LPG has a wide variety of uses in many different markets as an efficient fuel container in the agricultural, recreation, hospitality, industrial, construction, sailing and fishing sectors. It can serve as fuel for cooking, central heating and
water heating and is a particularly cost-effective and efficient way to heat off-grid homes.
Cooking LPG is used for cooking in many countries for economic reasons, for convenience or because it is the preferred fuel source. In India, nearly 28.5 million metric tons of LPG were consumed in the 2023–24 financial year in the domestic sector, mainly for cooking. In 2016, the number of domestic connections was 215 million (i.e., one connection for every six people) with a circulation of more than 350 million LPG cylinders. Most of the LPG requirement is imported. Piped city gas supply in India is not yet developed on a major scale. LPG is subsidised by the Indian government for domestic users. An increase in LPG prices has been a politically sensitive matter in India as it potentially affects the
middle class voting pattern. LPG was once a standard cooking fuel in
Hong Kong; however, the continued expansion of
town gas to newer buildings has reduced LPG usage to less than 24% of residential units. However, other than electric, induction, or infrared stoves, LPG-fueled stoves are the only type available in most suburban villages and many public housing estates. LPG is the most common cooking fuel in
Brazilian urban areas, being used in virtually all households, with the exception of the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, which have a natural gas pipeline infrastructure. Since 2001, poor families receive a government grant ("Vale Gás") used exclusively for the acquisition of LPG. Since 2003, this grant is part of the government's main social welfare program ("
Bolsa Família"). Also, since 2005, the national oil company
Petrobras differentiates between LPG destined for cooking and LPG destined for other uses, establishing a lower price for the former. This is a result of a directive from the Brazilian federal government, but its discontinuation is currently being debated. LPG is commonly used in
North America for domestic cooking and outdoor
grilling.
Rural heating Predominantly in Europe and rural parts of many countries, LPG can provide an alternative to
electric heating,
heating oil, or
kerosene. LPG is most often used in areas that do not have direct access to piped
natural gas. In the UK about 200,000 households use LPG for heating. LPG can be used as a power source for
combined heat and power technologies (CHP). CHP is the process of generating both electrical power and useful heat from a single fuel source. This technology has allowed LPG to be used not just as fuel for heating and cooking, but also for decentralized generation of electricity.
Motor fuel When LPG is used to fuel
internal combustion engines, it is often referred to as
autogas or auto propane. In some countries, it has been used since the 1940s as a petrol alternative for spark ignition engines. In some countries, there are additives in the liquid that extend engine life and the ratio of butane to propane is kept quite precise in fuel LPG. Two recent studies have examined LPG-fuel-oil fuel mixes and found that smoke emissions and fuel consumption are reduced but
hydrocarbon emissions are increased. The studies were split on CO emissions, with one finding significant increases, LPG's lowers emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter align with stricter standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), making LPG a viable transition option as the maritime industry transitions towards net zero carbon emissions.
Conversion to gasoline LPG can be converted into
alkylate which is a premium
gasoline blending stock because it has exceptional anti-knock properties and gives clean burning.
Refrigeration LPG is instrumental in providing
off-the-grid refrigeration, usually by means of a
gas absorption refrigerator. Blended from pure, dry propane (refrigerant designator
R-290) and
isobutane (R-600a) the blend "R-290a" has negligible
ozone depletion potential, very low
global warming potential and can serve as a functional replacement for
R-12,
R-22,
R-134a and other
chlorofluorocarbon or
hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants in conventional stationary refrigeration and air conditioning systems. Such substitution is widely prohibited or discouraged in motor vehicle air conditioning systems, on the grounds that using
flammable hydrocarbons in systems originally designed to carry non-flammable refrigerant presents a significant risk of fire or explosion. Vendors and advocates of hydrocarbon refrigerants argue against such bans on the grounds that there have been very few such incidents relative to the number of vehicle air conditioning systems filled with hydrocarbons. One particular test, conducted by a professor at the
University of New South Wales, unintentionally tested the worst-case scenario of a sudden and complete refrigerant expulsion into the passenger compartment followed by subsequent ignition. He and several others in the car sustained minor burns to their face, ears, and hands, and several observers received lacerations from the burst glass of the front passenger window. No one was seriously injured.
Aerosol propellant ==Storage==