Case Study: Cape Cod Home Gets an Energy Makeover

Surrounded by grassy dunes and fronted by a tranquil bay, a Cape Cod vacation home offered a serene escape, minus one nagging issue. The property’s fuel source, heating oil, presented several concerns. For one, the 275-gallon oil tank was a potential environmental hazard. For another, the heating oil was not compatible with a residential generator sorely needed in a region where electric outages are common. Add outdated heating equipment to the situation, and the owners were compelled to explore alternatives.

Enter propane. The 3,000-square foot home today uses hydronic radiant heat, the most efficient heating system available. Switching the heating source to propane allowed the owners to change out an oil-fired boiler with an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of 84 percent to a high-performance 199,000 Btu modulating unit with a 94 percent AFUE.

Not only do the owners save on operating costs, but fuel expenses, as well: gallon for gallon, propane tends to be cheaper. The boiler also heats a 115-gallon storage tank, replacing an electric water heater for further cost savings. The house also has a fireplace and baseboard heating as supplemental heat sources, both fueled by propane.

“Propane tends to be about 20 percent cheaper than electricity to give you heat and hot water,” says Mark Berry, key accounts manager with Eastern Propane & Oil.

“Because this is a coastal dune, we had to go through the conservation department, so we worked diligently with them,” says Paul Gallagher of Gallagher Custom Builders. “They recognized that putting this propane tank underground and not having an aboveground oil tank was significantly better for the environment.” The propane fuel is stored in a 1,000-gallon underground tank anchored and secured from damage during storms or soil movement.

A Need for Backup Power: “In the wintertime, we could lose power for as long as a week here,” says Gallagher. Freezing conditions present a special challenge when the primary heat source relies on hot water circulating through tubes beneath a home’s foundation. While glycol would prevent freezing during an outage, the homeowners didn’t want to take any chances. “If that ever froze or leaked through, it’s all under concrete. That would be a complete gut on the floor to change that out,” Gallagher adds. Hence the need for a backup generator. Residential generators don’t run on oil, which was another factor in the owners’ decision to switch to propane. With a 1,000-gallon propane tank, the Generac generator can maintain uninterrupted power for a week or longer.

With oil out of the equation, the owners were able to take advantage of propane’s versatility. Now the home has a single source that fuels the boiler, baseboard heating, fireplace, and gas cooktop. Even the grill on the patio is tied into the tank, eliminating the need for individual cylinders.

“The benefits for a builder to switch from oil to propane is that it’s a very universal product,” Berry says. “You can tap into propane for a cooking range. You can add a fireplace. If you want to do outdoor patio heat and a grill, you can’t do any of that with heating oil.” Propane is Gallagher’s preferred fuel. “Propane has been a great source and a great transformation for the customer, and I believe in it as a builder,” Gallagher says.

Case Study: Silver Lake Senior Housing Renovation

A housing complex for low-income seniors must keep costs low to serve its residents. That can be a challenge when an old and inefficient heating system drives up energy bills.

Marianne Jackson, executive director of the Gibson Center for Senior Services, helps seniors in Carroll County, New Hampshire remain active and independent. Its affiliated property, Silver Lake Senior Housing, provides much-needed shelter for low- or very low-income individuals 62 years and older. “It’s hard to keep a 50-year-old building operating efficiently,” Jackson says.

That task was made harder when the building’s 20-year-old oil-fueled boiler system repeatedly gave out. The frequency of emergency calls led Jackson to explore solutions. Eastern Propane & Oil proposed switching the facility to a cleaner-burning fuel, propane, along with installing high-efficiency equipment. Not only would this solve immediate energy needs, but an oil-to-propane conversion would also help the senior housing complex transition to renewable energy later. Money saved from operational expenses can be applied to a solar panel system.

“We said now is the time to look at the future,” says Josh Sandahl, operations manager at Eastern Propane in Rochester, New Hampshire.

Here are five reasons Silver Lake Senior Housing made the switch:

Propane burns cleaner: Propane combustion is cleaner than oil, resulting in lower CO₂ emissions, a fact key to the project’s funding. As a nonprofit with an affordable-housing mission, it was not an option for the Gibson Center for Senior Services to raise rents to afford the fuel conversion, Jackson says. Jackson secured the funds within six weeks by approaching donors who shared her environmental concerns.

Propane is nontoxic: The property sits along the scenic Silver Lake in Madison. Two 2,000-gallon oil tanks, while secure in underground concrete bunkers, presented an environmental hazard. A local environmental remediation service removed the oil tanks and Eastern installed two 1,000-gallon propane tanks. In the unlikely event that the propane tanks ever leaked, propane would not compromise the environment. Unlike oil, propane cannot contaminate soil and groundwater.

Propane heating equipment is more efficient: This conversion involved removing four oil boilers, which had an efficiency rating of around 85 percent and installing two Energy Star-labeled models that boast an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of 95 percent. The new propane system provides both space and domestic hot water heating for the entire complex.

Propane tends to be cheaper: While fuel costs fluctuate, propane is generally cheaper per Btu compared to oil, according to the EIA. Combine this with greater efficiency gained with modern heating equipment and propane is the clear winner. Users can fill up their tanks prior to possible seasonal spikes. Jackson estimates her organization will save around $12,000 in fuel costs annually.

Propane can be a step toward renewable energy: With propane as its primary fuel source, Silver Lake Senior Housing can now funnel cost savings into a capital reserve account for a large solar panel system.

A year after the complex’s propane conversion, Ken Kaslow, administrative director for Gibson Center for Senior Services, reports that the system is “less finicky” and that there are “no more clogged oil supply lines, and fewer breakdowns–as in none.”

Case Study: Renewable Propane Hits the Slopes

Cranmore Mountain Resort in New Hampshire is an early adopter of cleaner energy sources. It was among the first ski resorts to use a snow groomer fueled by environmentally friendly biodiesel, and today, it is among the first commercial facilities to try another alternative energy: the resort recently received its first shipment of 12,000 gallons of renewable propane.

Renewable propane is made from bio-based sources such as seed oil. Domestic supply made with non-rendered used cooking oil has a carbon intensity score (the measure of carbon emitted per unit of energy) of 20.5. That gives the fuel the lowest carbon footprint of other power sources, such as grid- supplied electricity (130), diesel (91), and conventional propane (79).

“Propane is already a low-carbon fuel, and we’re lowering it beyond that,” says Kirk Saunders, president of White Mountain Oil and Propane in North Conway, New Hampshire. White Mountain Oil and Propane installed a 30,000-gallon tank containing a blend of conventional and renewable propane to fuel space and water heating, cooking appliances, and fireplaces in the building, which includes ground-floor commercial space with condominiums above.

Facilities opting for this type of fuel don’t need to change out their existing gas-using equipment. Renewable propane is compatible with propane appliances such as furnaces, boilers, cooktops, and water heaters.

“Being a drop-in fuel, there’s no conversion that needs to be done,” Saunders says. “It works the same.”

Cranmore Mountain Resort’s adoption of renewable propane is among several measures it has taken to reduce carbon emissions and curb waste across operations. The resort, a member of the National Ski Area Association’s Sustainable Slopes initiative, moved from heating oil to propane during a series of retrofits over the past decade.