Total Energy News and Insights

What does 1/8 of a tank mean and how long will it last? For those of you that use a COD company or a full service company and are on Will Call, do you know how much oil is actually in your tank and how long it will last.  A frequent problem that arises with COD and Will Callers is running out of fuel or having to keep track of their fuel use.  While for some this isn't an issue at all, for others running out of fuel and having to frantically call around to get fuel is a big problem. So how can this be avoided? The best way is to familiarize yourself with your tank. First is to understand how much oil is in your tank, luckily there is a gauge on the top of the tank that shows you how oil is in the tank.  There are variants to this but for the most part they all look like the image below. While some look different than this they all show the amount of Oil in the tank in variables of fourths or eighths.   An oil tank if filled from top to bottom will hold 275 gallons, howev

Boilers use Water while Furnaces use Air to Heat Homes. When the cold air hits and the familiar sound of the heating system isn't heard, it's time to have your heating system looked at and possibly replaced.  A common issue that comes about is what kind of heating system do I have, a boiler or a furnaces and what is the difference? Well there is a big difference between the two, first is the efficiency and how the each equipment heats the home. Boilers use water or steam, while furnaces use air to heat the home. This is where the terms forced hot air or forced hot water come from, as the system will force heated water through base boards or radiators or heated air through duct work. Boilers traditionally are more energy efficient than furnaces due to the delivery of the heated source.  There is a lower amount of energy loss from piping involved with a boiler than the duct work that is required for a furnace.  The energy energy rating for your heating system is repres

The cost of comfort isn't as easy to find as opening your energy bill. Whether you heat your home from a COD company, a full service company with a cap or without a cap, Mass Save, or any of the other money saving programs, what does it all translate to. When it comes to picking a heating company or a source it isn't just about the cost of fuel, there is an entire system of people that depending on the company can make or break your experience. When you have a winter like we had last year the price of heating your home became a very important aspect.  This was due to many people taking an additional filling for heating oil and the price of propane rising due to supply and demand.  This lead many customers to look away from Oil and Propane and make the move to Natural Gas or leave their full service company for a COD company.  In some cases these choices were helpful, in others they did more harm than help. Let's look at making the switch to Natural Gas first,  th