What Factors Can Impact my Home’s Fuel Usage?
If your home is heated by propane or heating oil, you’ve likely noticed an increase in the amount of fuel you’ve used over the last couple months compared to the summer and early fall. This is quite common and to be expected as the outdoor temperatures decrease, and your HVAC system needs to consume more fuel to maintain your desired indoor temperature. Aside from the weather, there are certain household changes that could impact your usage this season that are worth keeping in mind. Here are a couple of the primary considerations:
New Members of the Household
If you added any new members to your household, you could expect this to potentially impact your fuel usage. Between running more hot water for showers, increased household laundry in addition to various other factors, your home may require more fuel.
Newly Installed Appliances
A good question to ask yourself as we move towards the winter season is whether you’ve installed any new appliances over the past year that are now drawing from your propane or heating oil. For example, you may have connected a new generator to your home or perhaps you converted your kitchen to gas. These are both factors that can impact the amount of fuel your home is demanding. Paired with colder weather you could see an uptick in overall usage.
Why Does it Matter?
Understanding the impact that these changes may have on your overall usage matter for a few reasons. First, knowing that you’re consuming more propane or heating oil will help ensure you don’t run out of fuel. If you’re an automatic delivery customer, the best thing you can do is notify your energy company if you suspect that you might be consuming more fuel this heating season. If you order fuel as you need it, you may benefit from checking your tank levels a little more frequently than you might have in the past. The second reason is that you’ll be able to better predict your costs. No one enjoys paying for utility bills, but they’re much more manageable when they aren’t a total surprise. Finally, depending on the recent changes at your home there are instances in which it may be beneficial to increase the size of your tank. This would likely translate to fewer total deliveries in a year but may be worth pursuing if you’re consuming fuel at a fast rate.
If there have been any recent changes like the one’s listed above in your household, your best bet is to inform your fuel provider. Using considerations such as square footage, the number of individuals residing within a residence and appliances powered by your fuel we’ll be able to provide an updated estimate on the number of gallons you will use per year. Get in touch with our heating experts here at Aero Energy today for a free consultation and to learn about the great programs you can benefit from! Give us a call at 1-800-998-4311 or live chat with us directly from our website.