Summer is just around the corner! This means it’s the perfect time to discuss heating oil during the summer. While it’s probably the last thing that comes to your mind during the summer, it’s still something that should be on your radar. This is because some houses will tend to use heating for more than just heat. Hot water is commonly used alongside heat or by itself. In this article, I’ll be covering how much oil you should expect to be burning during the summertime.
Only Burning Hot Water
The four main sources of heat in the United States are natural gas, propane, electricity, and heating oil. This can also be said for hot water. One thing that all of these forms of heat have in common is that they can all heat water in some shape or form. However, just because your home uses one fuel in particular doesn’t mean that it uses the same fuel to heat water. Some homes will often tend to use heating oil for their furnace (heat) and a propane system for hot water. But, it’s typically more common for most homes to use one fuel source for both heat and hot water.
If your home relies on heating oil for just hot water production, then usually don’t have pay too close attention to your heating oil level come mid-May. But sometimes, if it gets cold at night, feel free to turn your heat on!
Once late September comes around, you can usually start turning your heating oil systems back online. This means that come the cool fall weather, you’ll have to start paying attention to your oil level to make sure that you don’t run out. But otherwise, during the summer you’ll be using minimal heating oil.
Using Heating Oil for Heat and Hot Water
If your home has a water heater or oil-fired furnace, you should monitor your heating oil usage year-round. For this, I highly recommend picking up a Smart Oil Gauge. This will give you an extra layer of protection from running out. With the gauge configured for your tank, size, it will be able to accurately pick up usage data and tell you how much oil is in your tank. You’ll even bet an alert notifying you when your tank is running low! If you are interested in more information on the Smart Oil Gauge, check out this article here, where we cover everything you need to know!
Now, in the instance that you have one heating system for both hot water and heat, you’ll use significantly more oil than someone who is using their system just for hot water. But during the summer, you’ll be using a lot less oil than you’re accustomed to. The average home can use anywhere from half a gallon to a full gallon of heating oil on hot water alone! But, if you take consistent hot showers and/or have multiple people living in your home, you’ll probably end up using more oil than that on the daily.
When Should You Order Heating Oil?
Regardless of what time of year it is, we recommend ordering oil once your tank reaches 1/4 full. This will typically ensure that you have plenty of time before your next delivery arrives and before you run out. You can compare local prices using our FuelSnap website.
You also shouldn’t let your tank get too low. If this happens, your feed lines could suck up sludge which can clog and damage your feed lines and oil system. When your tank is low on oil, be sure to reach out to your local dealer or order from FuelSnap to ensure that you don’t run out of oil. Make sure that you order from reputable dealers and other local suppliers in your area to make sure that you have oil all year round!
Happy Heating,
Hunter
