Well they’re both gases, they’re both odourless and they are both very useful in there own right but how exactly do they differ? Fortunately there’s a nice man on ehow.com who knows all about each gas and he’s happy to explain the difference for us.
What Is the Difference Between Propane & Butane? —powered by eHow.com
Just a quick post today to point you in the direction of an excellent LPG resource from the UK Health and Safety Executive. They have a section devoted to Liquid Petroleum Gas health and safety both in the home and commercial situations. We particularly like their diagram on the “Safe use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at small commercial and industrial bulk installations”, which is an excellnt information filled graphic on how your bulk tank installation should be structured.
Safe installation of your bulk lpg tank
There is also an excellent PDF file on this topic available for download on this page – you can read it here:
As well as this section, there is a wealth of LPG tips on this website – it is well worth a visit.
Are there any other quality LPG resources out there that we should be aware of? Please let us know in the comments.
Thanks for reading.
A survey conducted recently by a well known lpg gas supplier has shown that an increasing number of gas suppliers/installers are identifying the off-grid market as a particularly key area for future business growth especially in the current climate. In fact 75% of the UKLPGA registered installers surveyed confirmed they were aware that the off-mains market presented opportunities for business growth, whilst 71% nominated LPG as their fuel of choice for off-grid housing.
The research did a great deal to highlight engineers’ increasing interest in the off-grid market, with nearly 81% of installers questioned already UKLPG certified, and 82% of them wanted even more training in the area, not to mention the fact that 69% of those not currently qualified for LPG are interested in securing the qualification. A lot of this is due to the rise in demand as over 50% of installers questioned had seen an increase in enquiries from customers about LPG Gas in the last 12 months.
One of the supposed reasons for this increase is the omnipresence of energy efficiency at the top of the news agenda, as a result more and more homeowners – both on and off grid are becoming increasingly eco aware and cost conscious. Due to this change, many non-mains homeowners have been carefully reviewing their heating essential requirements this, in turn, has considerably broadened the role of the energy installer.
So as more and more people are looking to LPG as their off-grid energy solution what’re your thoughts have you switched to LPG for your home?
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is the intelligent fuel of choice for right now, this idea is strengthened by the support from a number of car manufacturers that are now including more LPG options in their most popular ranges.
The latest car maker to increase their range of LPG options is Opel (the European sub-division of General Motors). Opel have decided to increase their LPG range by adding the option for a 1.4L LPG turbo ecoFlex engine to the ranges for; the Meriva, Astra five-door hatchback and the Astra Sports Tourer.
The engine has some impressive stats and is capable of working in both LPG and petrol modes, there are also two power options a 140hp model for the Astra’s and a 120hp model for the Meriva.
Opel is actually well known for introducing an LPG option into its most popular ranges. There is already a 1.2L Corsa LPG along with options in the Zafira Tourer and Insignia range.
The reason for companies including LPG models in the substantial benefits they can offer to customers, fuel costs are said to be only 60% of driving a conventionally fuelled vehicle not to mention the considerable tax reductions that many countries offer.
It would almost certainly appear that in the current climate LPG is getting ready to come into its own form a strong base in the car sales market.
We are all aware of the use of LPG as a fuel for vehicles – however, it also has a vast range of uses in both the agricultural and industrial sectors. We thought it would be helpful to outline some of these agricultural uses in this post.
LPG tank on the farm
Agricultural uses for LPG
LPG offers farmers an extremely adaptable source of power, infact no other fuel solution offers the same levels of portability, accessibility and convenience of use.
Because it is a clean fuel, liquid petroleum gas ensures that farmers can meet the demands of modern agricultural environment, whilst remaining respectful to the environment and maintaining a commitment sustainable development.
Specific examples of LPG’s contribution on the farm include:
Poultry Rearing
LPG provides a level of control that ensures that farm animals can be reared in the conditions that they need to develop and remain as healthy as possible. The stability of LPG also ensures that potentially disruptive scenarios such as power cuts or voltage reductions are no longer a worry. Of course, these benefits are not to be underestimated as they help protect both the welfare of animals as well as saving money for the farmer.
Grain and fruit drying
The use of LPG in grain and fruit drying, ensures more effective drying, allowing as it does the farmer to preserve the quality of their crops and to meet specific market specifications for moisture content. The efficiency of the process is enhanced as 90% of the propane used is converted to energy, ensuring that there is less waste and lower costs.
Thermal desiccation
LPG is an effective replacement the harmful chemicals sometimes used for weeding, LPG can play an important role in preserving the quality of soil and water sources.
Are there are other lpg uses in the agricultural sector? Please let us know, particularly if you’re a farmer and have experience of how lpg works for you.
- Get your boiler serviced before things start to go wrong – it is essential to ensure your boiler and any other gas based appliances are serviced every year (preferably before the bad weather)by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
- If your boiler is an old boy (15 years old or more) it is probably time to think about buying a newer model. If you do decide to upgrade make sure you go for a condensing boiler as they are extremely energy efficient this will go a long way to significantly reducing your heating bills.
- A great idea is to buy a timer so you can set when the heating and hot water go on and off to suit your routine. Also by only heating your home and hot water when you need it, you’ll be saving energy and money.
