5 Home Heating Oil Nightmares - Why Is My Bill So High?
Posted on: 17 June 2015
First-time homeowners and others relatively inexperienced with home heating systems often find themselves scrambling to keep the tank full throughout winter season. It just seems like the fuel oil keeps getting sucked out of the system so much quicker than it should -- what's going on? Here are five contributing factors that can make fuel oil a big expense for households and push heating costs a lot higher.
Inefficient Systems
If your furnace is burning much more heating oil than it was last year, you may have a problem with various elements of the furnace. Miscalibration of elements like the transformer and the electrodes can cause the system to burn more oil, as can poorly fitted nozzles or problems with the fuel delivery system.
Price Spikes
You hear about things happening overseas and how it affects the price of oil, and you see that manifested at home, with dynamic pricing for gasoline and heating oil. Sometimes there's something going on that pushes the cost of crude oil up a whole lot, and that comes out in your heating bill. Maybe you didn't get as much fuel in the tank as you thought you did.
Storm Doors and Windows
If you're flabbergasted by how much bigger your fuel bill is this year, check to see if screen doors and windows are properly in place. If you don't get storm windows on your house or some other way to seal in heat, you can be burning a lot more oil and spending a lot more money.
Usage
Another important factor is how you set your thermostat. Maybe you didn't think about it, but last year you went on several vacations, and this year you stayed home, setting the dial a lot higher. Or, you had somebody in the house who just needed more comfortable temperatures -- such as a new baby. This is also going to pad your fuel oil costs quite a bit.
Temperature Changes
Another tip for figuring out huge heating oil bills is to check and see if the temperatures this year are quite a bit colder than years before. You'll have a mild winter, and get used to lower fuel costs but then comes a raging, storm-ridden, arctic winter that requires a lot more use of the furnace, and that can take people by surprise as they struggle to keep oil in the tank month after month.
Think about all of these considerations when you find yourself facing unprecedented home heating oil costs. For more information, talk to a local heating oil supplier like Cardinal USA Fuel Oil.
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