I moved into my country home last August. We heat with propane. The propane tank was full when we moved in. It was refilled on December 15 ($400.00). It has been pretty cold here in the last month, most days windchills -20. I thought the propane fill in December would maybe last me until Spring. Silly girl! They came again yesterday and refilled my tank. Another $400.00. YIKES! $400.00 a month is a LOT. Am I disillusioned? Do I need to invest in a long underwear company, suck it up, and turn my furnace down to 50? Looking for others’ experiences in like climates (central Illinois).
How big is your propane tank? If it’s only 250 gallons, that sounds about right.
if you have a 500 gallon tank, something is wrong, IMO. We have a 500 gallon tank and only fill twice yearly - I live in Middle Tennessee but my roots are on the OH/PA border so I am pretty familiar with gas and fuel oil usage:)
The furnace filter should be changed once a month — you would be surprised how much dirt fills a filter this time of year and affects furnace efficiency. Your furnace may also need a tune-up to keep it from running so much, thus not sucking up a lot of propane in a short amount of time.
What temperature is your thermostat set? If you have it at 72 degrees, your furnace is probably running almost non-stop because of the cold we have had so far. I keep our thermostat at 66 and tell DH to suck it up, wear more clothes, and furnace still runs a lot at night when we get to freezing or below.
how well insulated your home is (including windows) also makes a huge difference as to how much a furnace runs.
Also, you need to check the gauge on your propane tank before and after the fill. I don’t know about Illinois but in Tennessee, a complete fill is only 80% on the gauge. if you only have a 250 gallon tank and law only permits it to be filled to 80%, that could be another part of the formula as to why you’re blasting thru so much propane:)
it would honestly be best, if you find an honest professional to evaluate your furnace’s efficiency.
1 Like
How big of tank do you have? Also how big of a home are you heating? When we heated with propane only a 1000 gallon tank filled late summer. That lasted till mid january or so, then we usually only filled tank one more time in late march. But we also keep house at 68 degrees Gas was also used to heat hot water.
Where we are there are different deals with the gas companies. Can pre buy your propane for the winter if you know about how much you’ll use. Can be on auto refill or can choose to call in when you need gas. If you choose the will call way. We were told call in when tank is to 20 percent,there’s at least a week before they will deliver.
Gas companies put out there pre buy deals, late summer have to have it in and payed for by a certain date…otherwise your out of luck.
We use mainly wood heat now, gas is only used for backup heat,or when wood stove can’t keep up.
Is $400 actually taking you from empty to full?
They come fill our propane tank on a schedule, it has never gotten anywhere near empty.
With the extreme temperatures you should expect some extreme heat bills.
Is your furnace the only thing you use propane for?
I added a propane heater to my home 2 years ago. The “intro” rate was 99 cents a gallon. Now it is up to $5. In New York State, our attorney general is now looking into whether the propane companies are price gouging because of the extreme cold we have had. I feel gouged, anyway…
We’ve been heating with propane for more than 20 years. Frankly, it SUX.
But for a lot of rural property owners it’s the only practical game in town. That’s particularly true in places like the TN Valley where average sunlight is not particularly robust. You’ll do better in Central IL on sunlight but then there’s the wind!!! It’s not just in OK where the wind comes sweeping down the plain! I grew up just south of Chicago so I’m aware of the issue!!! 
As noted if you have a small tank you will be filling up more frequently. But even with a BIG tank if you have long, deep cold snap (like our recent one where we had almost two weeks of below freezing temps) you will burn a LOT of gas.
Start by doing your own “energy audit.” Walk around your house and look for cold spots. Windows and doors are frequent culprits. Block drafts as you find them as best you can for now and make a list for permanent fixes when the weather warms up. How’s your insulation? If you have an older house that’s not seen too much upgrading it might be poor quality. Even newer houses in rural areas often are not done as well as they might be.
What kind of vegetation do you have around the house to break the wind?
What kind of heating system do you have? How old is it? When was the last time it was cleaned and adjusted? When was the last time you changed your filters?
While not an optimum solution you can use small space heaters on REALLY cold days to supplement a room.
It gets cold in Central IL in the winter. That’s just geography. Now that you know you have a problem you can think about strategies to cut your heating bill next year.
Good luck as you go forward!!!
G.
Central AL, 500-gallon tank. Fuel is about $2/gallon, give or take. We try to take advantage of Summer rates and top it off before September each year. We only have to fill it once/year, but again- I’m in Central AL.Sleep at 62 in the winter, days I want it at 66.
Get a smart thermostat - my house can drop into the 50s during the day, I don’t care, I’m not home.
Good heavy drapes can help hold heat in. We have too many pretty windows- they are modern and efficient, but still- we should get some window coverings to help retain heat.
I have a modern oil heater with thermostat and timer in our upstairs to help keep the heat evenly distributed (unfinished area up there).
I’m sorry, that’s quite a bill to get all the time 
I’ll have to look at the size of my tank. If I calculate $400 divided by $1.85/gallon, that would equal a 250 gallon tank, but I’ll have to verify that.
Since the house is new to us, I think you have to live in a home a year to find out all the nuances it has. The furnace is fairly new. I’ll clean the filter - it certainly can’t hurt!
