Propane Usage Calculator

Estimate annual propane gallons from square footage, climate (heating degree days), and appliance load.

Inputs

NOAA / weather.gov publishes climate-normal HDD for most US cities.

A typical propane water heater uses ~200–250 gallons/year for a household of four. Set to 0 if you use electric.

estimated annual gallons

956 gal

Heating
656 gal
Appliances (water + cooking + dryer)
300 gal
With 10% buffer
1052 gal

Methodology

Annual propane = heating load + appliance load.

Heating uses the standard residential heuristic:

annual heating BTU ≈ sqft × HDD × insulation factor

Then converted to gallons via 91,500 BTU per gallon of propane and a seasonal furnace AFUE of 90% (typical for a modern condensing unit).

  1. Inputs: 2000 sqft × 4500 HDD × 6 (typical / average insulation).
  2. Heating gallons: 656 gal/year.
  3. Appliance gallons (water heating + cooking/dryer): 300 gal/year.
  4. Total: 956 gal/year. Adding a 10% buffer for cold winters: 1052 gal/year.

Heuristic only — for an exact number, use a Manual J residential load calculation. Insulation factors are common planning approximations, not a code value.

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