Residences are people's homes. Residences are the second biggest users of natural gas. Six in ten homes use natural gas for heating. Many homes also use gas water heaters, stoves, and clothes dryers. Like residences, commercial use of natural gas is mostly for heating.
Commercial use includes stores, offices, schools, churches, and hospitals.
Natural gas is also used to make electricity. Just as the heat energy in coal is used to make electricity, so can the heat energy in natural gas. Many people in the energy industry believe natural gas will play a bigger role in electricity production as the demand for electricity increases in the future. Because natural gas power plants are cheaper and cleaner than coal plants. Natural gas plants produce electricity about 20 percent more efficiently than new coal plants, and they produce it with far fewer air-polluting emissions.