Propane users -- a few questions please

[Denvergirlie]

So we are moving into a 2800 square foot house, all one level, but have 2 propane furnaces, for basically two separte parts of the house.

I just filled the tank with 200 gallons, they say it's 45% full now.

The rooms are big, but the house seems to be well insulated. 35% of the windows are double paned, but their are a lot of windows.

Any ideas on what an average propane heating system might cost? Seeing that we are moving into it, we don't have any historical data. Propane compnay said previous years use was 800 gallons. That seems to be an awful lot to me. Especially considering that the house has 2 firplaces and a cookstove that were heavily used for heat in the winter.

Can anyone share with me average useage numbers for your house and how much square footage is there?

From my understaning the water heater is electric as is the stove, so just furances would be drawing propane.

Geez, wasn't happy with the bill either.... $489... ouch, big huge ouch. If I went with 800 gallon in usage a heating season, then that's almost $2K for heat, assuming we burn fires all day as well for the main heat.
Is this normal?
I paid $2.39 a gallon. What prices to you pay?


Anything else I should know about propane?
Do any of you have a propane dector in your house? I understand that propane sinks to the floor, so at least no suffication like with natural gas.
The guy on customer service told me a bunch and said he was sending a fact book to me as well, but wondering if you have any hints to share.

thanks so much

[mtn.mama]

We pay $3-4 a gallon for propane and the price will just keep going up. You don't need a propane detector- its all laced with a sulfur compound that smells like rotten eggs. If you have a leak, you'll smell it, unless you're all so stuffed up you can't smell anything.

[GardenStream]

Our house is about 2300 square feet. The only things that use propane are the heat and the hot water heater. We don't have a fireplace. We had this house custom built in 2003. We have lots of windows and they're all double paned.

We pay between $2.35 and $3 per gallon for propane depending on when we buy it. The average cost per year is about $1500 and we keep the house at 64.

[Caneel]

My last propane bill was $4.64 per gal, which is too high. I need to call around to other providers. I was told by our heating guy that $2-$3 is the norm.

[Denvergirlie]

Thanks all, I really appreciate the feedback you've all given.

We have been in a poorly insulated house for the past 8 years, and am used to having a combined electric/ gas bill no higher than $200 a month in the dead of winter with keeping the heat around an average of 65 degrees.

I guess I will have to just used to the higher bills, as it sounds like what we are expecting in heating costs isn't to far off in the new place.

[wombatclay]

Sadly, that sounds about par for the course. If you have fireplaces with flues, a wood stove or pellet stove may be a good option. Open flame fireplaces are pretty, but don't heat well... but a wood stove or pellet stove can heat a house very nicely. Wood stoves require regular work but only cost a few hundred dollars plus the cost of wood.
Pellet stoves cost more up front but require less work. Around here (rural upstate ny) pellets are 250-300 a ton and we use roughly 1.5-2 tons a year.

Propane is artificially scented, but some people can't smell the additive... if the fact book your company sends is like the one we got there will be a scratch/sniff sticker with the additive. If you can't smell it then maybe a detector would provide peace of mind, if only to prevent emptying the tank and being out the money!

[Denvergirlie]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

If you have fireplaces with flues, a wood stove or pellet stove may be a good option. Open flame fireplaces are pretty, but don't heat well... but a wood stove or pellet stove can heat a house very nicely. Wood stoves require regular work but only cost a few hundred dollars plus the cost of wood.

We will have a fireplace with an insert and blower in the great room and 4 ceiling fans, an open fireplace in the bedroom, but have an insert for it, just need to install it.
We also have a cast iron cookstove in the kitchen, big one, 6 "burners". People have been burning wood in it, but we suspect it's really a coal burning stove due to size of the firebox.
We are used to a cooler house, but will be tracking the costs carefully.

I also found out that the average electric bill for this house is at best double to 4 times as high as I pay here. I sincerly hope these folks were just careless with energy useage, should be an intersting next few months.
thanks

[wombatclay]

Ouch!

Hmmm... the only thing I can think of is to check that there are no leaks on the propane tanks (the outdoor fittings where you wouldn't smell much, soapy water on the connections is fast/cheap) and no funky problems in the house systems. When we moved here the electric seemed high. It took a while, but we eventually tracked it down to a problem with the well pump and pressure tank... instead of filling the tank and turning off, the pump basically ran non-stop due to a loose fitting in the tank. It took about 20 minutes for DH to fix and dropped the electric bill by a good chunk.

Good luck! (and that stove sounds like fun!)

[annethcz]

Propane is much less expensive for us if we buy in bulk at the beginning of the heating season.

Last heating season (summer/fall 2008) we paid $2.30/gallon. This year the prices went down and we paid $1.35/gallon in the fall of 2009. Our house is about 2800 sq. ft- 1400 on the main floor and 1400 unfinished basement. We have a fair number of windows, but our house is 12 years old and was certified as an energy star home when it was built. We generally use 700-900 gallons of propane a year. This runs the furnace, water heater, and kitchen range. We don't use any supplemental heating.

[ScarletBegonias]

ugh! i HATE propane!

mini rant: the house we live in (in the freaking sierras) is entirely propane, electric well pump and no wood stove. when the power goes out, as it frequently does all winter, we have no heat, no water. it SUCKS!

we live in a brand new well- insulated, double window, 1,000 sq ft home and we go through $225 (1oo gal min delivery at @ $2.25/gal) in about 6-8 wks using the propane *sparingly*. we wash clothes with cold water, do a minimum of cooking (bunching meals together, other techniques), short showers, and we do not run the propane central heating but maybe twice a month for 15 minutes.

i think that the best way to conserve propane is to use your wood stoves as much as possible, and then do the other things i mentioned in the paragraph above.

many, many homebuilders are lured by propane systems, but, imo/ime, if you live anywhere it gets remotely cold for any length of time, you HAVE to have a wood stove or such, unless you are just wealthy and can blow $400-600/month running your house heater. i know because my in-laws bought a new home and before they installed a pellet stove, that is what their monthly propane bill looked like. in a 2,000 sq ft home, for 2 people who were gone at work 5 days a week for 10-12 hours per day. sadly, the story is the same for many families in the northern cal mtns.

it sounds like you may be fine though, if you are frugal and can rely on your stoves to heat your home!

[wombatclay]

quick, almost ot note... pellet stoves do need electric. If power loss is an issue, either a small generator (we have one that supplies enough energy to keep the well pump, stove, and fridge going) or a true solid fuel stove would be a better option.