This archive report was first published on 29 November 2019.
The Energy Showdown: Natural Gas vs. Electricity ¶
Published on November 29, 2019
Residential, commercial, and industrial users have choices about the energy sources they use for building systems and processes. Natural gas and electricity are the two main options for normal operation of building systems and equipment.
Natural gas offers several benefits, including being comparatively cheap, easy to transport, and burns cleanly compared to other fossil fuels. However, its environmental impact is a concern, particularly with the extraction process.
On the other hand, electricity's value is a little trickier to discern, as price varies widely depending on location and the power generation source. You can have extremely clean and relatively cheap electricity or fairly 'dirty' and expensive electricity, or some combination in between.
When choosing between electricity and natural gas, several factors to consider and prioritize, such as price, reliability, efficiency, and environmental impact.
Price is a significant factor in the decision-making process. In Washington state, space heating costs are approximately $2.30/energy-unit for electricity compared to $1/energy-unit for natural gas. However, this relationship changes when you introduce newer technology or change locales.
Nationally, natural gas prices are somewhat even across regions of the country, but vary between residential and commercial consumers. Commercial consumers benefit from volume discounts.
Electricity prices vary broadly around the country, based on the variety of electricity generation sources, including natural gas, coal-fired power plants, nuclear plants, diesel, and renewable sources like solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectricity.
For both natural gas and electricity, Hawaii is an outlier with staggeringly high energy prices. This driver has led the state to become a leader in renewable energy sources, generating the most solar energy per capita of any state, and leveraging its geology by using geothermal energy generation.
Efficiency is another factor to consider when weighing the benefits of natural gas or electricity. Natural gas appliances have traditionally been the more efficient options, but electrical appliances have made major improvements in their energy efficiency due in part to programs like LEED and Energy Star.
Environmental Impact
While natural gas is most often cheaper and more efficient, it's not without downsides. It is a nonrenewable energy source and a fossil fuel, albeit the cleanest fossil fuel. However, natural gas extraction can be problematic, particularly with the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract nonconventional natural gases.
Electricity's environmental impact is also a concern, particularly with the generation source. As of 2016, natural gas is the most common fuel source for U.S. electricity generation, contributing more than one third of the nation's electricity. However, renewably-generated electrical energy is a beneficial path forward.
Reliability is another challenge to more widespread adoption of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. However, a 2011 NREL study explored the impact of clouds on large solar energy generation systems, showing that large-scale photovoltaic arrays are not as susceptible to cloudy conditions as smaller scale PV systems.
By Unanimous Decision….Or Not
The choice between natural gas and electricity is not clear-cut, and which is 'better' changes depending on prioritization of several factors. Natural gas may seem the 'natural' winner at present, but as electric appliances make gains in efficiency and electricity generation becomes cleaner on a greater scale, the showdown between natural gas and electricity will continue!
