If you’re in the market for a new home or building one, you may be curious about Radiant Heat. This is a very popular form of heating that can warm your home very efficiently. However, it’s not something that can be added to your home later on. Because of this, usually you’ll want to install it during home construction. But if you’re in the market for a new home, then you might be considering a home with radiant heat.
But how does it compare to other forms of heating such as heating oil? In this blog post, I’ll be going in depth on radiant heating and how it compares to heating oil! I’ll be sure to go over everything that you need to know!
This is what radiant heat looks like under your floor. It’s very complex and intricate.
What’s Radiant Heat?
This is a form of heating that emits through electromagnetic waves. There are two common types of this and they tend to be known as conduction and convention heating.
The best example of Radiant Heat is heat that a fire produces. Meanwhile, an example of convection heat would be the heat that is produced from a heat vent. However, heat that emits based of touching something is known as conduction heat.
Now, radiant heating in your home can be a little bit different. It is located in the floors and walls of the home, and revolves around heated water running through special pipes. These tend to efficiently warm the home and keep those areas warm all day. How it works might sound a little strange, but it is a convenient and efficient way to heat the home. However, a big downside of it is that this cannot be added to your home. It can only be added during construction before the floors and walls are finished. This makes it not very easily accessible to existing home owners.
The Advantages of Radiant Heat
Luckily there are a lot of benefits for radiant heating. Here are only just a few if the benefits of using Radiant Heat:
Excellent Comfortability: Heat that’s provided from radiant heating is incredibly warm. This is because with radiant heat, the surface of the floor becomes very comfortable. This makes it easy to walk on especially during the colder winter months.
Divided Heat Distribution: When a radiant heat system produces heat, it’s evenly distributed throughout the home. This is so that your home can maintain a warm temperature throughout all hours of the day. But, forced hot air for example will only give you some patches of hot air and some cold.
Zoning Ability: A very useful tool that radiant heat has is the ability to zone. This means that you can customize and prioritize specific sections and rooms of the home to be warmer than others. This will give you complete customization over your home heating.
The Disadvantages of Radiant Heating
Now, while there are quite a few benefits for radiant heating, there are also some disadvantages:
Complexity: Unfortunately, the biggest downside to Radiant Heating is its complexity. It’s not simple at all and will require installation before the floors and walls of the home are complete. Additionally, it’s also very expensive to install in your home.
Difficult to Service: Due to being located underneath the flooring, getting radiant heat serviced can be difficult. But, most of these systems require a boiler room for servicing as well. So usually that is not an issue.
Usually Longer to Heat: With radiant heating, it heats the surface of the floor from underneath. This can cause the floor to take a little while longer to heat up. This makes it not-very ideal for secondary homes where you’re there in short bursts.
Professional Installation Required: To ensure that the system is constantly running smoothly and ensuring that there’s no problems in the future, it’s a requirement to have a professional install.
These heating systems must be installed by a qualified professional.
The Advantages of Heating Oil
When you compare heating oil to radiant heat, there are a couple of things that you have to look out for. The first thing to know is that heating oil is much more efficient than radiant heat. Heating oil burns much hotter than radiant heat, which ultimately makes the home much warmer. Heating oil also heats the home much faster compared to radiant heat. Radiant heat usually takes a little while to get going. Meanwhile, with heating oil, it’ll heat your home much faster.
Maintenance for heating oil is also much more accessible. This is due to the fact that most HVAC technicians are much more familiar with heating oil systems compared to radiant heating systems. Your Boiler or Furnace will also have a room in the home that’s completely dedicated to it. This gives those very same HVAC technicians easy access to what exactly they have to work on, as well as offering a faster diagnosis.
The Disadvantages of Heating Oil
The most frustrating downside to heating oil is how the prices fluctuate. While radiant heat doesn’t change pricing, heating oil does. Heating Oil prices are also affected by global crises. For example, when COVID-19 caused the country to lockdown, prices were down to $1 or below per gallon! While the opposite happened when Ukraine was invaded by Russia. Prices spiked up in price to above $4 a gallon. Additionally, the colder it is outside the more more heating oil is in demand. This also causes prices to go up.
You’ll also have to constantly monitor your usage and tank level when you burn oil. This is because if you don’t monitor your usage, you will run out of heating oil. This will ultimately result in you waking up to a cold house. This is not a fun experience. This can seriously damage your system, so it’s very important that you monitor your level with a tank gauge such as a Smart Oil Gauge or a standard float gauge. Either one of those will help protect your system from running out of heating oil.
This is your average heating oil tank. They tend to hold around 275 gallons for your common tank sizes.
How Does Radiant Heat Compare to Heating Oil?
