Service Your Furnace To Increase Efficiency
If you’re heating system is running at about 60 percent efficiency, it’s time to buy a new one because you’re losing 40
Service Your Furnace Today!
cents of every fuel dollar as exhaust. For everyone else, there are basic jobs (some you can do, some for a pro) that maximize the heating potential of a furnace.
The most basic is to have the system cleaned and, if necessary, tuned. Except for electric units (they rarely need service), a furnace is a combustion engine that gets dirty, gradually loses efficiency, and sometimes breaks down like a car engine.
To combat the possibility of an expensive repair call one morning when everyone isfreezing, including the water pipes, a standard service call is a good investment. It should cover the mechanisms of combustion, like cleaning and adjusting the spray nozzle and ignition points on an oil-burning furnace. A good technician will also check the exhaust path, the blower, and probably change the filter on your oil supply line. In many ways it’s like a car tune-up. Unless your furnace is only a few years old, it’s wise to ask the technician to do an efficiency test. That produces a percentage — hopefully 80 or higher — that quantifies how much usable heat the furnace delivers to your home. Some modern systems run at over 90 percent efficiency, which means you lose less than 10 cents per fuel dollar as exhaust. (By way of comparison, most fireplaces lose about 50 percent of their heat as exhaust.) Granted, high-tech, high-efficiency heating systems cost the most, but often wind up saving money in the long run, particularly when fuel prices spike.
To read more about servicing your furnace, please visit heating services.
The Degree Day System Explained
U.S. Degree Days Map
The degree day system is based on the amount of fuel a customer has consumed between two or more deliveries and the high and low outdoor temperatures during the same period. A degree day is defined as one degree of temperature below 65°F in the average temperature of one day. In other words, to arrive at the number of degree days in one day, the official high and low temperatures for that day must be obtained. The two figures are then averaged, and the number of units this average is below 65°F is the number of degree days for that day. For example, if for Tuesday, November 3, the high temperature is 70°F and the low is 54°F, the average is found by adding 70 and 54, which equals 124, and then dividing by 2. The resultant figure is 62, and by subtracting 62 from 65, it is determined that there were three (3) degree days that day.
The “K” factor is the number of degree days in any given period divided by the number of gallons of fuel oil used in a given period. Multiplying K degree-days per gallon by the number of gallon of usable fuel remaining in a tank gives the number of degree-days before a delivery is needed.
To read more of the original article, please go to K-factor.
Heating Oil Prices: What You Should Know…
I believe it’s important that you understand why heating oil prices can fluctuate. So please read this article in its entirety below from the US Department of Energy.
Introduction:
Heating oil is a petroleum product used by many Americans to heat their homes. Historically,heating oil prices have fluctuated from year to year and month to month, generally being higher during the winter months when demand is higher. This winter, distillate fuel inventories are low and customers will be concerned about the potential for higher prices. To understand the reasons for these price variations, consumers need to understand how heating oil is used and how and where it is produced.
Who uses heating oil?
Of the 107 million households in the United States, approximately 8.1 million use heating oil as their main heating fuel. Residential space heating is the primary use for heating oil, making the demand highly seasonal. Most of the heating oil use occurs during October through March. The area of the country most reliant on heating oil is the Northeast.
Some customers try to beat rising winter prices by filling their storage tanks in the summer or early fall when the prices are likely to be lower. However, most homeowners do not have large enough storage tanks to store the full amount needed to meet winter demands. Because homeowners may have to refill their tanks as often as 4 or 5 times during the heating season, possible rising or spiking prices are a concern.
Please click the link heating oil prices to read more.
It’s easy to save energy, money and the environment at work, too!
1. Replace incandescent lights with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for desk lamps and overhead lighting. Using CFLs instead of comparable incandescent bulbs can save about 50% on lighting costs. CFLs use only 1/4 of the energy and last up to 10 times longer.
2. Use natural lighting or daylighting. When feasible, turn off lights near windows.
3. Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus light where you need it, to directly illuminate work areas.
4. Unplug equipment that drains energy when not in use (i.e., cell phone chargers, fans, coffeemakers, desktop printers, radios, etc.).
5. Turn off computers and monitors at the end of the work day, if possible. If you leave your desk for an extended time, turn off your monitor.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, http://www.energysavers.gov/your_workplace/
Happy New Year!
We welcome you to our new website and blog which features great tips, ideas and advice to help you save energy and money in the coming months. Winter is already here but whatever the weather, we’re here to take care of all your home comfort needs whenever you need us, 24/7, all year! But we also enjoy taking care of others in our community throughout the year, by supporting local programs and events.
Have any questions about your home comfort needs? Please contact me any time or stop by our office for a cup of coffee.
From our family to yours, we wish you a safe, happy and prosperous new year!
Mike Kerslake
Owner
(203) 505-4451
