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Showing posts from October, 2014

Heating Safety Tips

Stay safe this Winter! As the temperature continues to drop, more and more of us will be forced to give in and fire up your heating source.  Whether it's oil heat, propane, natural gas, or one of the various alternative heating sources we have some tips on how to stay safe this winter. Fire safety can be a big issue in the cold winter months. Following the tips below will help to reduce fire hazards as you start the heating season, along with stay safe in the deep winter of February. 1. Make sure that your heating system has been inspected and cleaned by a licensed professional. 2. When you start your heating system for the first time this season we recommend that you open up your windows for a little while. This will allow any smell from dirt and dust accumulated over the spring and summer to escape outside. 3. For those homes with chimneys, make sure that the flue is open and obstructions are removed. 4. Try to use electric heaters sparingly. Do not keep them on whe

Price of Oil

Noticing a little relief at the pumps, that relief could be coming to your heating bill too. those of us that are hoping that this winter will be warmer than last year, are in for another freezing, snowy winter. This would lead most of us to believe that we're going to have huge heating bills to following, for you oil heat customers that might not be the case. Here in New England we have the highest population of home owners that heat using oil, while 50% of the nation uses Natural Gas, 5% use Oil. The rest of the country is mixed between solar, propane, electric, and other. Over the past couple of months the price of gasoline at the pumps has been going down, along with any deliveries you may have gotten heading into the season. This is partially due to the demand for oil heated home declining over the years as more homes go to Natural Gas. As this shift continues the price of oil will decline while the problems with natural gas will continue (more on that later)

How do you pick your heating company?

What do you fact the most price, service, or reputation? After last winter the thing that anyone wants to hear is that it's going to be cold and snowy again this year.  With the current price of oil pretty low as October 7, 2014 do other factors start to effect your decision to stay with your current provider or jump ship and shop around. The first and most prevalent factor that goes into to picking your heating provider is the price per gallon. With COD or cash on delivery companies the price can be fairly low right now if you visit NewEngland Oil  you'll notice several companies with prices in the low $3.00 range.  The down side with those companies is a lack of a service department. If you're heating system fails in the middle of a cold snap they don't have the staff to come out and fix it.  If price is the most important factor to you, make sure that you're heating system is in good condition or you might have more than the price of fuel to worry about.

2014-2015 Winter Forecast

After the Winter that never wanted to end, it seemed like we had a summer that didn't want to stick around. Hopefully you haven't had to fire up your heating system, but one things is for sure aside from this past weekend the temperatures sure have been chilly in the morning. Well now that Fall is in full swing it's time to prepare for Winter.  The big question is, will it be as bad as last year? The best answer is probably, The Old Farmers Almanac  is predicting that we will have just as bad or worse of a winter as last year.  With temperatures just as cold and the same or more snow.  This being New England it shouldn't come as a surprise that we'd have a harsh winter.  However the possibility of a strong El Nino would have given New Englander's a break from Winter's Wrath.  Recent models point to a mild late El Nino year, which historically brings a cold and wet winter to the Northeast. There were reports in the spring about a strong to mode