How Much Heating Oil Or Propane Will You Need?
There are many variables that come into play when estimating how much fuel you’ll use to heat your house in winter – how energy efficient your home is, weather conditions, and the age of your heating equipment, to name a few. But whether you use heating oil or propane, there are some rules of thumb that will help you get in the ballpark on usage for the season.
Let’s start with heating oil.
Heating oil average usage
If you own an 2,000-2,500 square-foot home in our southeastern Massachusetts or Northern Rhode Island service area, you should expect to burn between five and eight gallons or more of heating oil per day during the colder months. Here’s a breakdown of some average temperatures and their impact on heating oil use:
| Average temperature (°F) | Gallons burned per day |
| 15 | 7.8 |
| 20 | 7.0 |
| 25 | 6.2 |
| 30 | 5.3 |
| 35 | 4.5 |
| 40 | 3.7 |
| 45 | 2.8 |
| 50 | 2.0 |
If you have a 275-gallon tank, which as we’ve discussed on this blog actually holds about 230 gallons of fuel (the rest is needed for air), a full tank should last about five weeks in a 2,000 square foot home. Overall, for a home this size, you should expect to use somewhere between 700 and 900 gallons during an average heating season in our area.
Please keep in mind that these are only estimates – any of the factors listed above, plus many others, can affect your actual heating oil use.
Propane average usage
With propane, you have to take into account not just your furnace, but also any other appliances that run on gas, including the ones listed below.
Here are some average yearly usage rates for common appliances. Keep in mind that use of most of these pieces of equipment tend to intensify during the winter months – even your water heater, which works harder to offset the inlet temperature of water coming into your home and to fight off the cold in your basement.
| Appliance | Annual gallons used |
| Propane furnace | 1000 |
| Propane water heater | 250 |
| Propane fireplace | 200 |
| Propane stove/Range | 35 |
| Propane clothes dryer | 20 |
As you can see, the gallons add up pretty quickly – one reason why it’s important to have a reliable propane supplier in MA to get you through the cold winter months.
Stay warm and safe this winter with reliable home heating oil deliveries and propane deliveries in southeastern Massachusetts from the pros at W.H. Riley & Son. Contact us today to schedule heating system maintenance for your furnace or boiler, or to order fuel for the cold months ahead!