When homeowners think of natural gas, typically only one use comes to mind: heating their homes. And while natural gas is an excellent, efficient way to keep your home warm, it has tons of other uses as well, making it a versatile form of energy.

Cooking

Natural gas has been used for cooking for a long time, and it’s actually the preferred method of cooking for chefs and avid cooks. Cooking with natural gas means that you have better temperature control for more even cooking. But natural gas’ efficiency is another great reason to use it in the kitchen – it uses way less energy than an oven that runs on electricity. With a natural gas oven, the units heat up and cool down more quickly, and newer gas ovens don’t require a pilot light, resulting in even more energy savings.

Water heaters

If your home uses natural gas for anything, it probably uses it to run your hot water heater as well. Water heaters that run on gas save homeowners money to run. The price of natural gas is lower than the price of electricity, so any appliances or devices that are constantly running – like your water heater – are more economical when run on natural gas. And natural gas hot water heaters come in many sizes to fit your home, and because natural gas heats up water a lot quicker than electricity, it might allow you to run a smaller unit for your home’s size.

Cooling

Natural gas can heat your home – but did you know it can also cool it? Natural gas air conditioning units typically cost more money upfront than traditional, electricity-powered units, but the low cost of running a device on natural gas compared to electricity is making them increasingly more popular. Paying more money upfront will eventually save you money with their low operating costs and energy savings. Plus, if there’s a power outage, your air conditioner will still be able to run!

Fireplace

The heating uses of natural gas go beyond furnaces. If you like the idea of having a fireplace, but don’t want to deal with all the mess of gathering firewood, cleaning up ashes and dealing with sparks, natural gas fireplaces are a great alternative. Natural gas fireplaces have controllable burners and natural gas logs, so they have all of the effects of a wood-burning fireplace without the mess. The fireplace is easily turned on and off with the flip of a switch, and wood-burning fireplaces can easily be replaced by natural gas versions.

Drying clothes

Did you know that dryers that run on natural gas can save you up to 50% in energy costs compared to electric dryers? That means you can do two loads of laundry in a natural gas dryer for the price of one in an electric model. And because natural gas dryers use higher quantities of dry air, your clothes dry more quickly.

Learn more about home comfort from Bryan’s Fuel in Orangeville, Shelburne, Collingwood, Owen Sound and Caledon.