Many people with propane appliances tend to use more gas in the winter than in the summer. However, you will still use propane even during the summer months. While the summer heat will replace the need for fireplaces, furnaces, and space heaters, propane can power numerous other appliances in your house, like your water heater and outdoor appliances like pool heaters or grills. 

• What Is a Normal Level of Propane Usage?
• Estimating Propane Usage
• Trust Smart Touch Energy With Your Propane Delivery

If your propane bill is higher than you would expect, it could mean you are underestimating the amount of propane you use. While it is best to err on the side of caution and have a professional check your propane tank for any potential leaks and evaluate your appliances' safety and efficiency, it will help you immensely to figure out an estimate of your propane usage.

What Is a Normal Level of Propane Usage?

So how much propane should you expect to use for your home's needs this summer? Normal propane usage depends on several factors, including your home's square footage, the surrounding climate, and your appliances' efficiency. Your propane appliances will not always run at 100% efficiency. Your propane usage may occasionally run at only 25% or 50% efficiency and can vary significantly throughout the day. 

You can also raise your propane usage more than you might expect from an increased number of hot showers, more instances for outdoor grilling, a greater amount of laundry to dry, and more time spent in the pool. Propane usage can vary in the summer, so it can be helpful to install a propane monitor for your tank. A propane tank monitor is a device you mount to your tank that tracks how much propane it has. A monitor can help keep you and your propane delivery team up-to-date on your level of propane, when it changes, and when you will need your next propane delivery.

Understanding how to read the gauge on your propane tank can save you time, money, and worry over your tank's efficiency or fuel level. It can also help you reduce the amount of propane you use per square foot of your home. Scheduling routine annual maintenance for your tank and propane-fueled appliances will help you maximize your appliances' performance.

Average Propane Usage for Common Home Appliances

It may also help to consider the amount of energy each of your appliances requires. You can get a rough estimate of how much propane you and your family typically use throughout the dog days of summer. While your indoor and outdoor appliances' efficiency can affect how much propane your appliances use, you can generally expect the following averages:

• Pool heater: It takes one gallon per hour per 100,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs) to heat a standard-sized 21,000-gallon pool, which breaks down to roughly four gallons of propane per hour. Using a pool cover can help you retain as much heat as possible in your pool and make the most out of your propane usage.
• Grill: For a grill on medium heat that uses 65,000 BTU per hour, you'll likely burn 0.75 gallons per hour. Larger grills can burn through 20 pounds of fuel in as little as 10 hours.
• Stove: A gas cooktop or range stove will burn roughly 5-10 gallons of propane per month and 35 gallons annually.
• Water heater: Your hot water heater will use an average of 250 gallons per year, or 1.5 gallons per day at 40,000 BTU per hour.
• Clothes dryer: A gas clothes dryer will average 20 gallons annually and less than one gallon per day when in operation.

Understanding the size of your propane tank will help you accurately measure how much propane you will require in the summer. It can also inform you how much propane you have left to use before your next delivery and prevent you from overfilling your tank.

Estimating Propane Usage

When it comes to summer energy usage, it can help to budget your propane usage accordingly. One simple and effective way to estimate your propane usage is to consider the square footage of your home. The following steps will help you understand how much propane your home will need to prepare for the summer.

1. Measure Your Home's Square Footage 

One way to calculate the amount of propane you need to fuel your home is to consider your home's square footage. While some houses may be more energy efficient than others, knowing your home's square footage by measuring the area of every room can help you determine your average annual usage of propane. To calculate each room's area, simply find each room's length and width and multiply those respective measurements.

2. Figure Out Your BTUs

After you have measured the total square footage of your home, you will want to calculate the total number of gallons of propane your family uses. After you have added together that amount, you can multiply it by 95,475 to convert the gallons of propane to the total amount of BTUs of energy usage, as there are 95,475 BTUs per gallon of propane.

3. Calculate the Total Heating Degree Days 

Your heating degree days (HDD) measure how cold it was on a given day or during a series of days, usually to a standard temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit in the United States. These numbers are available on your monthly utility bills as well as through the National Weather Service. HDDs can tell you how many heating degrees your house and the surrounding community have consumed each year.

4. Find Your Propane Usage Estimate

Finally, you can arrive at a more accurate idea of your propane usage throughout your home based on your home's location, size, and weather conditions. First, you should divide the total BTUs by the total square footage and then divide that number by the calculated amount of HDD you consume annually.

Trust Smart Touch Energy With Your Propane Delivery

When you need a prompt and reliable propane delivery service, you can count on Smart Touch Energy. Smart Touch Energy ensures fast and affordable residential propane delivery to many parts of Pennsylvania. Our convenient online ordering enables you to schedule your propane delivery with ease and take advantage of low seasonal rates. With our automatic and regularly scheduled deliveries, Smart Touch Energy helps you to keep track of your propane intake and maintain your appliances' efficiency.

Alongside your propane delivery, you can also schedule a preventive maintenance tune-up to ensure your propane system is working at its maximum efficiency for your home's appliances. Contact us today for more information and place an order online for full-service propane delivery.