4 Steps to Figure Out How Much Propane Your Furnace Uses Daily

Just like when you are shopping for a dependable vehicle, you will want to know ahead of time just how fuel efficient your new furnace will be. If your preferred model uses propane as its fuel source, this will be quite easy to figure out. What you are actually looking for is referred to as the furnace’s “burn rate,” or the value that estimates how long a particular furnace can run on a full tank of propane. This is how you do it:

1. Determine the Furnace’s Rating

The rating of a propane furnace is measured in British thermal units, or BTUs, and it should be printed in your owner’s manual or along the side of your unit. The BTU rating is typically compared to the horsepower rating of a vehicle since it really gives us as professionals an idea of just how much strength and stamina your furnace has. It speaks of the total load that the unit is capable of handling when all other propane devices in the household are running at full power.

2. Convert the Rating

You then convert the BTU rating of the furnace into gallons and pounds to get the burn rate. After all, propane gas, when stored in a pressurized tank, will transition to a liquid state. This liquid propane is then measured in pounds. A quick way to understand this is to imagine that 1 gallon of liquid propane is equal to 4.23 pounds and generates around 91,500 BTUs.

3. Calculate the Consumption Rate

This is quite simple to figure out. If you are looking at a 100,000-BTU furnace, the equation relevant to the example above would be 91,500 BTUs divided by 100,000 BTUs. This will give you a consumption rate of .915 gallons each hour.

4. Determine the Burn Rate

You will need to multiply the amount of propane in the tank by the established consumption rate to get the actual burn rate. That means that a 40-pound tank that holds 9.5 gallons of propane, which is calculated using the formula above, has a burn rate of 33.25 hours based on the 9.5 gallons times a consumption rate of 3.5 gallons per hour.

If you need assistance with determining how efficient different furnaces may be, the team at Aircon Heating & Cooling Inc. can help. We offer installation on a variety of furnaces and heating systems in Las Cruces, New Mexico, so you are sure to find one that meets your needs. We also offer heating repair and maintenance and a full range of cooling services. In addition, our team can help with indoor air quality, commercial HVAC, and restaurant equipment repair services. Give us a call today for more information.