If your home uses heating oil, costs during the cold months can skyrocket if you're not careful. Here are several tips and tricks to keep your heating oil costs down throughout the entire year:
- If you haven't already, have an energy audit of your home performed. These can be done by a professional or by yourself. Your utility company may contribute towards a professional evaluation, but this depends company to company.
- Replace heaters over 20 years old. Significant advances in technology in this time have decreased heating oil costs by virtue of these units’ increased heat output and decreased fuel consumption.
- Have your oil tank replenished when oil costs are the lowest - generally in the summer months when demand for heating oil is at its lowest.
- Shop around for the best oil prices. Give your current company a chance to match any special price you may find with another company. Make sure you're taking advantage of any discounts you may be eligible for.
- Make sure your windows are properly caulked and sealed. Re-caulking may need to occur at regular intervals due to wear and tear. Also, make sure thresholds to exterior doors are well-sealed. Seals that bridge the gap between the bottom of the door and the threshold are an inexpensive and easily installed way to drastically reduce the heat loss from your home.
- Set the thermostat in your home as low as is comfortable in the winter. Even a two degree adjustment can reduce heating oil costs significantly. Automatic thermostats can be easily retrofitted onto most heating systems, further reducing costs by automatically lowering the thermostat when you're away. In general, such an automatic system will pay for itself within a year’s time, simply from the heating you don't need or use while you're out of the house.
Bumgarner Oil has been serving Hickory, NC and the surrounding counties since 1954. We are proud to serve a full spectrum of oil-based fuels for your business or home. Let us help you today!