What is Normal Propane Usage During Summer Months?

Guessing Propane Usage in Summer Isn’t Always Easy

When trying to budget for your propane usage, summer can make that task a bit of a challenge. That’s especially true if you have several propane appliances that work behind the scenes, so to speak, like a propane water heater.

That uncertainty may lead you to suspect you have a propane gas leak, because you didn’t expect as much propane usage coming during the hottest months of the year.

If you do suspect a leak, do a leak test immediately. If you don’t have propane leak detectors installed in your home, we highly recommend that you get them. And if you smell propane, leave the house right away and follow all the propane safety instructions.

More often than not, however, you won’t have a leak at all – you just underestimated your propane usage! Want to avoid that guessing game? Our friends at Propane101.com have a plan for that. Use their handy guide to calculate your summer propane usage, taking into account common appliances at typical usage levels.

How to Estimate Your Summer Propane Usage

Since you are probably not running all your propane appliances at 100 percent all day long, the table below estimates propane usage for running them at 25 and 50 percent capacity for 2 to 6 hours a day.

The estimate for potential propane use can vary a great deal, between 1.2 and 7.2 gallons a day. Just a few extra loads of laundry from the kids’ soccer uniforms and some hot showers can jack up your propane usage way more than you’d think. Here’s an example of that:

For a gas water heater, clothes dryer and range run at 25 percent capacity for 2 hours a day:

220,000 BTU/hours (the total for all the appliances) ÷ 91,547 BTU/gallon of propane = 2.4 gallons per hour

2.4 gallons x .25 (25 percent capacity) = .6 gallons per hour

.6 gallons x 2 hours = 1.2 gallons

This number can then be used to calculate greater use of propane appliances:

• 25 percent capacity for 6 hours = 3.6 gallons per day
• 50 percent capacity for 2 hours = 2.4 gallons per day
• 50 percent capacity for 6 hours 7.2 gallons per day

Throw in a propane pool heater (at 425,000 BTU/hour) that operates for one hour a day at 75 percent capacity, which adds about 3.5 gallons to your daily usage:

425,000 BTU/hour ÷ 91,547 = 4.64 gallons/hour

4.65 x .75 = 3.48 gallons

Pool heaters use a lot of gas. That’s why we recommend using a swimming pool cover to help retain as much of the pool’s heat as possible!

Another appliance that can mess up your propane usage guesswork is a propane generator, since you don’t know when or if you’ll be using it in a power outage, or for how long. It’s a good idea to keep track of any time your propane whole house generator is in use so you can prepare for any spikes in your propane delivery bills.

Always make sure you know the size of your tank when factoring all these different possibilities – it’ll help you benchmark just how much you have left!

No matter how you calculate your propane usage, it’s always important to have enough propane on hand to keep your home comfortable and enjoyable this summer. When it comes to reliable propane delivery in Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, count on Advanced Propane. Contact us today and become an Advanced Propane customer!