Find answers to our most frequently asked natural gas inquiries, as well as information on natural gas safety, rebates, and other relevant issues.
Is Natural Gas Safe?
Natural gas is often regarded as one of the safest and most dependable energy sources. The natural gas sector not only takes severe precautions to assure the highest level of pipeline safety, but the unmistakable ‘rotten egg’ odor added to natural gas allows you to identify even the smallest leak. See why more than 750,000 homes and companies in Florida rely on natural gas as a reliable source of energy.
What Should I Do If I Suspect A Natural Gas Leak?
If you smell a rotten egg odor or suspect a natural gas leak, evacuate your home or business immediately and contact 800.427.7712 (or phone 911) once you’re outside. DO NOT smoke, use an indoor phone, light a match, touch electric switches, or do anything else that could generate a spark, resulting in an explosion or fire.
Does FPU Offer Any Rebates or Incentives For Including Natural Gas Appliances or Equipment?
FPU provides a number of rebates and incentives to help with the upfront costs of installing natural gas equipment, including:
- Residential customers who replace their old appliances (gas or non-gas) with new natural gas appliances are eligible for rebates.
- Commercial clients who install qualifying natural gas commercial equipment are eligible for rebates.
- Builders who use natural gas in their developments are eligible for multifamily incentives.
How Do I Redeem My Natural Gas Rebate(s)?
You have the option of submitting your refund claim online or via mail. Simply visit our Online Rebate Center to get an online rebate. You’ll find everything you need to complete the online application, step by step, right here. On our Redeeming Your Rebate page, you’ll discover a list of items you’ll need to claim a mail-in rebate. You may also check the progress of your mail-in refund on this page.
Please keep in mind that you have one year from the date of purchase to file for appliance/equipment rebates. The rebate offer will stop at the end of the 12-month period.
What Are The Major Benefits of Natural Gas Appliances?
Natural gas appliances offer a variety of immediate and long-term advantages, such as cost and energy savings, higher value and performance, and more.
To see a long list of ‘natural gas advantages,’ click on the corresponding category below.
How can I tell if my house is powered by natural gas?
When you’re standing in front of your water heater, how do you know whether it’s electric or gas? Begin by looking for an access panel on the water heater’s side. If you take it out and see a blue flame, you have a pilot light, which is only seen on gas models. Gas water heaters have connected pipes, whereas electric water heaters have a cord coming into the top or side of the unit.
Is there gas on my land in Australia?
Your gas retailerthe company that sends you a billis not the same as the company that provides gas to your location via pipeline networks. The pipes are owned and operated by your distributor, who also inspects, tests, repairs, replaces, and maintains them.
Natural gas distribution networks are not available in all places. Call the APA Customer Connections Line at 1300 001 001, go to the Australian Gas Networks website, or contact one of the distributors listed below to see if gas is available in your area.
How can I tell whether my central heating system is gas or electric?
It’s a gas heat exchanger if you notice a blue flame. A little metal panel will be easy to remove on other units. You can look behind you to see if there’s a blue flame. Electric systems do not have an access window or panel, and they are quiet.
Is the gas used in the home natural gas?
LPG stands for liquefied petroleum gas, which can be propane or butane and has a heat content of 93.2 MJ/m3. Natural gas, on the other hand, is mostly methane, with a heat content of 38.7MJ/M3.
Natural gas is distributed to residences using subterranean gas pipelines. LPG is provided in propane tanks that are similar to those used for grilling. Natural gas is lighter than LPG, while LPG is heavier than air. Leaks of LPG become more dangerous as a result of this.
Is natural gas available in Florida homes?
Natural gas is not only the most common source of energy for heating, water heating, and cooking in American houses, but it is also used by Florida residents for clothes drying, grilling, pool and spa heating, and so on.
Why don’t gas stoves exist in Florida?
Environmentalists spoke against the bill this week before the Senate Commerce Committee, claiming that it will make it more difficult for local governments in Florida to transition to a clean energy portfolio.
