Heating oil prices have reached record highs. It seems as if the summer of 2008 is happening all over again.
Many people in the Northeast are stuck using heating oil, no matter how cheaper natural gas is, and they once again have found themselves at the mercy of an unstable market that seems to change with the direction of the wind.
The price for heating oil is now well over $4/gallon and it’s not showing any signs of going in the reverse direction.
What You Can Do
Instead of getting upset about the price increase of heating oil I would suggest you take action.
You cannot do anything about the price of fuel but you can improve the efficiency of your furnace so that you burn less of it.
How can you do that?
There are two things you can do so that your oil burner uses less fuel. Just a 20% decrease in heating oil consumption can mean huge annual savings.
Furnace Tune Up
Getting a tune-up can save you hundreds of dollars in the long run. You should be able to get this service done by a licensed technician for under $150. Some new guys trying to get their name out there will even give you a tune up for less than $100. WOW! I guess that’s the beauty of competition.
A basic furnace tune up should include changing the furnace filter & screens, replacing the oil filter on the tank, adjusting the mixture settings, replacing the oil burner nozzle with a new one (making sure its the right size), vacuuming the furnace of soot and cleaning the air restrictors.
Most technicians will also test the CO2 levels using a special wet kit. Some people who try doing their own tune-ups have found this part the most frustrating procedure. There are also various other items a technician should check while doing a tune up but if you have the desire and ability please feel free to do these checks yourself.
Garage Furnace Ducts Loosing Heat/ Check Insulation
Nobody cares about heating the garage and therefore it is an the area most overlooked by homeowners.
Making this mistake is costing you hundreds of extra dollars every year.
In most cases the air ducts that run through a home’s garage are not properly wrapped in insulation. They are left bare.
“So, what’s the big deal,” you might ask?
Hot air is flowing through these air ducts into other parts of your house and as they travel through this section of the ducts the air is loosing heat.
Your whole heating system has to work harder than it should and this results in a higher consumption of heating oil than otherwise necessary.
You also want to check your air ducts for any cracks. You would be surprised how much heat can escape through one seemingly minor crack.
Bad insulation is an huge “energy hog.” Do not assume that you have good insulation. Check it.
Inspect all your windows, doors and the attic.
These are places that hot air could be leaking out of and making your furnace work overtime.
Some people have reported saving over 30% a year just by doing this.
The US Department of Energy has some practical tips on their website that you can use if you are looking for a way to save energy.
The price for heating oil is not going down. In fact, I would not be surprised if we see $5 a gallon by the end of this year.
As individuals there is little we can do about that. We can, however, take proactive steps to minimize our home’s heating oil consumption and save money where we can.
