shorten their life style. They don't look further than then end of their nose. What's occurring is, first, people do not understand what their needs are. Secondly, they do not understand the difference between their needs and their wants. Some people believe they can use a 15 KW generator with a 5 ton air conditioner. Your entire load has got to be calculated by a trained professional. Once he installed generators, he would find out some problems that were occurring with certain generators or certain installations. The installer will generally get an idea of the capabilities of those generators and the manufacturers. They claim to be true to the capabilities of what they can handle. But a lot of manufacturers tend to overstate the capability of their generator.The manufacturer can recommend a dealer in your area if you have a problem. He will come out to your location to see your problem. First, if he is a licensed master electrician, he already knows what is necessary to perform an installation and whether that installation is correct and according to code. Second, he has to be a factory trained rep that he knows that generator. He knows how it performs on the house. Third, he has to come out to make sure it is not a hazard to the person or people who live in the house. I have seen many generators that were installed under a car port. It is illegal to do that because of carbon monoxide buildup that can occur under a car port. People are continually saying that is OK. It's OK until somebody dies.Is there any difference between natural gas and propane? There is a difference. The BTU of heat of propane supposedly burns hotter. The fuel burns hotter than it does in natural gas. So, in natural gas, the fuel burns a little less or not as hot. So therefore when it doesn't burn as hot it doesn't give you that engine horsepower that level of horsepower that you need in the engine.An 18 KW in natural gas is the same as a 20 KW in propane. Actually, natural gas is not as powerful as propane. Propane is more powerful. If you have a 20 KW in propane, it will stay 20 KW. In natural gas, it drops to 18 KW. It drops 2 KW. Some manufacturers have allowed for that drop but not much. They are not saying anything about it. They won't talk about it. They are not letting it known to the public or through their dealers or manufacturers. They just say that it is capable or the same. It is not the same. The fuel burns differently. Propane burns hotter than natural gas so therefore it gives the engine less horsepower so therefore it's got less KW.Some engines perform differently. Diesel performs differently from gasoline. Gasoline burns hotter than diesel. But you have higher performance engines in gasoline than you do in diesels. But in diesels you have a lot more torque engines. You have high compression torque engines. But you have to because the only thing that can burn more diesel is ignition sources or high compression diesel engines.The fuel you use to run a generator can have an impact on how efficient it runs for your needs. Hire a professional before ordering and installing a generator.