Radiant heat is considerably less efficient than heating oil. While, yes you are saving on heating oil costs, it just doesn’t produce as much heat when comparing it to heating oil. The system should always be turned on to be able to heat your home. This is so that hot water is pushed through the special pipes efficiently. But, Radiant heat is also known to be allergy safe! Meaning that you don’t have to worry about any allergens being forced into the home like with hot air! This will be a monumental change for you and your children! Even your friends and family who have allergies don’t haven to worry about this upsetting their allergies.
But for heating oil, you’ll still need to remember to order oil every so often to ensure that you don’t run out. Heating Oil will also heat your home much faster than when comparing to radiant heat. However, you will also have to monitor your level consistently so that you don’t run out. Unlike with radiant heat, where you don’t have to pay attention to your level.
Is Radiant Heat Worth It?
If you are building a new home, or looking for a new one and are considering Radiant Heat, I highly recommend it! However, it’s important to know that it’s hard to get service and it’s expensive to install. However, this balances out by saving you money on heating oil costs. This can help you long term, considering how erratic heating oil prices can be.
But, if your home already has a boiler or furnace, then it’s really not worth the hassle of selling your home and buying/building a new one just to use this as a primary source of heating. You can still get cheap prices on heating oil using our FuelSnap program and all of our up-to date pricing on heating oil!
One of the nice things about heating oil is that you can order it whenever you need! You are not at the mercy of your dealer and can order whenever! This also includes if you’re on an automatic delivery contract! If your next scheduled delivery isn’t for a while, then you can always order oil using FuelSnap or schedule a time with another local dealer to come out and deliver. But Heating Oil prices tend to change often. There are a few different reasons why they change, but I’ll be going over the major ones!
What Causes Price Fluctuations?
When deciding when to order heating oil, it’s important understand how the price fluctuations work! Prices can fluctuate for a variety of different reasons. But, the most common reasons usually consist of the following:
Crude Oil Supply and Demand
Supply and Demand of Local Dealers/Competitive Pricing
Call-by or Automatic Delivery
Crude Oil Supply & Demand
The biggest factor for pricing changes is based on supply and demand. While you might not think it would, crude oil prices have a big effect on the prices for heating oil. Heating Oil is apart of a group of oil known as crude oil. Aside from heating oil, crude oil tends to include jet fuel, gasoline, machinery lubricants and much more. These all are affected by changes in crude oil prices. It’s a base fuel and is used in the above mentioned fuel types.
When global prices change for crude oil, it affects all types of it. Weather the price decreases or increases, Heating Oil prices will change. This includes major global events. COVID-19 is the biggest example if this. This brought demand for crude down by a lot during lockdown. Nobody was flying or commuting to work which caused a massive oversupply of crude oil. This caused the pricings to drop significantly, which brought heating oil prices to an all-time low! During this time, some dealers had prices below a dollar per gallon!
This is the Fuel Crash of 2020 during COVID-19. In Mid to late April the price dropped drastically.
Now the exact opposite happened in early 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. This caused a massive increase in Heating Oil prices because we stopped buying Russian oil, which resulted in higher prices for gasoline and heating oil. Since then, prices have been slowly returning to normal. Back when this first happened, prices for gasoline averaged around $4-$4.50 per gallon in the northeast! Now the average price per gallon is around $3. While for heating oil, prices where around $5 per gallon!
Competitive Pricing for Heating Oil
This is another major factor in how heating oil prices shift. Long island is a prime example of how competitive pricing can effect heating oil costs per gallon. There are hundreds of heating oil dealers located in long island which will give you a lot of different options to chose from when it comes to getting heating oil. This makes some of the cheapest heating oil prices in the northeast located in long island.
This is what the price per gallons have looked like over the past few decades. Back in the late 2000s, prices reached $5 per gallon!
But, in areas with a lower population density, there tends to be much less choice when it comes to heating oil dealers. For example, the further north you go in New York, the less Heating Oil dealers there are available, and more propane dealers become available. This makes oil pricing in these less populated areas more expensive because there are fewer dealers available to give others competition. This will tend to give more expensive pricings for these areas. Dealers will often have control over the market in these areas so they can make the price per gallon whatever they’d like it to be.
Call-By or Automatic Delivery
Regardless of which you choose, the price will eventually change. However, whether or not you order by Automatic Delivery or when you need it will determine what price you’ll end up paying. But what price you are willing to pay is dependent on the prices that they offer you.
Automatic Delivery is a pretty popular way to order oil. You pay a certain amount every month, and the dealers will come out once a month to deliver you a certain amount of oil based on how much you’re burning. What they charge you and how much they’ll deliver depends on how much oil you burn a month and how much you can fit in your tank. Usually you can negotiate with the dealer if they offer you a price that you don’t like. However, some dealers will not negotiate. Automatic delivery tends to be more convenient but ultimately it’s more expensive.
