Written on: November 7, 2022
If you only think about propane in terms of your home’s BBQ grill, you’ll be surprised at all the ways it can be used in all kinds of businesses all around the Finger Lakes region.
Hometowne Energy has been serving those businesses for close to 80 years. We understand the needs of local businesses because we are one! We provide customized commercial propane services to businesses and farms from Ithaca to Brockport. Here are some of the ways our commercial customers use propane.
Tourism is a major industry here in the Finger Lakes. Propane provides many benefits to businesses such as restaurants, hotels, inns, bed-and-breakfasts, resorts, banquet facilities, and golf courses.
Propane is a gas that commercial kitchens can use for cooking if they’re not in an area with natural gas lines. Propane-powered appliances include cooktops, ovens, broilers, water heaters, warming trays, grills, and outdoor heaters.
Not only do hotels, inns, and bed-and-breakfasts use propane for cooking, but it is also used for high-efficiency heating, water heating, and commercial dryers. These dryers not only get laundry done up to 25% faster than electric ones but there is less wear and tear on the laundry and fewer wrinkles, helping to make housekeeping work more efficient.
There are more than 7,600 farms in the Finger Lakes region including apple orchards, vineyards, dairy farms, and farms that grow a wide array of produce.
Propane can help the region’s farms in many ways. Its outstanding efficiency keeps barns, greenhouses, and other outbuildings safely warm while keeping those costs down.
A cold snap in early spring can be lethal to apple crops. Propane-powered orchard heaters can protect trees from frigid temperatures. Using propane for flame weed control is safer for you, your workers, and the environment than using toxic herbicides. You can also get back to work faster.
Businesses of all types are affected by power outages, which is why having a commercial propane generator is vital. Healthcare facilities rely on them to keep patients safe, while grocery stores use them to keep perishable and frozen foods at safe temperatures. Additionally, propane generators ensure that HVAC systems and other essential technologies remain operational when the power goes out.
Construction sites can make use of propane in a variety of ways. It can be used for temporary space heating, so work can continue even in cold weather. Propane ground thawing equipment allows paving and concrete work to happen even when the temperature drops. And propane generators charge equipment batteries, keeping them ready to go at all times.
Propane-powered forklifts have numerous benefits in comparison to electric or gasoline models. For instance, with a propane model, you simply need to replace an empty cylinder with a full one and it’s ready to get back on the job. There’s no downtime like with electric battery recharging (which takes eight hours minimum) or the risk of messy fuel spillage which can happen with gasoline-powered forklifts. Another great perk is that they can be used both indoors and outside.
Contact Hometowne Energy to learn more about our commercial propane services.