How Much Propane Do I Use in a Day?

Written on: April 18, 2022

Get control of your propane costs

daily propane use maineWith energy costs fluctuating as they have been recently, many of our propane delivery customers are looking for ways to better manage their own propane usage and costs.

Knowing how much propane you can expect to use would go a long way towards achieving that goal. It’s not always easy to do, as propane usage varies greatly from season to season. Look over your last year’s worth of AFC statements and you’ll see that.

No matter how your propane use changes over the course of a year, AFC offers several pricing and payment options you can choose from to take charge of your propane costs. You can select the ones that best suit your needs and budget.

How to calculate your propane usage

Because you are not likely to be using all your propane appliances at 100% capacity 24/7, the calculation below is for using them at 25% to 50% capacity for two to six hours a day.

The numbers in this table demonstrate how much your propane usage can vary a great deal, from 1.2 to 7.2 gallons each day. Just having guests or visiting family for a few days can increase your propane usage more than you may think, thanks to using more hot water for laundry and bathing, and using your propane range more for cooking. Here’s an example:

  • 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 

In summer, a propane pool heater (at 425,000 BTU/hour) that operates for one hour a day at 75% capacity would add 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 

If you use a propane pool heater, we suggest using a pool cover when the pool isn’t in use to help keep as much of the heat in the pool as possible as propane pool heaters consume a lot of propane.

Because you can’t know when or if you’ll need it, a propane generator might affect your propane usage predictions.

Do you have questions about our propane pricing and payment options? Would you like to set up a budget plan? Please reach out to us. We’re happy to help!