The Florida Natural Gas Association is in favor of the bill, as are investor-owned utilities like Tampa Electric Company, which did not respond to a request for comment.
California is at the forefront of banning natural gas hookups, with 21 localities passing ordinances requiring all-electric construction.
While no local government in Florida has stated that natural gas will be prohibited in new construction, the city of Miami has stated that it will need to prohibit natural gas hookups in new construction as soon as possible if it is to meet its carbon-neutral goals by 2050, according to the Miami Herald.
A total of 11 cities in Florida have pledged to being fossil-fuel-free within the next several decades. The Tampa City Council had planned to make Cigar City the twelfth, but those plans have been put on hold for the time being.
Travis Hutson, a Republican from Palm Coast, is the bill’s sponsor in the Senate. He told members of the Florida Senate Commerce Committee this week that he believes consumers, not local governments, should be able to choose what type of energy source they utilize.
Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Tennessee are the four states that have already approved laws prohibiting communities from enacting natural gas bans.
According to Inside Climate News, Florida is one of a dozen states considering similar prohibitions this year.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, natural gas is a fossil fuel that provides 33 percent of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation. The principal greenhouse gas responsible for climate change is carbon dioxide.
Natural gas is Florida’s (and the country’s) primary source of electricity, accounting for more than 70% of total generation.
Environmentalists have focused their attention on the risks of gas stoves, alleging that they pollute indoor air.
Fossil fuels are a problem not only because of climate change, but also because they pollute the environment wherever they are burned. Dr. Anne Mellinger-Birdsong, an Atlanta-based epidemiologist and member of the group Mothers and Others for Clean Air, argues that if you burn gas inside your home, you’re creating pollution within your home.
Dr. Catherine Toms, a mother and child health specialist in Palm Beach County, feels that gas ovens emit chemicals that are particularly dangerous to young children.
The Florida Natural Gas Association’s executive director, Dale Calhoun, flatly denies the charges, saying, “There is nothing out there that the federal government asserts or gives that there are any dangerous emissions to anyone within their home by cooking with gas.”
If you have a gas appliance that isn’t working properly, Calhoun advises, “you should probably get it fixed.”
According to a 2017 kitchen audit by the NPD Group, approximately 35 percent of American houses have a gas stove, while 55 percent have an electric stove.
Natural gas, according to Calhoun, will be available for decades since it is renewable, absorbing organic waste at landfills and wastewater treatment facilities.
There’s a huge amount of methane or biogas that is converted to methane and then fed into pipelines at those facilities, he explains.
Another point of contention on this subject is whether it is more cost effective to construct structures using electric rather than natural gas. In many scenarios, electrification of space and water heating and air conditioning reduces the homeowner’s costs over the lifetime of the appliances when compared to performing the same functions with fossil fuels, according to a 2018 study by the Rocky Mountain Institute that looked at the electric rate structure in four U.S. cities (Oakland, Houston, Providence, and Chicago).
Calhoun disagrees, claiming that switching to all-electric would cost thousands of dollars if the house is now set up for gas.
Tallahassee is removing the potential that local governments may follow the lead of cities like Berkeley and San Jose, which have imposed limits on natural gas use in new constructions, according to critics.
Polk County Republican Josie Tomkow is the bill’s House companion (HB 919) sponsor. It has now been referred to the House Subcommittee on Local Administration and Veterans Affairs, which is chaired by Tampa Republican Jackie Toledo.
What cities have outlawed the use of gas stoves?
The council resolution in New York City is a big step forward for other communities attempting to reduce carbon emissions in the fight against climate change.
A growing number of communities in states like California, Massachusetts, and Washington seek to move away from natural gas combustion in their houses.
Berkeley, California became the first city in the United States to prohibit gas hookups in most new residences and buildings, citing climate change as a reason.
At least 50 California communities have approved similar regulations since then, including San Francisco and Sacramento.