6 Ways To Reduce Your Heating Oil Costs This Winter

In many areas throughout the US, winter comes with the need to turn on the heat to stay warm. The winter season is also a time when fuel oil and energy costs rise. Fortunately, there are some practical ways to keep heating oil costs down without the need to install fancy equipment or gadgets.

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Best Ways to Save Money This Winter By Keeping Heating Oil Consumption Down

In this article, we’ll share six ways that can help you lower your home heating oil bills as well as your energy usage. Of course, this will also help you save money this winter season.

1. Call R.F. Ohl For Your Home Heating Oil

Why not take advantage of the ability to order discount home heating oil and potentially save several hundred dollars each year? A supplier of discount heating oil can offer their product at a lower price compared to what many full-service dealers of heating oil will charge. These discount rates can make a big difference in heating costs, especially if you tend to consume a lot of heating oil over the long, cold months of winter.

While there is nothing wrong with using a full-service oil provider, the full-service rates include fees that include additional heating services. Therefore, when you use automatic oil deliveries, you may also pay for services that you may or may not need. On the other hand, when you choose a C.O.D. or discount oil delivery service, you’ll have to monitor the levels in your tank on your own and simply schedule a convenient delivery of heating oil when the tank is approximately 30% full. If you do need heating system repairs or maintenance, you will have to schedule these services on your own. Basically, the responsibility of scheduling oil deliveries and heating system services lies on the consumer as opposed to the oil supplier. Give R.F. Ohl a call today and get more information about our discount oil delivery services.

2. Perform A Home Energy Audit

Performing an energy audit will allow you to assess the energy requirements your home needs more accurately. It identifies any problems with the structure. Any cracks, holes, or gaps that are present in the home can have an impact on indoor air temperatures. Prior to the cold winter months, plan to take at least a day to thoroughly inspect your home and identify potential air leaks and other problems that can affect the ability of your home to retain heat. Additionally, contacting an energy professional to have an energy audit performed on your home is definitely a good idea. You’ll get more accurate results and will be able to identify those areas where your home is losing energy precisely. Also, the results of the audit will include recommendations on how you can cut your home’s heating costs.

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3. Fix All Air Leaks And Drafty Areas

Once you’ve identified problem areas in your home, it’s time to get them fixed. Your goals should be to take steps to minimize areas of heat loss, especially during the coldest months of the winter. You can get started by simply closing kitchen vents and fireplace dampers when they aren’t being used. If your home has inadequate insulation, this issue should be resolved as quickly as possible. Seal all sources of air leaks and ensure that drafty areas are covered or closed off. At night, use window curtains to cover the windows. This can help keep warm air from escaping into the cold outdoors.

4. Utilize Natural Light And Heat

You can help reduce home heating costs simply by utilizing the light and heat that is provided by the sun. During sunny days during the fall or winter, be sure to keep your curtains open to let the light in. Areas of your home that face east or southeast will receive more heat and light from the sun, so be sure to keep window coverings open from mid-morning until mid-afternoon. On some days, you might even get enough heat and light that your heating system may not have to run in your home. Remember to close window coverings in the late afternoon to ensure that the heat stays in your home. When you do this for several hours each day, you can help reduce your home’s energy consumption.

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5. Turn Down Indoor Air Temperatures

It might seem like an odd idea to turn down the temperature during the winter, but you’ll likely find that you’ll stay plenty comfortable, even if your turn down the thermostat a few degrees. Energy experts recommend this step and suggest you could save approximately 1% of your heating bill for each degree that you lower your thermostat. Throughout the winter, this implies big savings.

Of course, there’s a caveat. It’s definitely possible to lower your thermostat if you happen to live in a part of the country where winter temperatures are not too harsh. However, if your area tends to experience more severe winter temperatures it’s important to make sure that you don’t turn the temperature down too low.

When you set the thermostat too low, you might also be increasing the possibility of frozen water pipes. If your water pipes freeze, you could be facing a great deal of trouble — it can take time for them to thaw which will leave you without water. Furthermore, the pipes could also burst.

Make sure to check the weather temperatures in your area to determine how low you can realistically set your thermostat. Idealistically, you should never allow for extreme temperature fluctuations in your home. You can safely lower your thermostat 5-8 degrees when you are not at home or when you are in bed at night.

6. Use A Programmable Thermostat

If you happen to have a programmable thermostat, you’ll likely be able to save on how much heating oil you use by simply setting the thermostat to a lower temperature during specific times of the day, like when everyone is away from home or at night. You can even program the thermostat to turn up the heat shortly before you plan to arrive home for the day. There’s really no reason to keep your home heated to a comfortable temperature when there’s nobody there, and turning down the heat can help significantly reduce the amount of heating oil you use.

For All Home Heating Needs, Give R.F. Ohl A Call

R.F. Ohl is a reputable HVAC company, as well as a discount supplier of heating oil in northeastern Pennsylvania. You’ll find that we offer competitively priced heating oil that’s very affordable. At R.F. Ohl, our goal is to provide products and services designed to meet the needs of each client. When you choose us for your home heating oil needs, you’ll get on-time and accurate deliveries with the best available prices for heating oil.

As mentioned, R.F. Ohl also has technicians on their staff who are NATE certified to address any HVAC needs you might have. Our professionals bring the skills, experience, and training needed to ensure reliable and accurate service. From installation and repairs to maintenance and tune-ups, R.F. Ohl offers affordable prices and superior HVAC solutions. Give us a call now and get more information regarding the products and services we offer.
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