Smart Heating Oil Delivery: Expert Tips for Home Heating

Introduction

For residences heated with home heating oil, a.k.a "#2 heating oil" or “fuel oil,” heat is one of a homeowner’s biggest annual expenses. Therefore, finding the best price is important: pennies saved per gallon add up to thousands of dollars of savings over a home’s lifetime. This comprehensive guide will help you navigate the process of ordering heating oil deliveries in your area that find the right balance between price and convenience that best fit your family’s needs.

Heating Oil Dealers

Unlike utility monopolies such as your electric company or cable company, where you have only a single choice of provider, home heating oil is delivered by 2,000+ dealers (SUSB Annual Data Tables , US Census Bureau) competing for you as a client. This competition benefits homeowners by driving heating oil prices down, and driving quality and customer service up.

Heating oil companies generally fit into one of two categories.

Heating Oil Dealer Categories

"Discount" (a.k.a. COD Fuel, Will Call, or Cash Heating Oil)
"Full Service"

Discount Heating Oil Companies

a.k.a. “COD fuel” or “Cash Heating Oil“

In the same way that JetBlue is able to offer high quality flights at low prices by eliminating frills like free meals and checked luggage, discount oil companies offer the best prices for high quality heating oil by eliminating frills and focusing on prompt, efficient delivery.

Discount fuel oil dealers are lean oil delivery machines that have eliminated costly expenses that full-service oil companies need to charge a premium in order to afford, for example: teams of salespeople visiting customer homes, newspaper and direct mail ad campaigns, expensive software packages, etc.

Buying #2 heating oil from a discount oil company is as easy as buying gas for your car: when your heating oil gauge says you’re running low, you place an oil order. Typically, orders are delivered the following business day, but many companies will juggle their schedules to make a same-day delivery if you’ve run out of oil or are running dangerously low. Luckily, unlike your car which needs gas every week (or more!), your home heating oil tank is large and only needs 3-4 fill-ups per year.

Buying Discount Heating Oil

Discount oil companies tend not to have web-sites or ads, so the easiest way to order discount fuel oil is to use an online heating oil marketplace such as the Heat Fleet iOS app, Android app, or the HeatFleet.com website to compare prices and place orders. Because discount heating oil companies adjust their prices daily (sometimes cutting prices midday to fill up the next day’s delivery schedule), it’s rare that one company will consistently offer the best price. Online heating oil marketplaces compare prices of multiple dealers, saving you the hassle of making multiple phone calls to get quotes each time you order oil.

How often should I check my oil gauge?

Summer: Every two months
Spring/Fall: Once a month
Winter: Every week and before storms and after severe cold fronts

Boiler Service & Maintenance

Because discount oil companies don’t maintain in-house service technicians, it’s good to establish a relationship with a professional, dependable boiler service company to call if you run into any unscheduled maintenance issues. Hiring a heating & cooling service company to conduct an annual boiler tune-up will keep your boiler running at peak efficiency, reduce the probability your boiler will require unscheduled service during a severe cold front, and ensure that the company is already familiar with your system in the event you need emergency service.

Full Service Heating Oil Companies

If savings is not your priority and you prefer a “set-it-and-forget-it” heating system, a “full service” heating oil company is for you. Full-service oil dealers charge premium prices, and in turn, provide homeowners with a diverse array of convenience-focused delivery plans, pricing plans, and payment plans.

Full-service Pricing & Payment Plans

Automatic delivery: if you sign a 1-year delivery contract, the oil company tracks your oil consumption and automatically makes heating oil deliveries when their software estimates you are running low.
Bundled service & maintenance: full-service companies bundle oil delivery contracts with 1-year boiler service contracts. (Purchasing oil with a dicsount oil company requires using a separate company for boiler service).
Pricing Plans: full service companies offer “fixed price” and “price cap” pricing plans, which cost more per-gallon, but limit your risk in the event that oil prices steeply spike up.
Payment Plans: Because all of a home’s #2 heating oil deliveries are clustered in the winter, a home’s annual oil expenses are concentrated in a very short period of time, which can disrupt a household’s finances. Full-service oil companies offer payment plans where oil consumption is estimated, and billing is evenly portioned out over each of the 12 months of the year.

Finding the right full-service oil company

A full-service oil companies generally has a significant web presence, with customer reviews on sites such as Google and Yelp. Because buying from a full-service company involves signing up for a long-term contract, and because you will be relying on that company in the event of an emergency heating outage, it is very important to review customer ratings and reviews to make sure that you’re selecting a professional, dependable company rather than focusing exclusively on price. An oil contract is like a one year marriage: if you jump into it, you might find yourself in the cold, out of oil or with a broken boiler, and have neither legal recourse nor a way of getting a refound.

Placing Your First Order With A New Company

Before your first delivery, you can help your heating oil company by informing them of your tank location, tank size, and the fill-pipe location.

Oil Tank Location

Most homes’ oil tanks are installed in the basement, some homes’ oil tanks are outside, and a few homes have tanks buried underground. If you’re unsure, look in the basement, and then outside along the perimeter of the house. If you still haven’t found your tank, search the yard for a buried tank’s fill pipe (see “Fill Location” section, below).

Oil Tank Size

New oil tanks have a nameplate on the side of the tank that displays tank capacity. Older tanks are often missing the nameplate. Most homes have a single 275-gallon oil tank, but a variety of tank sizes and combinations exist, and different size tanks resemble each other, but have slightly different dimensions. If the size is not written on the tank itself, use this Tank Size Guide to figure out what you have.

