How is commercial propane used?

Propane offers distinct advantages for commercial and municipal or school district operations. It burns more cleanly than many alternatives, provides consistent energy output and often costs less than electricity for many applications. For businesses operating on tight margins, these benefits translate directly to improved profitability.

The reliability factor matters tremendously for commercial operations. Unlike electricity, which can face outages during storms or peak demand periods, propane provides consistent power when you need it most. This dependability becomes crucial for businesses that can’t afford downtime.

Davis Oil & Propane serves a wide range of industries along with municipalities and school districts. Here are some examples.

• Residential buildings: Apartment complexes and condo buildings use propane for high-efficiency heating and water heating. Propane also adds amenities like gas stoves and fireplaces, as well as community amenities like pool heating, firepits and grills.
• Hospitality: Propane’s a workhorse in hospitality businesses such as restaurants, hotels, inns and event centers. In restaurants and other commercial kitchens, it powers ovens, cooktops, broilers, deep fryers, grills, warming stations, and water heaters for dishwashing. Hotels and inns depend on propane not only for their kitchens, but for energy-efficient space heaters, water heaters and commercial dryers, as well as outdoors with pool heaters, firepits, deck and patio heaters, and grills.
• Commercial laundries: Laundromats and commercial laundries count on propane’s energy-efficient commercial water heaters and dryers to keep energy costs down and productivity high.
• Warehouses and distribution centers: Moving materials at these facilities requires high-performance forklifts that can be used both indoors and outside. Propane-powered forklifts tick all the boxes! They can be safely used indoors (something gasoline-powered forklifts cannot do), are more powerful outdoors and on inclines than electric models and can be refueled by simply replacing the propane cylinder, whereas electric forklifts need hours to recharge.
• Municipalities: Cities and towns are always looking for ways to use revenue wisely while maximizing benefits to the public. Propane is an energy-efficient way to heat municipal buildings and provide hot water for facilities like town halls and first responder stations. It also can be used for landscaping equipment for parks and other public places.
• School districts: Propane’s versatility is a great match for school buildings. It is an energy-efficient heating fuel. It can also be used to power schools’ kitchen appliances, water heaters and commercial dryers.