Natural gas can be priced in dollars per therm, dollars per MMBtu, or dollars per cubic foot in the United States. 1 To translate these costs from one price basis to another, the heat content of natural gas per physical unit (such as Btu per cubic foot) is required. The annual average heat content of natural gas provided to consumers in the United States in 2020 was around 1,037 Btu per cubic foot. As a result, 100 Ccf of natural gas equals 103,700 Btu, or 1.037 therms. A thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of natural gas equals 1.037 million British thermal units (MBtu), or 10.37 therms.
These calculations can be used to convert natural gas prices from one pricing basis to another (assuming a heat content of 1,037 Btu per cubic foot):
Natural gas heat content varies by location and type of natural gas customer, as well as with time. For information on the heat content of the natural gas they supply to their clients, consumers and analysts should contact natural gas distribution firms or natural gas suppliers. Customers’ invoices may include this information from some natural gas distribution providers or utilities.
1 Natural gas was measured in cubic feet by the US Energy Information Administration from 1964 to 1964 at a pressure of 14.65 psia (poundspersquareinchabsolute) at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Since 1965, the pressurebase has been 14.73 psia at 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a cubic foot, how many Btu are there?
The energy of natural gas is measured in BTUs, or British thermal units. The heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit is equal to one BTU. A BTU is about equal to the amount of heat produced by a burning wooden match. Natural gas has 1,015 BTUs per cubic foot.
What is the formula for calculating natural gas?
With natural gas usage on the rise, many applications for thermal energy that formerly relied on other fuels, such as steam or hot water, may be candidates for conversion to natural gas. Given the current price differential between natural gas and propane, I believe propane will be used mostly as a backup fuel in the event of gas shortages.
We’ll focus on quick calculation formats so you can select gas line sizes, pressure regulators, control valves, and related equipment based on flow rates in cubic feet per hour. We’ll progress from simple to more difficult computations.
New natural gas equipment will have a BTU per hour rating. Let’s say you want to replace a steam unit heater with a new gas-fired one that can produce 100,000 BTU/HR.
The required flow rate for this new unit heater would be 1000 CFH (100,000 1000) using our rounded safe value of 1000 BTU per cubic foot on natural gas.
Steam or hot water coils are used to heat the air in many air heating applications. If you’re thinking about switching to natural gas, here’s a handy formula for calculating the gas flow rate.
Finding data on air flows when undertaking a retrofit to an old system can be a significant difficulty. This formula may be useful if you find yourself in this circumstance.
Measure the velocity in the air duct with an air velocity meter for the best accuracy. If that isn’t practicable, most HVAC heating applications have an air velocity of 500 to 700 feet per minute. When it comes to process air, the range can be anything from 500 to 1200 feet per minute, therefore measuring air velocities is a good idea.
Check the web for sites that provide engineering information for various air heating applications, such as
Natural gas, like other forms of heat, can be a suitable alternative for heating water and reaping the benefits of natural gas. The following is a fast formula for calculating gas flows:
The rate of temperature rise is used in heating calculations. With a little arithmetic, you may get an equivalent gallons per minute figure if you’re heating a quantity of water from an initial to a final temperature over a period of time.
Assume you want to heat 100 gallons of water from 60 degrees to 180 degrees Fahrenheit in ten minutes. 10 GPM (100 Gallons 10 minutes) is the same as heating 100 gallons of water in 10 minutes.
Many heating applications could be better served by looking at natural gas as a replacement energy source, especially with the emphasis on green and efficient operations and chances to replace other fossil fuels.
How do you figure out how many BTUs a gas has?
General safety warning: inappropriate natural or “LP” gas installation, as well as poor inspection and testing methods, can result in harmful conditions, including fire or explosion.
If you smell gas, leave the building immediately and avoid doing anything that could cause a spark, such as turning on a light switch or dialing a phone number. Call your gas company’s emergency number and/or your local fire department from a safe area. The text supplied here is a rough draft that may be erroneous or incomplete.
Gas meters by American Meter Company are shown at the top and left of the page. The AC250 is at the top of the page, and we have further information about it at the end of this article. The American Meter – Singer Co. AC-95 gas meter is seen above.
How to Calculate, Measure, and Set LP “Bottled” Gas or Natural Gas Pressures & BTUH per Cubic Foot is discussed here.
What are the average pressures in a natural gas or LP fuel system, and how do they differ? What is the distinction between butane, propane, and natural gas? Can we just use butane instead of propane or LPG?
How to calculate the BTU capacity of LP or natural gas fired equipment, heaters, or appliances
Computing BTUH: Technical Note: You can calculate your gas-fired equipment’s BTUs per hour of gas usage. Make sure only one gas appliance is on and keep an eye on the gas meter to see how long it takes to utilize one cubic foot of gas.
The amount you calculate for an appliance’s BTU capacity should be close to the nameplate “input” BTUH on the device.
How many cubic feet of natural gas or propane will a heating furnace or boiler consume per hour?
- In an hour of “burner on” time, a 100,000 BTUh furnace will use around 95 cubic feet of natural gas (100,000 1,050 = 95.21).
- In an hour of “burner on” time, a 100,000 BTUh heater will use around 40 cubic feet of propane (100,000 2500 = 40).
