Natural Gas in Levittown, PA (Middletown: house, heat pump, established neighborhood)

[suryjuto]

We just bought a house last summer in Levittown (Middletown Township). After our first winter with oil heat, I realize I'm not a fan So I started looking at converting to natural gas. That idea was quickly nixed when I called PECO and they said there is no natural gas main near our street.

Any idea why natural gas availability is so limited in Levittown?

[Angus215]

depends on whether there was a gas line when the area was developed. in my neighborhood in north wales, there is no gas line either because at the time it was built out in the late 80s / early 90s, there was no gas line out to that area. new communities right down the road do have natural gas, however, because PECO eventually added gas lines to the area. i have a high efficiency electric heat pump. you could look into that or propane as an alternative to oil.

[ooodsie]

Like the previous poster said, it's just kind of a neighborhood by neighborhood thing.. If you are near a new shopping center or development, chances are gas could go in in the near future, if you're in the middle of an established neighborhood, chances are slim. I would definitely look into propane though.. A lot of new construction builders are actually moving to large propane tanks instead of gas.

[bryson662001]

My guess is that Levittown was built on a tight budget to offer the best value for the dollar and putting in gas lines for such a large development may have been seen as an unnecessary expense since electricity and fuel oil were relatively inexpensive in those days. I have seen housing ads from the '50's and '60's where "all electric" is featured as a modern advantage, even for cooking. Gas was probably considered "old fashioned".