You want a home that is comfortable all year, without having to pay an arm and a leg for heating fuel. While it is true that heating your home uses more energy than any other appliance or system, it is also true that there are ways to reduce the cost of fuel. If you find yourself wondering how you can reduce your heating bill, know that there are some changes you can make to your household habits and some small improvements to add to your home that can potentially lower your bill and help you save money.
What You Need To Know About Heating Oil
Heating oil is a type of petroleum product that comes from crude oil. In the U.S., 5.5 million households use oil to heat their homes, and to a smaller extent, to heat water at home. The Northeast accounts for 85% of heating oil sales, while the South and Midwest account for 7% and 5% of sales, respectively. Just 2% of homes in the western part of the country use oil for heating.
How Does Heating Oil Compare To Gas?
Heating oil is just one type of fossil fuel that can power a furnace or boiler in a home. Another option is to use gas as a fuel source. Gas fuel can be in the form of natural gas or propane gas. There are notable differences between gas and oil heating fuel. One of those differences is the source of fuel.
Natural gas is a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide, water and hydrocarbons. Most of the natural gas used in the U.S. is sourced domestically. Natural gas processing also leads to the production of propane gas. In some cases, the process of refining crude oil can produce propane.
Heating oil is a distillate of crude oil. Some of the heating oil used in the U.S. is produced domestically. Homes that use oil as their source of heating fuel might also use imported oil. The majority of imported heating oil is from Canada. Countries in the Middle East and South or Central America also provide imported heating oil.
Another difference between gas and oil is the location of the heating fuel. Heating oil is stored in a tank on a homeowner’s property. Propane gas is also stored in a tank on the property. Natural gas, on the other hand, travels through gas lines from a central location to homes.
What Affects the Price of Heating Fuel?
Heating fuel prices are not static. Several factors and conditions throughout the year can affect the price of heating oil and gas.
Increased demand for heating fuel can cause prices to rise. During the colder months of the year, you can expect to pay more to refill your heating oil tank than you would during the warmer months. One way to reduce your heating fuel costs is to schedule a fill-up before the heating season starts. You will beat the crowd and are likely to pay less for the same amount of fuel.
The cost of the materials that produce heating fuel also influences the price of the fuel. When crude oil prices go up, so does the price of heating oil. If there is a limited supply of oil, due to weather events or political issues, the price increases. When there is an abundance of crude oil, the price decreases.
Local factors, such as the number of companies in your area that offer heating fuel and the cost of transporting the fuel to your area, also influence the price.
How Can You Save on Oil and Gas Heating? 10 Ways To Save on Heating Fuel
Although you cannot do much to control weather events or to influence the availability of heating fuel, you can make changes around your house to help bring down your energy bill. Some ways to lower your fuel costs include:
1. Lower the Thermostat at Night
Does keeping your heating on save money? While you do not want to shut your furnace or boiler off completely, turning the thermostat down can lower your heating costs. At night, when everyone is tucked under blankets in bed, lower the thermostat by about 10 to 15 degrees. Doing so for at least eight hours a night can help you save up to 10% on the cost of heating. You can also lower your thermostat during the day if no one is at home.
2. Insulate Pipes To Prevent Heat Loss
If you also use heating oil to heat the water in your home, you can save money by adding insulation to your hot water pipes. Insulating the pipes reduces heat loss, allowing you to lower the temperature on your water heater. The insulation can help to increase the temperature of the water that flows through the pipes by up to four degrees.
As an added bonus, after you insulate the water pipes, it will take less time for hot water to come out of the tap. You might end up using less water than you would otherwise.
3. Circulate the Air in Your Home
Ceiling fans are not only for use during the warmer months. They can also help to improve the comfort level of your home in the winter and can help to lower your heating bills.
Heat rises and can often get trapped near the ceiling. Meanwhile, the air that is closer to the floor and where you and your family might be sitting or lounging tends to be cooler. Switching on a ceiling fan, with the blades spinning counter-clockwise, will help to push some of the warm, trapped air away from the ceiling and down toward you and the other members of your household, keeping you comfortable without the need to turn up the thermostat.
4. Seal Any Indoor Leaks
When you are paying to heat the air inside of your home, you want to do whatever you can to keep that air indoors. However, air can seep out of your home through small openings around the windows, doors and electrical outlets. Cold air can also seep in, causing your heating system to work harder to maintain a comfortable temperature.
Sealing your home keeps the heated air in and the cold outside air out. You can seal your home in a few ways. One option is to add caulk around window and door frames. You can also caulk around outlets and pipes if they are a source of leakage. Larger openings might require the use of foam sealants.
