Whatever happens with energy prices this winter, you can count on fantastic efficiency if you heat your home with heating oil. Heating oil generates a tremendous amount of warmth per gallon — the equivalent of about 134 cubic feet of natural gas!*
Moreover, today’s oil heating equipment is more efficient than ever. The average U.S. household uses 500 fewer gallons of heating oil each year compared to 25 years ago!
But you need to ensure that you have a full heating oil tank to enjoy this efficient home heat. JW Pierson Co. can help determine how often you’ll need a fill-up.
No two homes in Northern New Jersey are alike. They have varying sizes, configurations, HVAC setups and levels of insulation. The families that live in them require unique levels of heating. An infant or a family member of advanced age may need the furnace to run virtually all day and night.
All these variables will affect how many gallons of heating oil a household goes through in a season.
Still, a generalized estimate is that the typical 2,500-square-foot house will burn five to eight gallons of heating oil each day during the late fall and winter months. This same home will likely have a 275-gallon tank, which holds between 225 and 250 gallons of fuel. During cold months, the house would burn through a full tank in about a month.
Because the weather in our part of the country can be unpredictable, JW Pierson suggests that will-call customers reach out to us for fuel when their oil tank is about one-quarter full. This helps avoid unexpected runouts.
If you’re going to track your own heating oil levels, you need to be familiar with your tank’s gauge.
This gauge is a clear glass or plastic vial on top of your oil tank. It has markings like your car’s gas gauge, reading F, ¾, ½ and ¼. A red marker or float rests in the vial, telling you how much heating oil is in there at a given time. When the float is resting at the bottom of the vial (or you can’t see it at all), your tank is totally or nearly empty, and you need to contact us right away to avoid losing heat in your home.
You can avoid unanticipated heating interruptions with our FREE automatic heating oil delivery. Countless homeowners in Essex, Passaic and Bergen Counties can attest to how low-stress this fuel schedule is. JW Pierson handles all the planning for you. We track your heating oil use based on your customer history and current weather conditions. Then, we calculate when you’ll need more heating oil and schedule your delivery ahead of time. It’s the easiest way to ensure your winter comfort!
If you aren’t an automatic delivery customer yet, contact us to enroll today.
* Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.