Natural gas is easy and dependable

“The blue bullet is gone!  After years of looking at the “blue bullet” sitting in the front yard and trying to make sure it was refilled for the season, it was such a relief to hear that a natural gas line was coming to Deadstream Rd.  My family and I have not been disappointed.  The dependable supply of natural gas and the savings in our heating bills came as a welcome gift.  The business end of the installation was handled carefully and quickly.  Thank you for making your way to Deadstream Rd. and for taking away the blue bullet.” 

Jack H., Platte Lake, MI

A neighborhood reaps the benefits of converting to natural gas

When DTE notified us that natural gas would be available in our residential neighborhood if enough households would commit to convert, I was optimistic about it being the right thing to do for our home, but I still needed to convince my wife.  I used the calculators available on the website, which allowed me to determine the cost per BTU for propane compared to natural gas.  This allowed me to compare natural gas and propane like "apples to apples".  Even with our share of the neighborhood infrastructure costs (the surcharge) and the appliance conversion costs, I calculated a 3-4 year "breakeven point" to pay for the conversion costs and then I can start enjoying the savings of the conversion.  With these calculations and a positive outlook for our nation’s domestic production of natural gas, I was able to sway my wife and my mother-in-law to make the switch to natural gas. 

We paid off our infrastructure and conversion costs in less than 3 years.  Additional advantages of natural gas include a cleaner burning fuel creating less combustion deposits in each appliance, a predictable monthly billing, and with a "millivolt" backup heater, we were able to maintain habitable temperatures in our home without backup power during a big March snow storm.

From a construction standpoint, if a new home is going to be heated with natural gas, it makes sense to begin the process for hookup as soon as possible.  Once natural gas is available at the building site, temporary construction site heaters provide a dryer heat, which is valuable during the construction process.  And, the expense of the fuel costs used during construction can be sent directly to the homeowner.   It really is a no brainer to use natural gas on construction sites as long as you can get hooked up! 

Sean D., Honor, MI, Northern Michigan Home Builder