MOUNT VERNON – Looking at the difference between natural gas and propane can often be confusing, especially since propane is considered a natural gas.

But each one has advantages and disadvantaged of being used for heating, Santa Energy said on its website. 

The first difference between the two is that natural gas is made up of several gases, including propane. But propane itself is in its raw state; it is a hydrocarbon separated from the other natural gases at a processing facility, Propane 101 reported on its website. 

Energy content-wise, a furnace will use more natural gas per hour to heat a house than it will propane. A 100,000 BTU per hour furnace will use 97 cubic feet of natural gas per hour, compared to 40 cubic feet of propane. 

Looking at cost, propane is also be cheaper to use.

"At the time this article was written, the average cost of natural gas cost is $6.23 per 1,000 cubic feet, which is roughly one million BTUs," Santa Energy said. "The U.S. average cost for propane is $2.41 per gallon. One million BTUs of natural gas is roughly 11.20 gallons of propane. Which means for the same amount of fuel, you’ll pay $6.23 for natural gas and $26.99 for propane."

Bur propane is more than twice as efficient as natural gas, which means you will use less of it to heat the same area. So for overall efficiency and cost, propane is more economical, Santa Energy said.

Schilling Propane in Sandusky offers propane to customers as a way to save on their heating bills.