Hunter Geist, Author at FuelSnap

During the winter up here in the northeast, you will often find that heating oil can get quite expensive. You’ll likely have to refuel on heating oil every month or so to maintain the heat in your house. Now you might be asking yourself, “How can I save money on heating oil?”. Well, we’ve compiled a list of all the best ways to save on heating oil!

Heating oil delivery trucks can often be spotted during the winter throughout the northeast.

Cancel your Automatic Delivery:
While it might seem a little bit odd, you will actually save money by canceling your automatic delivery! The reason being is that oil dealers will sometimes charge more money for automatic delivery. This is because dealers will charge an average of 50 cents more per gallon when using an automatic delivery service. This could end up costing you several hundred dollars more yearly! Try ordering from our “FuelSnap” website! We guarantee the lowest price possible for local dealers in your area! This can help you save money while ordering oil.
Check for Drafty Doors and Windows:
Covering up your drafty doors and windows will help you reduce the amount of oil that your boiler is consuming. In covering them up, you will consume less oil. When you cover up any drafty windows or doors, your boiler will not need to produce as much heat. Therefore, your tank will start consuming less oil due to more heat in the house.
Order Oil During the Summer:
Ordering oil during the summertime is a fantastic way to save on oil cost. During the summer months demand for heating oil is low. This means oil prices are significantly lower than they are during the holiday and winter seasons. Ordering oil during the summer also means that you will be ready and filled up by the time winter rolls around.
Don’t Order Oil During the Holiday Season:
Similar to an increase in prices for gifts during the holidays, oil prices are up as well. This is the exact opposite to ordering oil in the summer. During the winter, especially during the holidays the demand for oil is much higher than during the summer. Unless you’re very low or completely out, try not to buy oil during the holiday season.
Increase Insulation:
Increasing insulation is a fantastic way to reduce heating oil consumption. Whether you are adding in more insulation or improving it, you will decrease oil consumption. This will allow your home to retain more heat for a longer period of time. In doing this you will see a decline in usage that will ultimately benefit you in the long run.
Invest in a WIFI Thermostat:
Investing in a WIFI/wireless thermostat is a great way to control the heat in your house. This will benefit you for when you are out for an extended period of time. Some of these thermostats will often have an app that connects directly to them. You can control the temperature of the house from the moment you leave to when you come back. Doing so will allow you to monitor and adjust the temperatures in the house remotely!
Upgrade your Heating System:
Over time your oil heating system will become less efficient and you will need to upgrade. By upgrading your oil heating system, you will often see a stable usage of oil that will decrease the amount you’re burning.
Turn down your Thermostat when you’re not home:
Even if you do not have a WIFI thermostat, turning down your thermostat when you aren’t home can help keep the house temperatures lower so that you do not burn a lot of oil. Unless you have pets, do not leave the thermostat on while you are not home because you will be wasting oil while nobody is home.
Close off Unoccupied Rooms :
By turning off the heat in rooms that are unoccupied, you will significantly reduce oil consumption. Close any vents located in rooms that are not in use. This will reduce the amount of oil that the burner has to burn to heat your home.
Purchase and Install a Smart Oil Gauge:
You probably saw this one coming, but the Smart Oil Gauge is the perfect too to stay on top of your oil usage and level! It will give you daily, weekly, monthly and yearly usage information so that you can stay on top of your oil usage! You’ll also be able to access it from anywhere. Being able to monitor your oil tank from anywhere is a fantastic tool to have at the palm of your hands!

Home heating oil tanks typically come with an old-fashioned float gauge like the one shown here.

Install a Smart Oil Gauge to track your tank remotely from your smart phone.

If you follow these ten ways to save on heating oil, then you will find that you will be saving both on cost and consumption of oil. Following these method will not only help you burn less oil, it will also help you in future by using these different ways to conserve oil moving forward!

Happy Heating,

Hunter

During the colder months, you’ll know how important heating oil is. It has a variety of different uses. But, the most common use is for heating your home. You will need to purchase heating oil. But this begs the question, “How long will 5 gallons of heating oil last me?”

If you are running low on oil, stopping at your nearby gas station and buying a few gallons of diesel is a good temporary alternative until you get your delivery. However, this should be done sparingly because diesel is not a permenant solution.

There are a lot of different variables that can determine the answer to that question. During the winter months, 5 gallons of heating oil might not even last you a day. While during the summer, 5 gallons of oil, could last you a few days. It’s still important to ask yourself the following questions to ensure that you do not run out of heating oil.

What do you use heating oil for?

What size house do you have?

Does your home have proper insulation?

Do you have any drafty areas of the house?

How warm do you like to keep your house?

What is the weather and temperature like outside?

What’s the condition of your boiler?

Home heating oil is delivered directly to a fill pipe on the side of a home.

