9 Cost-Benefits Of Using Gas
There has never been a better time for you to convert your home fuel supply to natural gas. While there are many known benefits of natural gas usage, most people do not know that it also provides significant savings. In this article, we will go through all aspects of how shifting to natural gas can have a positive impact on your budget and explain them thoroughly.
1. Low Investment Cost
Changing to natural gas is usually not connected to significant investment costs. Depending on the equipment you already have, you might need to change the burner or only adjust the existing burner. When it comes to power plants, there are a few different types of technology that are used. Each of them has a substantial impact on the total construction costs. However, they are also quite inexpensive to build.
2. Lower Energy Price
Prices of natural gas are two to three times lower compared to other energy sources. An increase in natural gas supply is the biggest factor that causes lower natural gas prices. Demand-side factors also play a crucial role in establishing a price on the market. Major factors include variations in winter and summer weather, level of economic growth, and availability and prices of other fuels. All of these favor usage of natural gas over other fuel sources.
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3. Low Taxes and Fees
The natural gas price has two key elements that customers need to pay. This includes multiple taxes and fees. Commodity cost applies to natural gas purchased at a market trading hub as well. In addition to this, an important element is transmission and distribution costs that include fees for moving the natural gas by pipeline from where it is produced or stored to local distribution utilities and the cost of delivering it to consumers. In both cases, the price you need to pay is significantly lower compared to alternatives.
4. Beneficial Payment Model
Paying for the usage of natural gas should be as easy as paying for electricity. Most of the providers offer a variety of ways to pay your natural gas bills, so you can choose a model that is most simple and convenient for you. Thanks to the experts from electricitymonster.com.au, you can now easily compare the affordability of natural gas and other fuel sources like electricity, heating oil, or propane. The price of the energy is only adjusted monthly depending on the agreed price model.
5. Providing Family Saving
Switching to natural gas hot only contributes to caring for the environment, but it helps boost household disposable income. Natural gas usage is very precise, meaning you will only use as much fuel as needed to complete a specific task such as cooking a meal, showering, or heating a living room. Cutting on the bills this way eventually helps you put some money aside for other purposes.
6. Low Capital Costs
The costs of building and operating a new fuel generation facility are proven to be significantly lower when it comes to building a natural gas power plant, compared to coal-fired power plants. Results of the fuel costs comparison from 2015 determined from the variable operation and management costs show that coal is still more expensive than natural gas. Low non-fuel operating costs of a natural gas power plant are one of the most important benefits for the future of natural gas usage.
7. Social Cost
There is no final agreement on what the social cost of pollution is. The analysis of the pricing regarding the health impacts of NOx, SO2, and PM 10 was given as a range instead of as a concrete number. Carbon, in particular, is difficult to measure, due to various factors however, a midpoint in the pricing of carbon, $35 per ton was chosen. Since the usage of natural gas emits three times less carbon, the price-benefits are clear.
8. Estimated Future Price
Regarding the uncertainty around future natural gas prices and social costs, a few analyses were performed for each source. Considering the worst-case scenario for natural gas relative to coal, where natural gas prices rise 4% per year, and social costs are not considered, Gas still has an advantage over coal, since its estimated future price using this system of prediction is four times lower compared to coal, even under extreme circumstances.
9. Maintenance Cost
Maintenance costs do not rise well in step with inflation. Different energy generation sources have maintenance costs rise at completely different rates. While the inflation rate was assumed to be 2.5%, the results of the analysis of the cost rise of natural gas showed it to be around 0.7%. This means that maintenance costs at coal-fired power plants rose much faster than inflation, while natural gas power did not.
Hopefully, this article will eliminate all doubts on how the usage of natural gas and construction of gas power plants can impact your house budget or global economy and help you decide for yourself if turning to natural gas is the right thing to do.