My son had inground propane tanks in. CT. There must have been some sort of guage as he knew his much propane was left during Hurricane Sandy.

We’re in MA and never had oil heat so can’t comment on that. We’ve had an in-ground propane tank for a
year and half in our new build. Prior to
that we had natural gas heating.
Unfortunately, a natural gas hook up was not an option for us where we
are, so our choices were oil and propane.

We chose propane because it supplied all the appliances: cooktop, furnace, hot water heater, gas fireplace. Our neighbors chose to do geothermal heating
and consequently still needed to do a small above ground propane tank for the
gas fireplace and some appliances.

Since we had natural gas previously and were aware of the
risks and precautions, we were comfortable with propane. Similar to natural gas, there is an additive
in the propane that emits a rotten egg smell if there’s a leak.

We have a 1,000 gallon tank which we opted not to purchase
outright. So we are locked in to our propane
provider for at least a few years. We
are not part of their autofill program, so we can choose when to buy propane –
and take advantage of any price reductions that usually (but not always )
happen in the summer.

There is a gauge on the tank and it's very easy to read and understand. We simply go out into the year and lift the cover -- it's very easily visible. I believe there are remote gauges available for an additional cost. Hope some of this helps.

Thank you both, it is nice to know others have it and are happy with it.

We have an above-ground propane tank; no issues. Propane is generally a cleaner burn than oil, and in many places, cheaper. Our tank has a gauge to tell you how much you have left.

I will point out that propane is delivered at a lower pressure than natural gas; we had a gas stove and it sucked; took forever to boil water, and the oven was very inconsistent. Couldn't wait to switch to electric. It was the number one thing we wanted when redoing our kitchen. Love my stove now.

Thank you CP. I have heard the term but need to look up exactly what Geothermal is. We planned to use it for everything from heating to the appliances and fireplace.

Arthur thank you for sharing your experience and letting me know it is delivered at a lower pressure.

For new constuction, propane is probably a better choice than oil in most cases. In the current evolution of high performance construction it's often advised to avoid gas combustion appliances when possible because of the CO and backdrafting problems.

Induction cooktops perform better than gas in almost every performance metric. Condensing or heat pump dryers are a better investment if you can settle for longer cycle times. A heat pump water heater could be a better choice if you have the right space. Space heating with air source heat pumps is probably more affordable than propane.

Gas fireplaces don't really belong in efficient homes. Along with backdrafting risks, they leak conditioned air - all year long. Woodstoves and inserts often have better dampers and provide functional heat in an outage.

This might sound far fetched but if you're building a new home, you dont need to burn anything to heat and cook and you'd save a tremendous amount of money by not.

Geothermal takes energy from the ground and condenses it to make heat for your home. In the summer the system works the other way, takes energy (heat) from your home and sends it back into the ground, to cool your home.
It's incredibly efficient and robust. But the cost is high, though federal incentives are still in effect, and some states have them too, in addition.

Alternatively, and the option I'm choosing for my home and have more experience with: Mini-split systems / Air Source Heat Pumps.
This is the same thing as geothermal, except instead of drilling a well, these use the outside air as its source.

Both systems are heat pumps, they move energy from one area to another.
Every home has at least one already - The refrigerator!
The warm air you feel on your toes when you stand in front of the fridge (closed) is the energy being removed from inside.
Air-source heat pumps do the same thing on a larger scale, and in both directions, allowing you to heat & cool your home comfortably even on the coldest and hottest days.


Ultimately, it comes down to money. These systems will cost you similar up front to a typical combustion heating system with AC, but your operating costs will be less, sometimes significantly less. And it'll always be safer. There's no exhaust gases with this equipment.
The catch? You might need your home to be built with energy efficiency in mind.

I would love to chat more if you're interested. This is sort of my passion. The technology is there, and it's economical.
I'm currently designing/building my own home that will have no combustion appliances and be 100% electric. And I'm in a cheap natural gas area, too. It'll still be less costly to own and live in.

I have an inground tank. We bought it. It wasnt that expensive, and I can choose any supplier. Ours has a gauge as well. I call when it hits 25%.

I have an above ground tank, rented from the propane company. The tank has an analog gauge. The gas company deliveries to many of my neighbors, the driver checks my tank when he in the area.

Propane appliances are a little different than natural gas. Your appliances must be propane compliant.

I saw a comment about propane having lower pressure. I don’t know about that, but propane has about 10% less energy than natural gas. Has nothing to do about pressure but rather chemistry.

If you live in the North and don't have NG, you really really should build a very efficient structure. You can spend $20k ( on say a 2500 sqft house) and require very little heat - saving $2000 a year on heat. These are totally made up numbers but the point is that building a very tight structure will be most comfortable and will have a quick payback.

This would be something like double wall structure - like 8 inch thick walls or 2 inches of rigid foam on top of typical wall. Then either triple pane windows or significantly upgraded double pane. Attention to air sealing with 1 ACH or thereabouts.

With NG, these things are harder to financially justify. With propane, they are a no brainer.

And geothermal is worth a look. But often a more efficient structure is a better choice.