Q. How do you know when to deliver oil at my house?
A. Every home is unique. There are many elements that affect your home’s fuel oil consumption, for example: the size of your home, equipment efficiency, personal habits, etc. These and other factors are used to calculate your home’s “K Factor”(see below). It usually takes 3 deliveries to establish a reliable K factor. Until then we will take a very conservative approach to your fuel delivery to ensure that you don’t run out of fuel. To figure out when your home needs a delivery we use what is called a Degree Day System (see definition below).
Fuel is consumed for heating based on how cold the weather has been and for how long. Knowing this, we can estimate when to deliver fuel to a customer. This system is based on the unit called a DEGREE DAY. Degree Days are used to calculate fuel consumption, and for scheduling purposes are accumulated over each season. Traditionally, the National Weather Service has begun the heating season on September 1st and ends it on May 31st. Our book-keeping system includes a Log which follows this convention.
Q. What is a Degree Day?
A. A Degree Day is simply a unit for measuring how cold (or hot) it has been over a 24-hour period. Whenever the average (or mean) temperature is below 65 degrees this is considered a Degree Day. For example, if during a 24-hour period the outdoor high temperature was 70 degrees and the low was 50 degrees, then the average temperature for that day was 60 degrees–halfway between 70 and 50 degrees. This is five degrees less than the base temperature of 65°. Therefore, we can say that there were five degree days for the period.
Q. How do I figure out the daily Degree Days, and why would I want to?
A. Degree days are used to calculate when you will need your next oil delivery. Each day in the period you are tracking, add the high and the low temperatures together and divide by two – this will give you the MEAN temperature. Subtract the mean temperature from the base figure of 65° – this will give you the daily degree days. To find out the high and low temperatures, you can click on our handy weather link at the top of this page, use a digital thermometer or refer to a weather radio or local newspaper.
Q. How do I compensate for hot water?
A. You can use the Degree Day System year-round by using the table below to adjust for hot water installations.
When the MEAN temperature is:
- 62° and above add 6 Degree Days
- 58° to 61° add 5 Degree Days
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- 54° to 57° add 4 Degree Days
- 50° to 53° add 3 Degree Day
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- 46° to 49° add 2 Degree Days
- 43° to 45° add 1 Degree Day
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Q: How often should I clean my furnace?
A: Your furnace should be cleaned once yearly, either at the end of or just before the start of the cold season.
Q: How can I set up an automatic delivery account?
A. We’ve made it easy for you! Just click on the Order Fuel page; if you’re a new customer, fill out the New Customer application form, and your information will be automatically processed. For our existing customers, please fill out the Existing Customer Order Form and your order will be processed.
Q. How can I protect myself against an oil tank “release”, or leak?
A. Oil releases are very unusual, but they do occur in tanks underground, above-ground, and even in the basement. For more information on how you can protect your home or business and avoid severe financial hardship, click on the Proguard logo:
Q. Do you provide receipts at the time of delivery?
A. Of course! We always provide our customers with fully-detailed receipts, including the date, driver, amount delivered, price per gallon, and total price.
HELPFUL DEFINITIONS:
USABLE D.D. – tells you how many degree days you can allow to elapse before making the next delivery.
RESERVE – since an oil tank cannot be allowed to run out, a safety reserve is set up.
K-FACTOR – this is simply a figure showing how fast a customer uses fuel. Like miles per gallon, think of a k-factor as gallons per degree day.
D.D. NEXT DEL – the number of projected degree days at which a customer will need fuel.
D.D. HEAT AND HOT WATER – If you also use your heating fuel for your hot water system, you can use the Degree Day System year- round by using the table below to calculate fuel use.