- Try turning your thermostat down. Set your thermostat as low as remains comfortable – for most people this is usually between 18°C and 21°C. Even lowering your thermostat by just 1°C can save money.
- To improve efficiency bleed your radiators, this is when you release any air trapped in them. This will help to instantly improve your heating efficiency as the hot water can then flow into every part of the radiator, therefore it will do a much better job of heating the room.
- Once darkness hits get all the curtains closed as this helps to prevent heat escaping through windows.
- Loft insulation is not only a great way to save energy but it’s a pretty straightforward task, most guys could probably have it done in about half a day and it really does go a long way to seriously cutting the heat lost from your home.
- Insulating your hot water tank with a thick jacket is something many people either ignore or forget to do – the thicker the jacket the better, as this can massively reduce heat loss by up to 75%.
- An LPG portable heater is a great purchase for easy and instant heat in big rooms or any areas without central heating, i.e. conservatories and extensions.
This is a very informative PDF file from the World LP Gas Association detailing the Liquid Petroleum Gas distribution chain. Here we can see the stages (Production, Transportation, Refining and Storage, Transportation, Bottling and Storage, Distribution) that LPG takes to get into our homes, our businesses and industrial end uses.
The UKLPG Approved Autogas Installers is the replacement body taking over from the LPGA Approved Installer (snappy names eh?). To keep the word count down from here on out I shall be naming the latter the UKLPG-AAI. Now then from what I can tell they are generally working from the same principal as their predecessors i.e. if your looking for a LPG conversion, an LPG conversion kit or even to have your own diy conversion checked, these people must approve it in order for you to get insured etc. There are a number of benefits that come from choosing a UKLPG-AAI for your LPG conversion:
- Your vehicle will be added to a central online register, which acts as proof to your insurance company and any potential buyer that the work is sound.
- All UKLPG-AAI members have signed up to abide by a Consumer Code of Conduct.
- Anyone on the register is regularly inspected to ensure they comply with industry safety standards.
The UKLPG also approve the actual LPG system suppliers which again carries certain benefits:
- They are authorised by the systems manufacturer as the official distributor in the UK.
- They are UK based and therefore able to provide the installer with full technical support should there be any issues.
- They have access to a national network of dealers to service or repair your vehicle regardless of whether you sell it or move to another part of the UK.
- There is a 2 year parts warranty which means that if there are any problems with the installer, the actual supplier will be able to resolve any issues.
Approval by the UKLPG is given in 5 year blocks however this is dependent upon the standards being maintained and consistent compliance with the terms and conditions.
The Pros
A key advantage to LPG (autogas) motorists is the often dramatic reduction of their fuel bill. Even though gas is less efficient, usually returning around 10% less than petrol, its lower price per litre means that in the long term good savings can be made.
The actual performance of the car is relatively unaffected, there is a small loss of power on acceleration but you would really have to be paying attention to notice it.
All of the original fuel fittings remain the same, so you can switch from gas to petrol simply at the flick of a switch.
By having both petrol and gas on board you can extend your range or time between refills.
The vehicle will actually run smoother as Auto gas has a higher Octane content and being a gas burns more efficiently.
The actual life of your car will be extended as there are no acids or carbon build-up, and the servicing is reduced as the engine oil doesn’t get diluted and therefore can be changed less frequently.
It is also promising from an emissions point of view as there is hardly any CO2 from the exhaust and when compared to petrol and diesel the other nasty emissions are also greatly reduced.
The Cons
The actual LPG conversion is not cheap to carry out, a recommended budget would be between £1000-£1500 for a car and more for something bigger like a 4 x 4.
Space is and issue as the tank need to go somewhere and the tank is basically a trade-off between size and range. You can get small 40 litre tanks that fit in the spare wheel well, right up to 130 litre tanks for bigger vehicles. So you need to carefully consider what you carry in your boot, the types of journeys you do and what you regularly carry in the boot.
Actually buying Auto gas, still isn’t as easy as people were expecting. Although there is a great number of LPG stations throughout the country it may still require some research to find in your area.
Although most of us have never thought about it, around 7% of homes in the country are already using LPG. This is mostly in the rural areas where there is no connection to the gas mains available, so instead their heating is powered by LPG. These heating systems are termed ‘wet’ and it is an LPG fuelled boiler that heats up the water that provides central heating via radiators and of course hot water for the taps and shower etc.
One of the key differences between mains gas and LPG is that unlike mains gas where u you just take what you need when you need it, to use LPG there must be a gas storage tank on site and your gas will be delivered by a truck that fills up the tank. On the plus side, for anyone thinking of switching to LPG its worth checking to see if your boiler can just be converted instead of having a whole new fit.
Benefits of LPG:
- It is extremely efficient, by purchasing one of the more modern condensing boilers you can now achieve efficiency of over 90% for every unit of energy purchased.
- Even if you already have LPG with a standard boiler, switching to a more modern efficient condensing boiler is relatively simple.
- Because gas is the most commonly used heating fuel in the UK, if you do have any issues, finding a certified gas register plumber shouldn’t be too much work.
Now if anyone has any experience of switching to LPG please drop us a comment, we’d love to hear about it.
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