How Much Propane Do I Use in a Day?

Be sure of your propane supply with Taylor!

With the way prices for everything have been lately, we understand wanting to know your propane usage so you can better plan your household spending.

Your propane usage, however, can vary greatly depending on the time of year and how you use propane in your home. Take a look at your Taylor statements to see just how much your usage varies from season to season.

Fortunately, we offer ways to make managing your propane costs easier with pricing and payment options such as our Budget Plan and Pre-buy. We also give you peace of mind about your propane supply with our Automatic Delivery and FREE wireless propane tank monitoring options.

A propane math lesson

Your propane appliances are likely all not running at 100% 24 hours a day. To make this more in line with average propane users, we’ve set up an example which estimates propane usage for running them at 25% and 50% capacity for 2 to 6 hours per day. 

The estimate for potential propane use can vary a great deal, between 1.2 and 7.2 gallons a day. Little things can raise your propane more than you think. For example, if you have friends or family visiting for a long weekend this summer, that means you’ll be using your dishwasher and cooking on your propane range more frequently, you’ll be doing more laundry and more people will be taking showers.

Here’s an example of how that can impact your propane usage: 

For a propane water heater, clothes dryer, and range run at 25% 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% 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% capacity for 6 hours = 3.6 gallons per day 
• 50% capacity for 2 hours = 2.4 gallons per day 
• 50% capacity for 6 hours 7.2 gallons per day 

If you have a propane pool heater (at 425,000 BTU/hour) that operates for one hour a day at 75% 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 

Because pool heaters use a lot of gas, we recommend that you use a swimming pool cover to retain as much of the pool’s heat as possible.
 
Estimates become more challenging if you have a propane whole-house backup generator since you don’t know when or if you’ll be using it, or how long you’ll need to use if the power goes out. Prepare yourself for any spikes in your propane costs by keeping track of any time your generator is used.

You get a better idea of just how much propane you have left if you know the size of your propane tank.

Become a Taylor customer and get the most reliable propane delivery in Southern Maryland!