On PERC‘s (Propane Education and Research Council) website tailored to construction professionals, buildwithpropane.com, they describe how heating with propane furnaces, boilers and space heaters can improve the efficiency, performance and comfort of homes and buildings.
Propane provides more versatility, affordability, and comfort than any other heating choice — it’s that simple. Propane heating systems can be configured as central or zone, forced air or radiant. Best of all, propane systems can help buildings and homeowners slash energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions — up to 68 percent, in fact. Here are a few considerations for your project.
Propane Furnaces. A residential high-efficiency propane furnace can provide exceptional space heating for both small floor plans and large custom homes. The furnace’s PVC combustion air intake and sideways exhaust piping design allows the unit to be installed nearly anywhere in the house. And since all of the air used for combustion is taken directly from outdoors, propane furnaces are more efficient and safer than traditional natural-draft furnaces. A high-efficiency propane furnace is rated anywhere between 90 and 98 percent efficient.
Radiant Floor Heating. A propane water heater or boiler heats water that is pumped through a floor tubing system. By delivering more-even heat, and more heat closer to the floor, these systems can be far more energy efficient than a conventional furnace-and-duct system.
Hybrid Heating. A hybrid heating system is the combination of an air source heat pump (ASHP) or ground source heat pump (GSHP) with a propane or natural gas furnace. Also known as dual-fuel systems, they improve ASHP and GSHP performance by using a propane furnace — typically a high-efficiency unit — in colder, outdoor temperatures, rather than the heat pump’s inefficient electric resistance secondary heat. Learn more at our hybrid propane heating page.
Space Heaters. Propane space heaters can be freestanding or wall-mounted, can include thermostats and blowers, and typically work even in an electrical outage. They also produce fewer greenhouse gases than space heaters using fuel oil.
Many of these propane appliances are available in Energy Star-qualified models — more than electric appliances in many categories.
To learn more about propane and how it can help you bring the best to your clients, contact your local AmeriGas account manager.