I had thought about turning down the temp when we’re not there, but if I put it at, say 60, during the day when we are at work and at night when we’re sleeping, and maybe 68 when we’re up and about, will it actually use MORE fuel bringing the house up to that temperature, rather than just maintaining it at 68? I don’t know.
Is the home new or new to you? If the later, definitely consider an energy audit. They are usually free. Turning down your thermostat is always a good idea. This past month was brutally cold. Our energy bill spiked as well. Add to that the fact that energy prices in general are rising, heating costs are going up this winter.
You can shop around at different propane companies and prepay ( late summer) to get a better price per gallon. I would suggest a few things which will help it be more manageable if your house is old / or newer and not well insulated.
-
Once the major heating season is over ( April) start putting so much away per month so you have a surplus when the tank needs filling and never have to come up with a big amount of cash. Budget for it.
-
Call for a fill when it is at 50%. You will need to check it often, but it is worth it.
-
When it is extremely cold out lower the thermostat . We are 60 at night and 65 during the day. You do acclimate, and if you feel cool put on a sweater or sweatshirt etc…
-
My rural electric co-op here will line you up with having an energy audit. Since your house is new to you they may be able to help with ways you can keep your heat inside during the winter and your cool air inside during the summer. Well worth it.
A note on “shopping around.” Who owns the tank? If the tank came with the horse then a body can fill it from whoever they wish. But if it’s a “rental” then you can only do it from the owner.
G.
2 Likes
That is a new one on me. Didn’t know horses came with propane tanks. :D:D:D:D
2 Likes
Mine do, but it’s an internal tank. They vent excess gas pressure regularly.
To get extra speed I sometimes mount an igniter just behind the tail. Gives you that extra bit of thrust, don’t you know!!!
G.
4 Likes
We have 2 x 1000 gallon tanks. We generally fill in the late summer and maybe top up in the Spring. The key is to have a big enough tank or tanks to be able to buy at the lowest price of the year–which is usually in the summer time. Buying at this time of year gets ridiculous (and we are impossible to access with a propane truck.) v We rent our tanks, but we’ve been around long enough that we rent them from one of the more competitive suppliers around here.
We have a community facebook page and one of the enduring topics is the current price of propane–pretty useful! It’s breathtaking how much some of the newbies get ripped off by the bigger propane suppliers (Suburban and Amerigas are prime offenders) when they first move up here.
We heat and cook with propane, but water is done with electricity as we have quite a big solar array on our roof–thank goodness.
We also have a powerful pellet stove that we run pretty much every evening during the winter, which makes a significant difference to our propane use.
We have an old drafty log house. We are never going to die of CO poisoning, but the gas bills are higher than they would be for a tighter house!
My house is new to me, but not new. It was built in 1936. It’s had some updates, but I don’t know about the insulation. I know it does have insulation in the attic. I’ll have in inquire about prepaying. We rent the tank. It was already here when we bought the house and I just kept it because I didn’t know the companies in the area. I’ve since found out my friend is paying .40 cents per gallon less than me from a different company. I have the thermostat set on 65 right now!
We heat with propane and my bill for midwinter months can run around $400. We now have a budget plan and the bill is averaged out over 10 months.
Pay serious attention to this. Even with a newer, more efficient gas furnace, if the heat it’s producing is just turning around and heading outside through the roof, walls, doors and windows, you’re going to burn fuel fast and furiously. Air infiltration should be your first task at mitigating…drafts through improperly sealed windows and doors, outlets, etc. A 1936 home wasn’t likely built with those things in mind and you can’t assume that along the way everything was updated. You may need storm windows, even if it’s temporary clear plastic. Insulation in the ceiling above the top floor is also critical and usually the easiest to mitigate, generally with blown-in insulation.
2 Likes
In response to “If I turn the heat down during the day, will it cost more to heat it up again at night?” Spoiler alert: no.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sc-cons-1113-karpspend-20141107-column.html
With the age of the house, I would assume there is not much insulation. We have a 1956 rancher that we gut renovated. When the house was being torn apart for renovation, we came to find out the only insulation in the entire house was a space of 7’ along a north facing exterior wall where the bathroom was. We insulated all exterior walls, as well blew insulation into the attic.
Another thing to keep in mind is the age of the windows and doors. Replacement windows are worth their weight in gold, as well as replacement doors. Windows and doors that fit tightly and are insulted can save a lot of energy. If you can feel a draft, you are losing heating or cooling money!
Over the years, we made a handful of improvements/changes that have made quite a big difference in our bills.
-
Replaced all windows/doors with those with high energy efficiency ratings. The house was built in 1986 and all the doors/windows were showing their ages. This was a major capital investment but so well worth it. It also makes the living space so much more comfortable, to get rid of all the nasty drafts.
-
Installed programmable thermostat. It adjusts the temperatures between 60F and 75F so we are not heating an empty house, or when we are in bed. By the way, some security companies incorporate their panels with programmable thermostat (ours does) so you may want to look into it. Having security system lowers home insurance so you kill two birds with one stone.
-
Changed propane company. We used to use some national operating company (the name escapes my brain now) but it was expensive and a major pain to deal with. The local guy is responsive and much cheaper. We have to switch the tank when we change propane company though.
By the way, $400/month seems high.
