Propane Tank Remote Monitoring Ensures the Heat is Always On
Propane provides a vital resource for heating homes, water heaters and running household appliances for individual homes and rural neighborhoods. If you’ve ever been surprised by an empty propane tank on a winter night, you quickly realize the critical role it plays in the everyday comforts and necessities we’ve grown accustomed to.
Propane tends to be in high demand in cold winter months which can lead to an unexpected low fuel tank level and a potential extended wait on the propane fuel delivery company. Time seems to slow down in a cold house without hot water or a cooking source.
Manually monitoring your tank levels is one way to monitor storage container levels in propane tanks at your home or for the neighborhood propane supply, though inefficient and prone to surprise empty tanks and cold and angry homeowners. Wireless remote monitoring provides an easy and efficient way to ensure the heat is always on, hot water is always flowing and your appliances are available.
By remotely monitoring the fuel tank levels, you can set alerts when a tank is half-way full, one quarter full or even empty, but by then you’ll know because angry homeowners will be calling the Rural Utility District. Most monitoring solutions can send alerts to you via text, phone call, email or even come with a mobile app available on Google Play or the Apple App Store to access tank levels at any time.
One obstacle to wireless monitoring is access to cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. Also, because some monitors run on electricity, a power outage can shut off communication between the propane tank and the monitoring device, leaving you in the dark (literally) about the tank level.
Satellite communication is an accessible and reliable way to ensure communication between the monitor and your device is never interrupted. Also, the accessibility of inexpensive long-lasting batteries means in bad weather or electrical outages – a time when you most need to ensure fuel levels – you can rest easy knowing homeowners have the fuel they need to stay comfortable and safe.
Remote monitoring can be as simple as an individual monitor or as extensive as a system of customized devices with costs to match each option. By choosing a simple individual monitor that gets the job of alerting to low tank levels, you can save time and worry manually monitoring propane tank levels and ensure you never hear from a cold, hungry homeowner (or neighborhood of them) wondering why their propane is off.
Learn more about various tank level monitoring use cases on our website.