Oil Fill-Pipe Location

While not necessary, you can help make your first oil delivery quick and efficient by relaying to the oil company: (i) which side of the house your fill-pipe is located on, and (ii) any distinctive landmarks the pipe is adjacent to (e.g. “under the bay window”).

Basement tank

Fill pipe projects out of the house and is mounted to an exterior wall.

Outdoor above-ground tank

Fill-pipe is located on top of the tank.

Underground/buried tank

Fill pipe is in the yard, either flush with the lawn or protruding a few inches up.

Oil Delivery

Because your fuel oil fill pipe is located outside, you generally do not need to be home for the oil delivery. A few exceptions where you do need to meet the oil delivery driver are: (a) if you choose to pay by cash/check, (b) if your boiler has run out of oil and needs to be manually primed and restarted.

Heating oil is delivered to your home by a small tanker truck that’s equipped with a metered oil pump (similar to the meter at a gas station pump that counts the gallons). Oil truck meters are verified annually by government inspector.

Planning for snow: When you expect an oil delivery on a snowy day, ensure your driveway is plowed and a path is shoveled to your oil fill pipe.

When the tanker truck arrives, the driver pulls the fuel hose to your fill-pipe, screws the hose-valve to the fill-pipe to establish an air-tight seal, and engages the truck’s fuel-pump, which dispenses 1-2 gallons of oil per second.

Oil Heating Oil FAQs

How do oil delivery trucks work?

Oil delivery trucks use a three-stage system: a pump, a meter, and a hose with a delivery nozzle.

Pump
The pump, often a gravity-assisted transfer pump like the Roper 3600, generates the flow of fuel.
Meter
The meter, such as the Liquid Controls "M-Series," measures the exact quantity of fuel dispensed into yourtank. Meters are audited by your state’s Weights and Measures inspectors to ensure accuracy.
Hose and Delivery Nozzle
The fuel oil then passes through a hose and is delivered through anozzle, such as the Scully Ball Valve Delivery nozzle.

Do oil delivery companies use tank gauges?

Very few oil delivery companies use tank gauges for several reasons:

Cost
Oil tank gauges are expensive.
Maintenance
They require battery replacement every year or two.
Signal Issues
They need a Wi-Fi signal, which many home routers do not reach, especially in boiler rooms.
Accuracy
The degree day oil consumption estimation method is usually accurate enough for oil companies to determine when to refill your tank.

However, some oil delivery companies do offer Wi-Fi oil tank gauges, including:

Robison Energy
Bradigan
Combined Energy Services

How do oil companies know when to deliver oil?

Oil companies use the "degree day" calculation method to determine when to deliver oil. Starting the day after your tank is filled, the company estimates daily oil consumption based on two factors:

Outside Temperature
As the temperature drops, your boiler or furnace burns more oil to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature.
Historical Oil Usage
The company considers how many gallons your boiler or furnace burned on previous days with similar temperatures.

Each day, the oil company subtracts the estimated oil usage from the remaining oil in your tank. When the remaining amount drops to approximately 60 gallons, the company schedules an automatic delivery for the following day.

What is heating oil?

Heating oil is a term used for diesel fuel when it is utilized for space heating. It is also known by other names such as "fuel oil," "home heating oil," "#2 heating oil," and "distillate" fuel. Heating oil is one of the products obtained from refining crude oil, which is a process that separates crude oil into different grades of fuel. From every 100 gallons of crude oil, approximately 42 gallons are refined into gasoline, 29 gallons into heating oil (diesel), 9 gallons into jet fuel, and the remaining 20 gallons are used for other fuels and products.

What is oil heat?

Oil heat is a space heating system that uses heating oil (diesel fuel) as its source of heat. This system can utilize either a furnace or a boiler. In a furnace, the oil is burned to heat a metal box known as the combustion chamber. Air flowing over the outside of this chamber is warmed and then distributed throughout the home. In contrast, a boiler heats water as it flows over the outside of the combustion chamber. This hot water is then circulated through pipes to radiators or heat exchangers around the house, where it warms the air.

Is electric heat cheaper than oil?

Electric heat is generally more cost-effective when compared to using space heaters but tends to be more expensive than an efficient electric heat pump. However, the cost of prematurely purchasing and installing an electric heat pump before your current oil heating system has reached the end of its useful life would likely exceed any savings achieved by switching. Continuing with your existing oil heat system may be more economical in the short term.

Should I buy heating oil now or wait?

If you have less than a quarter tank of oil, it’s advisable to buy more now. If you have more than a quarter tank, you may want to wait until your level approaches this point so you can place a larger order. Ordering more than 150 gallons in a single delivery typically qualifies you for a volume discount. The only exception is if an extreme weather event is anticipated that could disrupt delivery by closing streets for an extended period.

What is oil heating in a house?

Oil heating is a system that burns diesel fuel in a furnace or boiler to generate heat for your home. When used for space heating, this diesel fuel is commonly referred to as "heating oil," "home heating oil," "#2 heating oil," or "fuel oil." Oil companies manage the delivery of this fuel with fleets of tanker trucks. These trucks pick up the oil from wholesale terminals, often called "racks," and deliver it directly to your home.

Heating Oil Deliveries