Call-by delivery is another popular form of ordering oil. This is what we use on our FuelSnap website. This form of placing an order is only for when you need it. If you decide to go with this, then be aware that you’re going to have to pay more attention to your oil level and usage. But if you have a Smart Oil Gauge, then you won’t have to worry about running out! The device will keep track of what your level is and when you need oil! Additionally, ordering through Call-By only will let you choose from local dealers in your area and give you a larger pricing range to choose from! Call-by tends to be cheaper, but also requires you to stay on top of your usage and oil level.
Conclusion
There are many factors as to why heating oil prices change so much. But the above-mentioned reasons are the most common. Supply and demand are the most common, and as global events occur, this can affect the price fluctuation in oil. Similar to that, the population density of your area could affect the pricing. If more dealers come to your hometown, then that could positively affect your oil prices by making them lower.
Deciding weather or not you should order through automatic delivery or call-by will also determine how much oil per gallon is. While automatic delivery is more convenient it is more expensive. So if you’re willing to pay the extra money for peace of mind, then absolutely do it!
Finally, Call-by only is cheaper but does require being a bit more on-top of your usage and tank level. But, if you have a Smart Oil gauge then you won’t have to worry about running out! It keeps track of your heating oil level and usage, so that you know when to order! You’ll also be alerted when you need a fill and it has “FuelSnap” integration so that you can order directly from the app!
If you live in the northeast US, then you’re likely well aware of how important your heating oil service is, as well as which type you use. Small condos will typically use electric heat as their main source of heating. But the same can’t be said for larger homes. Electric heat is expensive enough as is, but in a large home, the cost to heat the home would be ridiculous! Instead, most homes of that size will resort to either heating oil or natural gas, which are more cost-effective. But which is better and which one should you go with? Well, I’ll be covering that here!
The Big Three
The three most well known and desired forms of heating are Heating Oil, Propane and Natural Gas. But they each have their own pros and cons when it comes to being your main source of heating oil. For example, if you want to use natural gas or propane you must have a gas stove at your home. That is also true if you use propane only for gas.
Natural Gas
This has become one of the more popular forms of home heating in recent years. But, it usually is only available in cities and downs that have a dense populous. This is because there is a network of pipes below ground that connects multiple buildings throughout the neighborhood. There’s a good way to determine if your neighborhood has these pipes by keeping an eye on road work. If the roads in your town are constantly being worked on and ripped up. This is so that the piping can be constantly worked on and maintained.
This is typically what a natural gas pump looks like. If you see this outside someone’s home or outside of a building, they likley re using natural gas for heat.
You can also tell by looking at the other homes on your street. If you look in the back or sides of their home, you’ll see that they might have what looks to be some kind of meter. This meter is their natural gas line. These tend to track and regulate how much natural gas flows into your home. Homeowners are then billed by the natural gas companies for using it. Luckily, natural gas tends to be pretty cheap.
But, this form of heating is much less common in areas where homes tend to be more spread out. This is because these pipes are hard to maintain in those areas. Some companies will actually lack clients in these less populated areas, making it not worth while for them.
Heating Oil
Heating Oil has quickly become one of the most popular forms of heating oil in the northeastern united states. It’s very reliable and puts out a large amount of BTUs when compared to propane. It is also much cheaper per gallon than propane is. But, the prices for heating oil tend to fluctuate a lot more than other sources of heating. However, heating oil can be reliably stored on your property, and it’s very safe to use! You will usually find these tanks located indoors or outdoors.
This is your average heating oil tank. You can find them inside your basement or garage. But they can even be found outside like above!
Additionally, because heating oil is so popular, you can find dealers everywhere! Now with all these different dealers available to you, this means that you’ll be able to shop around for the best price per gallon. You can look at local dealers in your area, as well as using websites such as “FuelSnap” to look to see what prices other dealers are offering. Unlike, propane you’ll have the freedom to order from who and where you want.
Propane
Propane is another popular form of heating. But it’s also very versatile. You can use it to heat your home, for hot water and even for cooking off the stove! Now, unlike natural gas, they are stored in large tanks that are usually somewhere on your property. These tanks can tend to be large, white and pill shaped. Propane is stored in these tanks as a form of “Liquid Propane”. These tanks also tend to be pretty ugly to look at.
Your average propane tank looks like this. They are usually kept away from the property for safety reasons.
The unfortunate thing about propane is that about roughly 95% of propane tanks are owned by propane dealers. This is a huge problem when it comes to heating with propane. This is because this prevents you from ordering propane when you need it as the homeowner. When you are renting a propane tank, the dealer decides when you get a delivery and nobody else can fill it! In some states its against the law! It also tends to be much more expensive than both natural gas and heating oil!
