How much propane does a house use per month?
It depends on what the propane runs. EIA's 2020 household survey puts the average U.S. home that heats with propane at 390 gal a year for space heating, and the average home with a propane water heater at 183 gal. Heating gallons are not spread evenly: in a Northeast winter the coldest month burns about 1.9 times the monthly average. The tables below turn the yearly figures into months.
U.S. averages per home that uses propane for that purpose. They do not add up to one house, because most homes use propane for only some of the three.
Yearly gallons by state
EIA reports energy in million Btu. I divided by 91,452 Btu per gallon of propane (EIA) and rounded to whole gallons. A colder state heats with more, and the spread is wide: an average Michigan or Illinois home burns about twice what a Connecticut one does.
| Area | Space heating | Water heating | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 390 gal | 183 gal | 81 gal |
| Massachusetts | 390 gal | 201 gal | 160 gal |
| Connecticut | 330 gal | 215 gal | 93 gal |
| New York | 581 gal | 187 gal | 61 gal |
| Maine | 360 gal | 149 gal | 74 gal |
| Michigan | 739 gal | 204 gal | 100 gal |
| Minnesota | 616 gal | 208 gal | 86 gal |
| Illinois | 764 gal | 172 gal | 48 gal |
Source: EIA, table CE4.6.LP.ST, average site propane consumption in million Btu per household using the end use, 2020 survey (released June 2023).
Gallons per month, heat plus hot water
For the four states with a weather station in the heating oil per month table, I spread the state's space-heating gallons over the year by each month's normal heating degree days, and added the water-heating gallons in twelve equal parts, since hot water does not follow the weather. Other uses are left out. These are my estimates from averages.
| State (weather) | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts (Boston) | 93 | 82 | 75 | 52 | 33 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 22 | 40 | 60 | 81 | 592 |
| Connecticut (Hartford) | 84 | 74 | 65 | 44 | 29 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 23 | 39 | 56 | 74 | 545 |
| New York (Albany) | 131 | 113 | 99 | 63 | 34 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 26 | 55 | 83 | 114 | 768 |
| Maine (Portland, ME) | 80 | 70 | 63 | 45 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 37 | 52 | 69 | 509 |
Take Massachusetts with Boston weather. The average gives 390 gal of heat and 201 gal of hot water. January then comes to about 93 gal with both included, and July to about 17 gal, which is nearly all hot water.
What that does to a tank
A tank goes from the 80% fill line down to the 20% line I use as "empty", which is 60% of its size: 150 gal on a 250 and 300 gal on a 500. At January's daily rate the gallons last this many days, counting from a full fill:
| State (weather) | January gal | 250 gal tank | 500 gal tank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts (Boston) | 93 | 49 days | 99 days |
| Connecticut (Hartford) | 84 | 55 days | 110 days |
| New York (Albany) | 131 | 35 days | 71 days |
| Maine (Portland, ME) | 80 | 58 days | 116 days |
An average home. A larger or draftier house, or a cold snap, shortens these. I would order before the gauge reaches 20%, since deliveries can be slow in winter.
Find your own number
Last year's delivery slips give the real total: add the gallons from twelve months. Divide by twelve for a flat monthly figure, or use the shares in the table above for winter months. For a house with a propane furnace, how much propane a furnace uses works from the furnace rating and the outdoor temperature. If only a few appliances run on propane, the 120 gallon propane tank chart has days for a water heater, range and fireplace.
Two dated gauge readings give your actual rate. Put them into the calculator with a 500 gallon tank.
What the averages leave out
- EIA averages homes that use propane for that purpose, so a home that only heats water is in the water column and not in the heating one.
- The survey year is 2020. Weather and insulation vary, and so does what the survey calls typical.
- State averages hide large differences between a small tight house and a big old one.
- The monthly split assumes heating follows degree days and hot water stays flat.
Related
- 250 gallon propane tank chart: gallons by gauge percent and fills per year.
- 500 gallon propane tank chart: the usual size for a whole-house furnace.
- Cost to fill a tank: what a delivery costs at your price.