How to calculate the conversion ofgallons of propane or natural gas to pounds or BTUs or to volume of gas
A gallon of propane has around 91,500 BTUs and weighs approximately 4.20 pounds. A pound of propane has around 21,500 BTUs in it. The details of the calculation are listed below.
At 60 degrees Fahrenheit, one gallon of LP-gas (propane or C3H8) weighs about 4.20 pounds, contains about 8.66 cubic feet of gas vapor per pound, burns at 3,595 degrees Fahrenheit in air, and takes 23.86 cubic feet of combustion air to burn correctly.
When converting between cubic feet of gas and liquid gallons, keeping the temperature constant aids in decoding common cubic foot gas meter values.
- At 60 degrees Fahrenheit, 1 gallon of LP gas C3H8 weighs 4.20 pounds and holds 8.66 cubic feet per pound.
- Per gallon of LPG, 4.20 pounds x 8.66 cubic feet/pound Equals 36 cubic feet of gas (at 60F).
- At 60F, 1 cubic foot of LP gasC3H8 equals 1/36 gallon of liquid LP or around 0.3 gallon of liquid LP.
Butane Gas Properties
Butane gas (C4H10) has a different set of numbers. One gallon of butane-based LP gas costs:
- Per pound, 1 gallon of butane contains approximately 6.51 cubic feet of gas vapor (at 60 deg. F),
- to smolder To burn correctly, 1 gallon of butane takes 31.02 cubic feet of combustion air.
Our weights and measures for LP gas were corrected thanks to reader Fred G. Van Orsdol. Additional technical editing was provided by reader Bay Ground Control.
What are the common operating pressures of natural gas and LP or “liquid petroleum” gas in the building gas piping and at the appliance?
There are details on LP gas pressures and natural gas pressures in buildings and in gas-fired appliances.
What is the cost of a cubic foot of natural gas?
Natural gas per therm average price That works out to $0.95 per CCF. It’s a natural gas therm price of $0.92 based on the national average heat content of 1,037 Btu per cubic foot in 2019.
A 400000 BTU heater consumes how much natural gas?
Propane heaters use approximately 1 gallon of propane every 100,000 BTUs. This equates to 4 gallons per hour for a typical 400,000 BTU heater. Propane is currently priced between $4.50 and $5 a gallon. Check with your provider for the most up-to-date pricing. In most cases, one hour on propane will set you back $ 18.00. With no solar cover, an average pool (10-12K gallon) takes 8-14 hours to heat. When you use a solar blanket to heat your pool, you will considerably improve the effectiveness of the heating process and reduce evaporative heat loss.
Natural gas heaters (often referred to as NG heaters) consume approximately 1 therm per hour per 100,000 BTUs. That’s 4 therms per hour for a typical 400,000 BTU pool heater. Natural gas costs roughly $1.50 per therm near Tampa right now. On average, it costs roughly $7.00 to heat a pool for one hour using natural gas. With no solar cover, an average pool (10-12K gallon) takes 8-14 hours to heat. When you use a solar blanket to heat your pool, you will considerably improve the effectiveness of the heating process and reduce evaporative heat loss.
Heat pumps consume about 5,000 watts per 100,000 BTUs, or 5 kilowatts per hour. That’s 5 kilowatts per hour for a standard size 100,000 BTU heat pump. In our neighborhood, the average cost of power is $.16 cents per kilowatt hour. Electricity rates vary by utility supplier, so double-check yours. One hour on a heat pump, for example, will cost.80 cents. Expect 1 to 1.5 degrees of change each hour to heat an ordinary pool (10-12K gallon) without a solar cover. When you use a solar blanket to heat your pool, you will considerably improve the effectiveness of the heating process and reduce evaporative heat loss. Please keep in mind that if your water is colder than usual, heating periods will be longer!
Heat pumps are typically the least expensive choice for heating your pool in terms of operating costs.
A gas heater will heat your pool considerably faster than a heat pump, but it will usually be more expensive.
A heat pump heats your water by drawing ambient air through coils, thus as the air temperature drops below 50 degrees, the effectiveness of the equipment drops. To minimize lower temperatures and enhance heating effectiveness, we recommend just heating your pool during the day.
A gas heater is a great alternative if you want to get into the spa faster. In terms of heating time, a Heat Pump takes much longer to heat and is not as efficient as a gas heater.
Heat pumps cost around $3600.00, whereas gas heaters cost between $ 2300.00 and $ 2900.00 when installed.
For a 1 inch gas line, how many BTUs do I need?
For a 30′ run of natural gas, a burner using 374,000 BTU would require a 1″ pipe. The flow rate of liquid propane is measured in thousands of BTU/hour. 2516 BTUs per cubic foot of LP gas
How do you figure out how many BTUs a burner has?
Determine the stove’s energy output using the manufacturer’s information or the label on the back of the item. For electric stoves, the listing should be in watts, but for gas stoves, the listing will already be in BTUs. The heating elements on most electric stoves come in three sizes: a small element that uses roughly 1,200 watts, a large element that uses 2,500 watts, or two medium elements that use 1,500 to 1,800 watts.
