In the northeastern United States, heating oil is still a prevalent fuel for keeping homes warm. Because of the terrain, the installation of underground natural gas pipes has been difficult, so even municipal residents historically have needed to choose deliveries of propane gas or heating oil. Even now, when access to natural gas is expanding, many homeowners still prefer to buy heating oil in Clinton instead of making the switch.
Relevant Data
About 6 percent of U.S. homeowners rely on heating oil as their main source of winter warmth. Most of them live in the Northeast. The percentage has been steadily dropping because the price of this fuel has been steadily rising.
Switching to propane would not help much, as there has not been a great deal of price difference between propane and heating oil. Also, both experience fluctuations and can spike during times of heavy demand. Pricing is often connected with events that local distributors such as Business Name have no control over. Also addition, to change to propane, homeowners with oil furnaces would need to have an entirely new system installed.
Instead, people who can make the change to natural gas increasingly do so. Rural residents may rely on a combination of wood or pellet heat and heating oil in Clinton as a backup. They also can take steps to reducing heat loss from their homes.
Reducing Energy Costs
For example, a heating and the cooling technician can evaluate all the ductwork and check for gaps where heated air is escaping behind walls or in a basement. This is particularly important in older homes where joints between pipes may have come loose. The technician also can install a programmable thermostat that reduces heat costs by automatically lowering the temperature when nobody will be home for many hours.
Covering windows with plastic can help substantially if the frames are old and drafty and the windows are not energy efficient. This not only reduces heating costs, burt it also makes the rooms more comfortable as well. Energy experts generally don’t recommend replacing windows simply for energy savings because it takes so many years to recoup the cost.
