Did you know over 5 billion gallons of propane are consumed annually in the U.S. residential market? While propane only accounts for about 5% of the total energy market in the U.S., propane country covers much more real estate than natural gas utilities. Public and private gas utilities find it too expensive to deal with low-density population areas that propane retailers can handle with much lower cost infrastructure.  An above ground or underground propane tank installation puts gas energy on-site, avoiding the need for an off-site natural gas main network. 

Propane is used in over 600,000 Michigan homes, making our state #1 in residential usage in the country, but its use goes beyond the residential sector as well. Michigan Propane provides energy for over 8,000 farms and 800 school buses, and uses an additional 120 million gallons of propane for vehicles and other commercial purposes.

Why is propane so popular in Michigan?

Propane is a clean energy choice. In a source to usage point comparison, propane emits significantly less CO2 compared to Michigan’s grid electricity for key residential applications like space heating, water heating, and cooking. Propane systems can even help to earn points under green building programs like LEED for homes and the National Green Building Standard.  Having a “green profile” and the accompanying energy savings are becoming more important to home buyers.

Propane is dependable. Technology and innovation have significantly advanced in the propane energy sector. As one example, residential propane storage tanks are now commonly installed with usage monitors that feed usage and tank level readings back to the propane retailer via cellular or satellite signals. Periodic refills are scheduled to ensure a continuous supply.

Propane can even make electric grid power reliable when a propane home standby generator is incorporated to bring power on within seconds of an outage. One of the strongest selling points for residential propane standby generators, besides unpredictable weather, is the growing number of non-emergency electrical outages in Michigan.

Do you want to build off-grid? Propane can be there for you, providing dependable gas service, including fueling whole home electric power generation. Do you have a multi-home project you find challenging to get dependable gas service to? There are successful community propane systems operating throughout Michigan. You can find a propane retailer to work with on such a multi-home energy project. 

Propane is affordable.  Most propane used in Michigan is sourced from liquid gases produced in the natural gas (methane) exploration and production process. There is an abundance of propane production and supply that allows the U.S. to export much more propane than is used in this country. Michigan is unique in having a large underground storage capacity that propane retailers can draw from. All of this has helped to moderate the price of propane in comparison to other Michigan energy products. In our state, propane is typically about half the cost of electricity when compared on a cost per Btu basis, and about a third more than the cost of natural gas. Even that cost difference shrinks when comparing final hook-up costs. 

To bring energy costs even lower, the Michigan propane industry is offering installer rebates on high efficiency equipment. Find out more at MIPropaneRebates.com. You can also participate in the Propane Construction Research Program (PCRP) for additional incentives. Find out how to apply at Propane.com/PCRP.

Find a propane marketer near you to work with at UseMichiganPropane.com. You will learn why propane can be the “energy for everyone, everywhere.”   

Tom Jaenicke is known as “the propane guy” and works as an advisor to the Michigan Propane Gas Association.  Tom is a propane industry veteran of several decades.  He can be reached at tom@atomikenergysolutions.com or call him at (810) 252-7855.