5. Change Air Filters
The air filter in your heating system keeps dust and debris from traveling throughout your home. After months of regular use, the filter is likely to be full of debris, which can impede airflow through the ducts. A full filter can make your heating system work harder, increasing the amount of fuel it uses.
Replacing your heating system’s air filters can help improve the flow of air and can reduce the amount of fuel the system burns. How frequently you need to replace the filters depends on how much you use the heating system and whether you have pets or not. At the very least, it is a good idea to install new air filters at the beginning of the heating season.
6. Insulate Your Home
Like sealing air leaks, adding insulation to your home can help to keep the heated air inside and the cold air outside. In the warmer months of the year, an adequately insulated home will keep cool, conditioned air inside and hot outdoor air out.
You can add insulation to the external walls of the home or to the attic. How much insulation you need and the location of it depends on the amount of existing insulation. Your location also influences the appropriate level of insulation. A house in Southern Maryland, for instance, is likely to need less than a home in a colder area, such as Vermont or Maine.
7. Use a Space Heater
Depending on the size of your home and the number of people who live in it, it does not always make sense to heat every room to the same temperature. One way to reduce your heating fuel needs is to use space heaters to warm up the room you are occupying and to lower the temperature in the remaining rooms of the house.
There are some safety considerations to keep in mind if you decide to use a space heater to supplement your home’s central heating. First, only use the space heater when you or another adult is in the room. Do not leave the heater on when no one is home or around unsupervised children. Keep flammable objects, such as blankets and other textiles, at least a few feet away from the heater. It is also a good idea to only use space heaters when you are awake, not overnight.
8. Try a Humidifier
Temperature is not the only factor that affects how comfortable your home feels. Humidity, or the overall moisture level, also plays a part. Central heating systems often pump dry air throughout the home, which can lower the overall humidity.
Low humidity can affect your home’s indoor air quality and can contribute to issues such as dry nasal passages and other respiratory concerns. If your home feels dry in the winter, running a humidifier in the rooms you are using can help to increase the moisture levels in the air and help your household feel more comfortable. Humid air also feels warmer than dry air.
9. Seal or Insulate Heating Ducts
If your home uses a forced-air heating system, warm air travels through ducts to registers throughout the house, then into the various rooms. In many homes, up to 30% of the heated air leaks out of the ductwork, meaning it never gets a chance to warm up the home.
Air leaks in your home’s ductwork can lead to higher heating bills and increased fuel use. If you notice that some rooms in the house never get as warm as others, leaky ducts can be to blame. You can hire a contractor to seal the ducts, usually around the connection points or to add insulation to them.
10. Use a Programmable Thermostat
It can be tough work to remember to turn the thermostat up and down at night or before you leave for work in the morning. Investing in a programmable or smart thermostat simplifies the process. You can set a programmable thermostat to automatically reduce the temperature at bedtime and to raise it when you return home from work. A smart thermostat learns your habits and patterns will begin to adjust itself.
How To Save Money on Heating Fuel: The Most Common Mistake To Avoid
What is the most common mistake people make when it comes to their home’s heating system? Neglecting the system and not scheduling regular maintenance.
Regular maintenance, which includes an annual tune-up and inspection, can help to extend the life of your home’s HVAC system. It allows you to detect any small, easily fixable issues before they develop into complex problems. A regular tune-up typically involves cleaning the heating system and replacing the air filters, giving your equipment a new lease on life.
Although taking excellent care of your heating equipment will help it last for longer, there will come a time when your system is due for replacement. HVAC replacement is a good idea when a system is 10 to 15-years-old, if not sooner.
While it does cost money upfront to get a new heating system, you can enjoy savings when it comes to reduced fuel use and improved efficiency. Your new heating system is also more likely to keep your home at a comfortable, even temperature than an older system that is struggling.
Schedule an In-Home Consultation With SMO Energy Today
If you want to lower your home’s heating fuel costs, SMO Energy is here to help you. We are a total home comfort provider and want to help residents of Southern Maryland enjoy their homes all year. During a free in-home energy consultation, one of our expert energy consultants will stop by your home, evaluate your situation and make recommendations to you based on your needs.
If replacing your current heating system is the right choice, we can help you choose a system that is appropriately sized for your home and that works with your budget. We will also discuss the maintenance of the new system with you, to help you prolong its life and get the most out of your new purchase.
To learn more about our HVAC replacement services and the other ways we can help you save on heating costs, get in touch today.