The new American energy revolution has created a huge surge in propane produced in the United States! Abundant supply usually translates to stable prices, and that has given customers good reasons to smile lately.

Unfortunately, if prices do go up again, the perception will persist that propane dealers do better when that happens. Actually, the opposite is usually true. When prices rise like they did during the winter of 2013–14, it’s because the wholesale cost of the product has jumped, and we need to pay a lot more for it. It’s like when you see orange juice or coffee prices go up. It’s not the local grocery store that’s profiting.

Now that we have returned to a sense of normalcy, the long-term prospects for propane use have never been brighter. Propane will continue to provide Californians with a clean, efficient, American-made solution for keeping families comfortable — as well as for fueling cars and fl eets and supporting farmers’ success.

And best of all, you will have us right beside you, always willing and able to help you get the most out of your fuel while keeping your family comfortable and safe. Speaking of safety, we have once again been honored with the Excellence in Risk Management award from Energi.

Warmly,

Dustin Kaiser
Operations Manager

If you love the service and value you get from us, why not tell your friends, family or neighbors?

For every friend you refer who becomes a customer, we’ll reward both of you with a 50-gallon fuel credit!

Make sure your friends give us your name when they sign up and we’ll be sure to apply the credit to both your accounts. Call or email us today for more information.

Safety is one of our top priorities, but many of the steps we take for your safety happen behind the scenes. That’s why we are proud to have received the 2014 Excellence in Risk Management award from Energi, a leading provider of insurance and risk-management programs to the energy industry. This is the third consecutive year we have been recognized.

The criteria for this award include commitment to safety, implementation of best practices for risk management and incorporation of Energi’s Safety Plus recommendations. This includes ensuring that all our equipment is up to date and carefully maintained. And it means making a sincere commitment to training so all of our drivers know how to deliver your fuel safely — and what to do in case of a leak or other emergency.

As always, Allied Propane is 100% committed to taking care of our customers. Operating our business safely and keeping you safe is an important part of this commitment.

Learning How to Save Money and Stay Comfortable

We love kids! They have a lot of wisdom and they’re not shy about asking questions. Follow along as Ava and Jarrett quiz us about what we do. What they learn could make a difference in your own comfort—and save you money too!

How does that little thing make all our hot water?

This is what we call a tankless water heater. We also call it an on-demand water heater because it only heats water when it’s needed. So the next time you take a shower and turn on the hot water faucet, cold water will go through a pipe into this heater. There is something inside called a flow sensor that will turn on a propane gas burner to heat the water as it goes through. When you turn off the faucet, the gas burner shuts off.

Why is this one better than the other tank we had?

The old tank we just took out used a lot of energy to heat the water. That can be expensive because it needed to keep 80 gallons of water hot at all times. You don’t need to do that with a tankless water heater. Most tankless water heaters have a life expectancy of more than 20 years, which means they last twice as long as a storage tank.* And look at all the extra space you now have! The tank we took out was five feet tall and two feet wide. You can see that this tankless unit can fit right on the wall because it’s a lot smaller than that.

Will this save us money?

Yes! We have found that tankless water heaters save the average home about $90 every year on hot water costs.** If you’re good at math, you’ll find that after 20 years that’s going to add up to a lot of money.

*U.S. Department of Energy **U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

We’re trying to save for college. What else can we do to save money?

Replace old appliances.
Because we’re putting in a new water heating system, your family is going to save money on heating your water. They will also save money on repairs, because old machines break a lot. New appliances, if they’re taken care of properly, will have very few problems.

Take care of your appliances.
Proper maintenance is essential to keeping appliances running efficiently and saving money. Your parents can talk to us about a service plan or maintenance program. We can also do a GAS Check to ensure that they are operating safely.

Change the temperature in your home.
You can probably help your parents with this. There are programmable thermostats that let you set the temperature you want at different times of the day and night. You don’t need to keep your home as warm when you’re sleeping or away from home, so this saves you money. There are also “smart” programmable thermostats that let you change the temperature with your smartphone or computer at any time, no matter where you are. If you use a programmable thermostat right, you may be able to help your parents save about $100 a year.

Do some window dressing.
Here’s another one you can help out with. In the morning, open the window blinds and let sunlight heat up your home naturally during the day. At night, close drapes to hold in the heat and keep out the cold. You can also stop cold air from getting inside by taping clear plastic film to the inside of the window frames.

I have always wondered about something, Can you tell me where propane comes from?

Almost all of the propane that we use is made in America, and most of it comes from the production of natural gas. When we take natural gas out of the earth, it is a mix of different gases. One of these gases is propane.

So how is propane gas different from natural gas?

Natural gas can only get to your home through an underground pipeline. If something goes wrong with that pipeline, you can’t get any gas. Propane gas is easier to move around because it gets compressed, or squeezed, until it turns into a liquid. It is then put inside tanks and we can deliver it right to your home. It’s similar to the air in a car tire, which gets squeezed to about two or three times normal air pressure. But the gas in a propane tank gets squeezed about 100 times more than that. This is why even a small tank can deliver a lot of propane gas.

What happens when I turn on our gas stove?

The propane gets released slowly and safely from the tank and goes through a valve, which is when the liquid propane turns back into a gas. At that point, it’s similar to natural gas again, and it can create heat for cooking and heating. It can even be used to fuel cars and other engines instead of gasoline.

Are we being green?

You certainly are! Propane is a clean-burning fuel to begin with, and many new propane appliances used in a home are Energy Star rated. A blue Energy Star label means a product will use less energy and cause less pollution.

In just one year, Energy Star products helped Americans avoid the same amount of pollution as comes from 23 million cars! And together, these people saved $12 billion on their energy bills in one year.

Sometimes, even one little thing you do can make a big difference. If every home in America replaced just one traditional lightbulb with a compact fluorescent lamp, we could save another $600 million—and create less pollution because we would use less electricity.

We’re lucky to have a climate that makes outdoor living easy for most of the year. Now is a great time to spruce up patio and deck areas — and replace your old grill. Maybe you’re interested in creating an outdoor kitchen!

To help you get into the swing of spring, Allied customers who stop by any of our three convenient locations can take advantage of a 15% discount on their purchases.

Stop by our showroom soon to see an array of great products to make your outdoor spaces real extensions of your home, or make camping and fishing more comfortable and convenient. Check out:

Lava Heat Italia – patio and table heaters
AEI – commercial and residential outdoor heating solutions
Camp Chef – smokers and fire pits
TEC – infrared grills
Vermont Castings – BBQ units and grilling systems

We also carry and fill propane tanks for grills, RVs and boats. See you soon!

As always, we look forward to seeing everyone at our local county fairs and shows. We’ll be bringing all our great camping gear, grills and outdoor equipment to demonstrate, and we’ll be showing off our eco-friendly propane autogas fleet.

Dixon May Fair: May 7–10. This classic fair is California’s oldest, and features livestock, food, fun and a demolition derby.

Napa Town & Country Fair: July 8–12. The fair now includes a carnival with family friendly rides for thrill-seekers of all ages.

Rootstock: Nov. 12. This conference and expo is one of the leading events for members of the viticulture industry, with seminars, wine trials and tastings and networking opportunities. Let us show you all our agricultural services.