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Budget Your Propane Plan Accordingly

Propane gas is a clean burning, inexpensive choice to heat your home. You can use propane across your house, from your furnace, to your stove, to your fireplace. But how much will you need? How much will it cost?

This can be especially difficult to calculate given that many of us are currently working from home and using our appliances more than usual.

Let’s look at how much propane you can expect to use for each propane appliance. Before we dive in, remember, these estimates are averages. Propane usage varies depending on factors like how many people are in your home and how often you use propane appliances.

Don’t have time to scan the whole post? No problem.

Here’s how much propane you will use per month & the cost:

Appliance Average Monthly Usage
(in gallons)
Average Monthly Cost
(based on 2015 average price of $2.60)
Propane Furnace 80 $208
Hot Water Heater 20 $52
Propane Fireplace 16 $42
Propane Stove Ranges 3 $8
Propane Clothes Dryers 1.5 $4
Total Estimated Monthly Cost $314

Read on to see the break down of average monthly propane usage for the most common propane appliances. We’ll give you an idea of what factors affect the propane usage of each household appliance too.

Propane Usage per Appliance

Propane Gas Furnace (Annual Usage)

We will look at propane usage for your furnace on an annual basis. Why? Because most homes only run their furnace for 4-6 months. And the frequency of when we run it in the medium months vary.

Home Square Footage Annual Propane Usage
1,000 square feet 441 gallons annually
1,500 square feet 666 gallons annually
2,000 square feet 888 gallons annually
3,000+ square feet 1,300+ gallons

Annual usage will also depend on the efficiency of your house.

Propane Gas Water Heater

The rule of thumb here is that you will use a baseline of 5 gallons per month just to keep the water heater running. Then you will use approximately 5 gallons per month/person.

Number of people in household Monthly Propane Usage
2 people 10-15 gallons per month
4 people 25 gallons per month
5 + people 30+ gallons per month

Gas Ranges & Gas Dryers

Gas stove top ranges and gas clothes dryers will each use 3-5 gallons/month, depending on how often you use them. So if you use propane for whole house heating, using propane for your cooking and laundry is an efficient option.

What About Generators & Fireplaces?

Measuring usage for propane generators and fireplaces is tricky because there is not a standard way they are used. But generally, you can expect:

  • Generators to use 2-3 gallons of propane per hour
  • Fireplaces to use 1-3 gallons of propane per hour

The Average Cost of Propane Per Year

The average cost of propane per year (for homes that use propane for heating plus other appliances) is $2,000-$3,000. While this is more expensive on average than electric, it is less expensive than oil and more efficient than both.