Increasing Insulation

Insolation is a key factor in oil consumption. Insolation retains heat and keeps your house warm. Ensuring that your house has proper insolation, will help you get the most out of the heating oil you’ve purchased. With the correct amount of insolation, you’ll be able to maintain the heat that your boiler is producing for longer, reducing oil consumption.

Seal Up Drafty Windows to Reduce Oil Consumption

It might sound odd, but the types of windows that you have can affect your oil consumption. When your boiler burns oil, heat will spread throughout your house. As the heat spreads throughout the house, it will escape through the drafty windows. As a result, you will start to burn more oil. This can lead to higher-than-normal oil consumption which will quickly deplete the oil in your tank. However, if you have newer double-paned windows, the air becomes trapped between the two panes of glass. This is similar to insulation and will prevent the heat from escaping.

While that is a great solution, it isn’t cheap to replace windows. Using a thin plastic sheet, is a great way to seal up drafty windows. Apply the sheets to the window with double sided tame to make sure that they’re tight and secured. After the sheets are in place, go over it with a hairdryer to clean up any wrinkles. This will allow for another layer of insulation.

Heating oil consumption depends on outside temperature. A 2500 square foot home will use approximately 4-7 gallons per day on a typical winter day in New England.

Heating Your Home With Heating Oil

During the colder months of the year, where heating oil is most sought after, you will often be burning more oil than you would during the warmer months. This is because, as you are heating your house, the cold air outside is continuously drawing the heat outside through your walls. When this happens, your boiler will work harder to keep the house warm. This often results in an increased consumption of oil.

When heating up your home, your daily consumption will change depending on both the size of your home, as well as the outside temperature. During a warmer day during winter, you might at most use only around 2 gallons. While during the summer months, you might be even using less than half a gallon a day!

How Does Outside Temperature Affect My Heating Oil Usage?

In the state of Connecticut, the outside temperature can average anywhere from 30-35 degrees Fahrenheit. For the average sized home of 2000 square feet, the average consumption of oil is anywhere from 5-6 gallons of heating oil daily. Outside temperature is a huge contributor for increased oil consumption. It greatly impacts how much oil you are burning on a daily basis.

The typical house in CT will use about 880 gallons of heating oil per year.

Your graph will look different if you have an alternative form of heating. If you do, it is possible that you will be burning less oil and have a lower than the average home. But that begs the question, “How much oil am I burning in a year?”. Similar to the graph above, we have created a graph of estimated gallons burned per year in the state of Connecticut.

Program Your Thermostat to Reduce Oil Consumption

During the winter months, you’ve most likely heard your parents tell you, “Don’t touch the thermostat!”. The average home can get away with setting their thermostat to around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This should be a decent temperature to remain comfortable in your home without needing to adjust the temperature of your thermostat.

You may be asking yourselves “Should I leave the heat on while I am not home?”. This could greatly effect the amount of oil you’re burning if you decide to do so. If you have a boiler with radiators in your house, then it can take some time for the temperature in the house to raise several degrees. By doing so, you might actually burn more oil at the end of the day, if you decide to keep your heat on when you aren’t home. However, your home might a have a furnace with air ducts scattered around the house. That is an example of “Forced Hot Air”. If you have any pets at home, you will likely want to keep the heat on, to keep them warm.

If you own a Smart Oil Gauge, you will be able to keep an eye on your hourly oil usage while you are not home. It is a fantastic tool that will help notify you if your usage is too high. This applies the same if you are home and just want to monitor your usage to see if you’re burning an excess amount of oil.

Maintaining a constant supply of heating oil means staying warm on cold winter days.

Is Your Boiler, Burner or Furnace Running in Top Shape?

A well insulated home won’t do you any good if your furnace isn’t running properly. It is very important that you have your system checked and adjusted to ensure that it is running as efficiently as it can. An average oil burner will last around 30 years, sometimes even more. As the years go by and the systems get older, you might end up using more oil than the previous year if not properly maintained. Even buying a new heating oil system can help decrease the amount of oil you are burning. However, we recommend getting your .

Every bit of information we have provided should provide you with a good idea of how long 5 gallons of heating oil will last you. But, the best way to see how long it will last you is to accurately measure it! The best way to do that is with the Smart Oil Gauge! The Smart Oil Gauge will send soundwaves down to the oil level that then bounce off of the oil’s surface and back up to the sensor! This ensures precise accuracy on what your oil level is sitting at, at the current moment! You’ll even be able to check oil consumption by day, week, month and year! In the photo below, you can see what the average usage will look like during the winter and during the summer!

A Smart Oil Gauge will allow you to closely monitor your heating oil consumption throughout the day.

The Smart Oil Gauge will be a worthwhile investment to keep track of how much oil you have and to ensure that you are getting the most out of your heating oil! It will also help to make sure that you will not run out of oil or get low on oil so that you won’t run out of oil! The gauge will also help you see the changes you’ve made using the tips described in this article.