Total Energy News and Insights

How low can the price of Oil go? For many home heating oil customers the price of oil is a major factor when it comes to picking a company to use.  As the price of oil here in New England continues to trend downward as the global market receives more and more supply, now is a perfect time lessen the weight price contributes to picking a heating company. Think back to 2012-2013 when the price of home heating oil was about $2.00 more per gallon then what you can find today. Now think about what the average home burns per year, which varies around the region but usually is about 800 gallons. That means that two years ago could have spent 1,600 more than what you would pay now. That's a vacation or a couple of payments on a car, or a service plan for several years or another seasons worth of heating fuel.   With the price of heating oil as low as it is compared to past year the difference between a full service company and cod company is as vast as it always h...

What do you expect when you need service on your heating system? It's the middle of the night in the middle of winter and you wake up to a freezing house, your first thought maybe "why isn't the heat on". So you check the thermostat, it reads that the temperature is much below what you set it at. Your next step is head downstairs and check the heating system. Come to find out it isn't running, what do you do? First check a few things. Does your tank have oil it? When the temperature drops you may begin to burn more fuel than you anticipated and a run out may be the culprit. Many full service companies will be able to deliver an emergency amount of fuel to get you through the night until a more substantial amount of fuel can be delivered. Has your emergency on/off switch been flipped for some reason? This can usually be found heading down to your basement or around the heating system itself. You can also hit the burner reset button once...

Price vs Value One of the most tried and true statements ever made is, you get what you paid for. In my past job in the tire industry this was always true for 90k mile tires vs 40k mile tires for high the price. The same can be applied to your fuel provider.  Their are two types of oil providers that you can find out in the market, cash on delivery or COD and full service. COD companies take payment at the time of delivery of your oil and for the most part do not provide credit or payment terms. COD companies traditionally do not have a service department. So in the event that your heating system breaks down in the middle of the winter or your pipes freeze it may be difficult to find a company that will come out in the middle of the night.  COD companies, because they have less staff and therefore less overhead have much lower prices for oil deliveries. Now a full service company, is a company that offers payment/credit terms, 24 emergency service, automatic d...