When it comes to home remodeling projects, kitchens are among the most popular undertaking — not to mention, one of the most impactful projects a homeowner can tackle to increase their home’s value.
While homeowners might jump at the opportunity to choose countertops and cabinetry, they will likely turn to a trusted construction professional for guidance with some of the more mechanical decisions that go into most kitchen remodeling projects — including how to incorporate gas kitchen appliances.
Most professional chefs exclusively use gas cooking equipment and homeowners are taking notice. Homeowners are investigating how they can replicate a professional kitchen in their own homes, and if they aren’t located in an area where natural gas is available, they’re turning to propane-powered kitchen appliances. It’s important to be armed with the facts about propane appliances and how they perform and ultimately impact a home overall.
When it comes to kitchen appliances, homeowners have varying tastes and style preferences, but factors that ultimately drive decision-making usually include performance, energy consumption and cost, energy efficiency, environmental impact, style, and available incentives and rebates.
Here are the primary benefits construction professionals should be prepared to discuss when a client asks about what propane can do for their kitchen:
Performance that meets professional chef expectations.
Instant heat and absolute heat control are a few reasons that professional chefs and designers prefer high-performance gas ranges, cooktops and ovens.
Instant-on burners allow cooking to start right away and inversely, the instant-off capability provides a safety feature not found in many electric cooktops, which can remain dangerously hot for a few minutes after being turned off. A propane burner’s instant-off feature also allows food to start cooling immediately, preventing overcooking.
In addition, propane kitchen appliances offer precise temperature control from searing to simmering, smart controls for different cooking modes, griddle and grill features on ranges and cooktops, warming drawers, and ovens with convection and steam settings.
Propane appliances can offer affordable operating costs.
Depending primarily on frequency of use, propane ranges, ovens and other cooking appliances will have wide variations in energy use and costs. For example, homeowners using their range and/or oven daily will use more energy, and vice versa. A general estimate for propane usage in the kitchen is 40 - 60 gallons per year.
Because the cooktop heats up faster and turns off immediately, cooking is made easier and quicker — ultimately saving the homeowner money.
Energy efficiency beats out electric.
Homeowners can see considerable benefits of cooking with propane in many parts of the country because of the fuel’s efficiency. Electric cooking is a major load in regions like California, where the peak demand period on the electric grid often occurs in the late afternoons of hot summer days.
In fact, the energy factor of electric cooking appliances — which compares its overall energy use to its energy use in peak demand times — makes it the second-most significant load in the home, only to air-conditioning. For this reason, switching to cooking appliances powered by propane can ease peak load issues with the electric grid, as well as reduce electric bills.
Propane appliances are environmentally friendly.
Propane cooking equipment produces roughly 30% fewer carbon emissions when compared with electric appliances. Propane gas cooktops are a clean, environmentally friendly option for mindful homeowners interested in improving their home’s carbon footprint.
Style isn’t sacrificed.
Propane kitchen appliances offer a wide variety of products, designs, features and sizes, from top manufacturers, making them the perfect fit for any home project.
Propane kitchens also benefit the professional.
In addition to keeping clients happy, using propane appliances in a kitchen remodel project can benefit you, too.
Oftentimes, builders and remodelers may qualify for financial incentives and rebates for installing propane kitchen appliances. For example, using propane cooking equipment in combination with other propane systems makes projects eligible for the Propane Construction Incentive Program, offering up to $1,500 per home project.
Additionally, range and oven installations are made simple with flexible corrugated stainless-steel tubing (CSST) gas lines, which are easily routed to the equipment’s location.
Lastly, by providing clients with an upgrade to gas appliances, that extra level of service could lead to future work and referrals to help with business.
When it comes time to weigh in on a client’s decisions as a trusted construction professional, be prepared to offer guidance, expertise and knowledge. Communicating the effectiveness of propane technology can help transform a client’s house into their dream home. Don’t let your clients settle for less than propane performance.
