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How Much Fuel Oil Will I Use This Winter?
During the winter in your Massachusetts or Connecticut home, we bet the question “how much heating oil will I use per year” has crossed your mind a time or two. Though there’s no quick answer, this blog will dive into some factors that affect your Bioheat® fuel usage. We can help you calculate how much fuel you’ll need for the winter, so you can plan ahead and budget for your winter fuel oil deliveries.
5 Factors That Affect Your Heating Oil Usage
There are a handful of variables that will impact your home heating oil usage and how long a tank of oil lasts your New England home and family. Here are some of the most prominent factors:
Heating System Efficiency
The more efficient your heating oil furnace/boiler and water heater are, the longer your heating oil will last. A 30-year-old furnace will burn through fuel much faster than a brand-new high-efficiency heating system will. Heating systems’ efficiency typically declines steadily with age, making it especially beneficial to maintain your equipment with tune-ups, and replace it when you notice your heating bills climbing quickly.
Temperature Preferences
If you have very young, elderly, or naturally chilly people living with you, chances are you keep your thermostat up a little higher than average. This will naturally increase your heating bills to a small degree. Alternatively, if your family likes to wear slippers and bundle up in sweaters or a throw blanket when snow’s falling, you may be able to get away with a lower thermostat setting and less fuel oil usage.
Home Size
The larger your home, the more heating fuel you’ll need to keep your space warm. Some ways to reduce the cost of heating your entire space are to invest in programmable thermostats for each zone of your property. Is everyone out of the house from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays? Set your thermostat to lower in temperature during that time frame. Similarly, you can adjust your bedroom temperatures to drop during the day to further reduce your oil usage. Just remember to keep thermostats at a minimum of 55 degrees to prevent your plumbing from freezing.
Number of Residents
Typically, homes with more residents go through fuel oil quicker than homes with fewer people since adding people increases the hot water you need for bathing, laundry, dishwashing, cleaning, and cooking. Keep this in mind if you have a large family or more houseguests during the holiday season when the weather is cold.
Winter Forecast
We like to remind our customers that the lower the forecast, the harder your heating equipment will have to work to keep your home cozy. This means that during cold snaps and winter storms, you’ll go through Bioheat® fuel more quickly than on milder days. If you’re a will-call customer, be sure to keep an eye on the weather and place orders by the time your oil tank gauge reaches ¼ to reduce the risk of a no-heat emergency. Or, simplify things by contacting us to enroll in our no-added-cost automatic delivery program.
Interested in ordering fuel or signing up for automatic Bioheat® fuel delivery in MA or CT? Get in touch with Noonan Energy, and we’ll be more than pleased to assist you!