Advantages and Disadvantages of Propane and Natural Gas Powered Electrical Generators

Advantages of Natural gas and Propane Generators:

·    Natural gas/Propane has a much longer shelf life.
·    It burns much cleaner.
·    Natural gas/Propane can be easily stored in large tanks or in small cylinders.
·    Natural gas/Propane is more easily obtainable during power outages.
·    Large Natural gas/Propane tanks offer home delivery.
·    Noise level is much lower.

Disadvantages of Natural gas and Propane Generators:

·    The Natural gas/Propane fuel is in a pressurized cylinder of flammable gas.
·    Risk of failure is increased since its fuel system is more complicated.
·    The large tanks are an eyesore.
·    It comes with a higher installation expense because of the fuel system.
·    The Natural gas/Propane is more expensive than Diesel.
·    If the fuel lines get broken, natural gas/propane can be very dangerous.
·    When temperatures are -20 degrees above zero, propane begins to deteriorate.
·    Natural gas/Propane generators are 15 to 20% higher in cost especially in sizes larger than 30 kW.
·    Compared to diesel powered generators, propane powered generators use as much as 3 times the fuel in consumption.
·    It has a much shorter life span compared to diesel powered engines.
·    Compared to diesel powered generator sets, smaller air cooled gas engines are less expensive but they have a much shorter life expectancy.  It could go as low as 500 hours depending on engine make and use.