Working from home: how it can affect your heating oil bill.
On average, it is estimated that homeowners will use about 500-800 gallons of heating oil between the months of October and March. That translates to a usage of 2.75 – 4.45 gallons per day. Many people who leave their home for part of or all day, often turn their heat down to use less heating oil. However, as more people work remotely from home, fewer homeowners are turning the heat down. So, that 2.75 – 4.45 gallons of oil usage per day could increase. Other factors can also contribute to heating oil usage.
How cold is the weather?
If it’s a colder winter, your heating system will work harder to maintain those comfortable temperatures and that requires more fuel. If the temperature outside drops to about 20 degrees, you could see your 3-gallon usage of heating oil rise to 7 gallons.
How large is your home?
Home size also impacts the amount of oil used in your home. If you have a two-bedroom home, you may have an oil tank that holds 275 gallons of oil. During a typical winter, you may not need to refill that tank for 20 to 30 days, but, again, it will depend on how cold the temperatures get. Large, multi-story homes may have a larger oil tank, but they may need to refill it just as frequently, especially if the home is not effectively insulated.
If you end up using 500 gallons of oil to heat your 2,300 square-ft home during the 182 days of the cold season, you could expect to need about 0.2 gallons per square foot. That’s not precise because we know that usage fluctuates depending on the temperature outdoors and if you adjust your thermostat. If you turn your heat down to 65 degrees every time you leave your house, you’ll use less oil than if you stay home continuously with your thermostat set to 69 or 70 degrees.
If you spend more time working or doing more at home heating oil usage will go up and refilling your oil tank more often. Instead of filling your 500-gallon oil tank every 6 weeks or so, you may need to refill it every month. The good news is that heating oil is not subject to supply problems and it stores well. So, if there’s a sudden rise in temperatures, you can just relax, knowing that your oil is safely stored in your tank until you need it.
- Improve your home insulation
- Open draperies to allow the sunshine to warm up your house
- Turn down the thermostat at night and cover up with heavy blankets while sleeping to keep warm
- Seal cracks around your home and block cool air from coming in around doors and windows with weather-stripping
- Be sure not to block radiators or registers so that heat can circulate to warm your house more effectively
Taking steps to conserve your heating oil will also help you extend its use and cut down on your overall energy costs.
We can also help with oil pricing plans and a budget payment plan to help you spread winter heating costs monthly throughout the year. Contact us for more information on how we can help you manage your heating oil bills and budget.