How Much Does It Cost To Run A Generator On Natural Gas?

It is common to have problems with power outages but with the use of generators you can have access to electricity but to know if they can afford it or not. This article will guide you about the cost to run a generator on natural gas. 

Cost to run a generator on natural gas

If we have a generator of 5000 watts and it is running on 60% load cost then the cost to run a generator on natural gas is:

• The cost to run a generator on natural gas for an hour is about $0.24 per hour. 
• The cost to run a generator on natural gas for a day is about $7.79 per day. 
• The cost of running a generator on natural gas for a week is about $40.56 per week. 
• The average cost to run a generator on natural gas for a month is about $173.81 per month. 

The cost of running a generator on natural gas depends upon various factors and to get the cause of consumption using the formula is explained next. 

The cost to run a generator on natural gas depends on various factors:

• The size of the generator. 
• Price of natural gas. 
• Generator running load. 

Size of generator:

The size of the generator affects the natural gas running cost. For example, a 20000 watts generator is able to burn more natural gas than burning a generator of 5000 watts.

Price of natural gas:

The price of natural gas has a great effect on the cost to run a generator on natural gas. Let’s understand by example if we compare a generator that is able to burn natural gas at $20 per thousand cubic feet with a generator that burns natural gas at $10 per thousand cubic feet then the cost of running a $20 natural gas cost generator does have twice the cost per kWh than a $10 natural gas cost generator. 

Generator running load:

The cost to run a generator on natural gas will increase according to the running load. If you compare a generator running at 60% load and 40% load then a generator running at 60% load will have more cost to run it than a generator which is running at 40% load.

Gas Generator Fuel Consumption Formula:

The below-given formula will help you to find out the consumption of natural gas by the generator. 

For example, to get the natural gas consumed by a generator of 10000W which is fully loaded for 1 hour. So for 1 kWh, we need to have 7.3 cubic feet of natural gas, then for 10 kWh, we need to have 74.3 cubic feet of natural gas. To find the generator running cost let’s take $10.83 cost for 1000 cubic feet then for 74.3 cubic feet of natural gas use the formula:

Generator running cost = $10.83 × 74.3 cubic feet ÷ 1000 cubic feet = $0.80 per hour. 

General fuel consumption formula:

Calculate the gas generator fuel consumption using the formula:

Fuel consumption per hour = max. Wattage × load × 7.43 cubic feet of natural gas ÷ 1000

Here thousand is used to convert WH into kWh. 

Let’s understand it by an example, let’s take a 5000 watts generator running at 60% of the load. We have to find how much natural gas a generator consumes per hour. 

Fuel consumption per hour = 5000W × 0.6 × 7.43 cubic feet of natural gas ÷ 1000 = 22.29 cubic feet of natural gas. 

So by using the formula it is clear that a 5000 watts of generator which is running at 60% load will consume 22.29 cubic feet of natural gas per hour with means that, 

• It will consume 534.96 cubic feet of natural gas per day. 
• It will consume 374 4.72 cubic feet of natural gas per week. 
• A 5000 watts generator at 60% load will consume 16048.80 cubic feet of natural gas per month. 

As we know how to calculate the amount of natural gas which is consumed by a generator we can calculate how much it costs to run a generator. 

Generator running cost formula:

Taking the average natural gas price of residential users that is 1000 cubic feet of natural gas cost $10.83.Formula to calculate the Cost To Run A Generator On Natural Gas:

Running cost = quantity of gas consumed × price of natural gas ÷ 1000.

Assuming the same example which is mentioned above, a generator of 5000 watts which is used on 60% load will consume 22.29 cubic feet of natural gas then the cost to run a generator is. 

• It will cost $0.24 per hour. 
• The cost of running a 5000-watt of generator is $5.79 per day. 
• The cost of running a generator of 5000 watts at 60% load is $40.56 per week. 
• The cost of running a generator on natural gas at 60% load is $173.81 per month. 

The following table shows the list of different generator wattage, loads on them, and the running cost per hour. 

Conclusion:

So the cost to run a generator depends mainly on three factors the size of the generator, the price of the natural gas, and the load at a running generator. the table given above will help you to have the estimated cost to run a generator according to the load on the generator.

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Rick Costa

Hi, My Name is Rick Costa and I welcome you to my Blog, HousElectric.
Talking about the Website, I was Very Fond of Electronics from a very small age and my love for it grew as time passed. I then Opted for Electronics as a subject in the College along with Research on my own.
I then decided to share my Gathered Knowledge with you guys, So that it can help you too for Making Decisions and Solving Problems.

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