Do you have gas utilities in Florida? I have a gas dryer and was wondering if we could bring it with us.
This is a great question and one that is often asked by folks relocating to the Jacksonville Florida area - or any Florida relocation.
Yes, we do have gas in Florida, but we do not have natural gas everywhere in Jacksonville.
There are a handful of natural gas communities in the greater Jacksonville area, including Marsh Landing, Bartram Springs and Palencia. Residents of other communities find burying a Propane Gas tank in the yard to be a feasible substitute for natural gas.
Does propane cook as well as natural gas? In our experience, yes. There is no difference in the gas in cooking with propane vs. natural gas.
Does propane dry my clothes as well as natural gas? Yes. We had a natural gas dryer when we lived in Atlanta, then we converted it to propane when we moved to Jacksonville. It worked fine. Gas dries your clothes much faster than electric, and gas dryers have cool down cycles that help clothes have less static and wrinkles.
Why does Florida use propane? We don't know officially, but we imagine that it has something to do with the fact that we don't use fuel furnaces here except in the very old homes. Practically everything is electric and with our climate, there just isn't as much demand for heating fuel anyway. Natural gas is expensive to install, so most developers just don't do it.
Here is some information on natural gas which gives some comparison costs. Clearly, natural gas and propane are less expensive alternatives. According to Consumer Reports, a natural gas dryer is less expensive to run.
Should I bring my dryer? It's a personal decision. I brought mine when I moved here and loved it. When we bought our new washer/dryer in 2004, the hurricanes must have muddled our mind because we bought electric and it just doesn't dry as well as the gas one did. I wish I had my gas dryer back.
One more thing to consider - if you buy a house that is all electric, then you will have to arrange to convert to gas and bury a tank in your yard.
Some people are afraid of propane because it does have a slightly more chance of exploding if there is a leak because it is heavier than air (natural gas is lighter than air), but it does not ignite until the source is 960 degrees, compared with gasoline's flammability rate of 430 degrees. In other words, something has to be super hot to ignite propane.
Propane is an environmentally friendly choice because it is clean burning and does not pollute the air like coal burning and electrical plant sources.
Contact one of our local Gas Companies for more information.
People's Gas 904-739-1211 (Jacksonville)
Sawyer Gas (Jacksonville and Beaches) 904-296-8600
Wilford Gas (Orange Park) 904-264-2311
Amerigas (St. Augustine) 904-829-2241
Suburban Gas (St. Augustine) 904-829-5623
We are here to help you with any questions you have about your relocation to the Jacksonville Florida area. If this article has been helpful to you, we would love to hear from you. Just email or call and let us know how else we may assist you in your move to Jacksonville.
Sharon - This is great information for people looking to move to Florida. We're so used to natural gas or electric up north but there are small pockets here and where there gas is not readily available and they use propane.
Sharon,
that's quite an educational blog post for me. I did not know many of the facts you bring. I am in Florida, and here I dealt only with electric, so a lot of what you write about propane is new to me
Donna, this is an actual question a lady asked me just this week and it is not the first time, so I thought it would make a helpful post.
Jon, why thank you. We are mostly electric as well, but people who like gas use propane most of the time up here.
We use boht propane and natural gas if available for cooking. Most seem to prefer it!
Sharon and Frank, we use propane for our fireplace here is Virginia. A good source and less expensive than electric. Good information for people moving to Florida.
Sharon & Frank, we have both propane and natural gas communities in the Tampa-Bay area. Our last home was in a propane community. Fireplace, Stove, Dryer and Heat all ran on propane.
Being a former Florida resident and native, and owning a house SE of Orlando on the coast, natural gas is rare in Florida especially the further South you go. You don't need it. Some of the older homes (my fathers) were originally oil heat but have converted to Heat Pump.
Before bringing your appliances, and as you are looking for a Florida home, you may want to check with the communities of interest to make sure that you will be able to use your gas appliances or as noted in previous comments, look into using propane which is available.
This is a great blog, the very question comes up often from buyers relocating to Florida from Northeast. Thanks for the blog, it is very informative.
When you consider the cost, hassle, and occurence of possible damage, often it is better to leave things like appliances with the home you are selling and purchase newer ones when you arrive. Most of my sellers and buyers have found this to be true.
Bill, coming from the 'north' (Atlanta) I love cooking with gas. When the pros cook with something, there'a a reason. Gas trumps electric for heat control any day of the week.
Michael, it is great for fireplaces and lots of folks use propane here for the gas fireplaces as well.
Ed, that's the best package when you run all those appliances on propane. Then you bury a nice sized tank, have it filled a couple of times a year and you're good to go!
Tom, yes that's discussed in my post. And you're right. Orlando has a few natural gas communities but they are rare, just like here.
Thanks, Beth. The reason I finally put this in print is that it is a question that is frequently asked by our relocating buyers.
Michael, We have people that will almost buy a house because it has a gas stove or a gas dryer. It is a nice feature and even with gas prices high, people are willing to pay for it for the warmth and ease of cooking.
Sharon, this is SOOOO true here in Tampa too!! We have a FEW communities that offer gas, but MOST do not.
I have always owned an electric dryer...so I did not realize all the benefits of a gas one. Great post!
Hi Frank, I wish I had thought of asking this question before trucking my gas dryer here from Michigan. Hope your Holiday Season is the best ever !
Heather, my opinion is that if you have cooked with gas, electric is never even close to as good!
Angelina, heating just isn't as much an issue here as it is up north and it's certainly cheaper for builders to do electric.
Sonja, they are great!
Bill, oops! Well you could have converted it if the house were equipped...
Interesting. I have found here the older communities do use natural gas but everything is all electric! Nice info.
Wow - I would never have thought that the avaiilability of gas is a regional thing. Not being able to cook with gas would be a deal breaker for me!
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