Turn down the thermostat 10 degrees when you go to work, and again when you go to bed -- a total of 16 hours a day - - and you can save about 14% on your heating bill. Keep a close eye on your tank gauge. Don't let your tank run out of fuel oil which may add special delivery charges.
If your 275-gallon tank is full at the start of a 40-degree weather spell, the oil will last for approximately 74 days, or 2.5 months. Granted, you would be lucky if the temperatures in your area drop no lower than 40 degrees during the winter months.
How long should 100 gallons of heating oil last? Using the calculation above, 1.7 gallons per hour x 10 hours a day (assuming the number of hours you spend at home is 10 hours) = 17 gallons a day. That means, 100 gallons of oil will last you about six days (100-gallon tank / 17 gallons per day = 5.8 days).
During winter, temperatures often vary between the 20s and 40s, with an average of around 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Under these conditions, a typical home uses about 5.3 gallons of heating oil daily.
Call to Schedule Oil Delivery
If your gauge shows that the oil tank is empty, then your next step should be to call your oil company to schedule a delivery. Depending on when you call, it could take a few days before your oil arrives.
Prices usually surge in the winter when demand is high. The overall increase in wholesale power prices plays a role, as well. Your heating bill for oil is also heavily influenced by regional conditions. The number of local providers and extreme weather events can cause the price of oil to fluctuate.
The average monthly home heating oil bill is $154.92. Your average monthly propane bill will run about $134.86, again, with considerable variation by location, provider and the heating efficiency of your home.
Tank size: 275 gallons (holds 250) Reorder point: 1/4 tank or 68 gallons. Usable gallons between fills: 250-68 = 182 gallons. Number of Days Between Fills: 182 gallons / 5.2 gallons/day = 35 days.
Not to mention the savings during the nighttime when the thermostat is set at the lower temperature. The physics does not lie. This is absolutely, positively true for furnaces that burn heating oil or natural gas, she said, which basically just turn a flame on and off.
We expect the Brent crude oil price will average $82 per barrel (b) in 2024 and $79/b in 2025, close to the 2023 average of $82/b. Our forecast for relatively little price change is based on expectations that global supply and demand of petroleum liquids will be relatively balanced.
When you're home and awake, set the thermostat for 68°F. Lower temperatures by 10° for the hours you're asleep or out of the house.
If you have a 275-gallon tank, which typically holds about 230 gallons of fuel (the rest is needed for air), a full tank should about five weeks in a 2,000 square foot home. Overall, you should expect to use somewhere between 700 and 900 gallons during an average heating season in our area.
There are several factors that will influence the amount of heating oil you use, such as how often you have your heating on, how many rooms you need to heat, how warm you like your home, how many people live in the property, how much time you all spend at home, and the efficiency of your heating oil boiler itself.
Therefore, the average home utilizes around 5.3 gallons of heating oil per day. This means that a full tank will last about 52 days or one month and three weeks. A 275-gallon tank can usually support a typical home.
There is no danger to you if your oil tank runs out. Your heating system has safety settings that disable the burners if oil does run dry, so there's no danger of poisoning or combustion. The main inconvenience of an empty tank is being without heating fuel – particularly in the middle of winter.
We would argue that it is not cheaper to keep your oil heating on all the time on a low heat, and that you are better off only using your oil heating when you are at home and need it on.