Starting your own business requires wearing a lot of hats and spinning a lot of plates. Finding a business space, making renovations, setting up utilities, finding employees, marketing a product, and so much more.
With all that nitty-gritty to worry about, it’s tempting to put less thought into the basics, like for instance what kind of energy source you should use. Electricity and natural gas are the obvious options, but there’s another one that is uniquely suited for businesses: propane.
Not only is propane affordable and environmentally friendly, commercial propane delivery is also widely available. But as a business owner, that’s not enough. You have to know that propane can reliably meet your needs. Here are three reasons propane can do that better than any of its competitors:
Versatility
You may have experience using propane at home, especially if you like to cook. Many grills and stoves use propane because the low boiling point (-44 degrees Fahrenheit) ensures that it vaporizes immediately upon release from its pressurized container, eliminating the need for carburetors and other devices. Alongside its efficiency in home and water heating, this makes propane an ideal choice for restaurants.
Big deal, you say. What about businesses besides restaurants? Well, propane’s versatility and portability make it an equally excellent option for commercial and industrial business owners, as well as farmers and ranchers. Propane works as a fuel source for everything from forklifts, clothes dryers, fireplaces, ice resurfacing machines, farm equipment, irrigation systems, back-up power generators, and more.
Safety
Being the boss means being responsible for the safety of your employees, partners, clients, and customers. Good thing, then, that propane is one of the most highly regulated energy sources in America, meaning it’s also one of the safest. It has one of the best safety records of all available commercial fuels, thanks in large part to its stringent installation, maintenance, and inspection codes.
Despite being naturally odorless, propane gas is scented with ethyl mercaptan, making it easy to detect a leak. Not that such incidents are common, given that propane tanks are 20 percent more puncture-resistant than the ones used for ethanol, methanol, and gasoline. What’s more, propane burns cleaner than any fossil fuel, has low carbon emissions, and does not contaminate soil or groundwater.
High performance
Businesses demand a lot more power than a typical household. Whether you’re loading and sorting stock, manufacturing products en masse, or working in commercial construction, you need an energy source that can work long and hard. With a single gallon producing 27 kWhs of electricity and 91,600 BTUs of heat, there’s little question but that propane has the kind of muscle you need.
Comparing it to other options further illustrates propane’s appeal. It has a higher octane rating than gasoline and can reheat a water tank 40 minutes faster than electricity. An electric heat pump can only warm air to the same temperature as the human body, while propane can consistently provide an air supply of 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Machines and appliances using propane generally burn through 50 to 90 percent less fuel than they would using other sources.
Last but not least, propane being an on-site energy source means you won’t have to worry about losing power in the event of a blackout. You’re always in control.