Choosing the Right Option
When deciding which one to use it’s important that you weigh in all the pros and cons to really think if this is something for you. Both heating oil and natural gas are fantastic ways to heat your home and they’re both relatively cheap! However, Natural Gas is usually owned by a utility provider, so it’s not as flexible as heating oil. However, it is not as restrictive as propane. Propane tends to be very restrictive, but it is still a great way to heat your home! Just be aware that it is still expensive.
But, if you’d rather not have to worry about ordering automatic delivery or constantly ordering oil when you need it, Natural Gas is for you! The nice thing about natural gas is that it will naturally flow into your home through ducts that connect to pipes in your neighborhood. It is cheap and reliable!
When using heating oil, it’s important to monitor your tank level and usage to ensure that you don’t run out. You can monitor this with a Float Gauge or a Smart Oil Gauge. Either way, you will have to monitor your usage in some way. But, you also cannot use Heating Oil to power a gas stove, gas fireplace or a generator.
What is the Best for You?
If you’re looking for a home and you find one with Natural Gas, then I highly recommend it! It’s cheap, reliable, and effective. It can run systems such as stoves, fireplaces and much more! Even some modern apartment complexes have it as a heat source!
But, if you don’t have access to natural gas then I would recommend using heating oil to heat your home! It is incredibly cost-effective and when you compare it to other forms of heating such as propane, you’ll find that you’re able to shop around when you order! Meaning that you can find the best prices available to you! You can do this by shopping around with local dealers or by using FuelSnap! Which puts all your local dealers in one convenient place!
Now, if you can’t get access to either natural gas or heating oil, then sticking with propane is still great! It can be expensive and restrictive, but if you live in an area that doesn’t have access to heating oil, then propane is your best bet! You can use it to heat your stove, fireplace, and much more! But if you do have access to heating oil or natural gas, then using propane alongside those puts you ahead of the game!
The two most common ways to order heating oil are either with automatic delivery or call-by. Call-by is when you place an order for heating oil only when you need it. But automatic delivery is when you sign up for a plan with the dealer that will allow them to come out and periodically deliver to your home. This is usually monthly, but you and your dealer can work out a schedule that works best for you! However, signing up for automatic delivery does have its benefits and drawbacks.
Call-by is the second option you have when it comes to ordering heating oil. This is when you place an order for oil whenever you need it. You would either contact your dealer to place an order, or you could use a website like FuelSnap to place an order from local dealers in your area. This requires you to be a little more on top of your usage and oil level, so that you know when you need to order oil. But there also pros and cons to call-by as well.
This is an example of a heating oil truck. This is how heating oil is transported and how they deliver it to your home.
So which is better? Well, sit back because I’ll be going over what each of these are and which is better to go with.
What are the Basics?
Unlike electric heat or natural gas, you will need to have heating oil delivered to your home often. How often this will ultimately depend on your usage and the size of your home. But, before you go and place an order, you’re going to want to familiarize yourself with the below terminology.
Automatic Delivery: This is when you and your heating oil provider agree on a delivery schedule. The dealer will come out every so often to deliver oil based on the schedule that you both agreed on. There’s also a program called degree days that estimates when they can delivery based on what days you burn the most oil. These tend to have more premium pricing.
Call-By Delivery: The alternative option to automatic is call-by delivery. This is when you order based on when you need heating oil. This will allow you to get lower prices by being able to shop around for local dealers in your area. Prices using call-by tend to be cheaper than automatic, but you have to be on top of your heating oil level. You can monitor it easily with the use of a Smart Oil Gauge.
Service Contract: This is a maintenance plan that your dealer will set up with you that typically provides 24/7 support. This is especially useful in emergency situations where your boiler goes out in the winter. Typically they offer this for “Free”. But in actuality they will tend to upcharge you on the price per gallon of heating oil. This could range from 1-2 dollars, but will cost you roughly $800-$1,000 more a year! Typically this isn’t required because there are several other service providers that will be willing to service your tank in an emergency situation. You can also get a tank inspection periodically to make sure that there’s no damage to the tank.
Budget Payment Plan: This tends to be a more budget friendly option that helps spread out your spending over the course of a few months. This helps eliminate large heating oil bills during the busy months of the year by splitting up the large bills into little bills. Heating Oil companies will make more money off of these customers because the dealer can charge whatever they want without their customers knowing.
Fixed Price Agreement: Now this is an agreement that you can sign up with your heating oil company. The best part about this agreement is that it locks in the price for you. This means that if the price goes up, then your price stays the same. However, the same can be said about when the prices go down. So this tends to be a double-edged sword because of the price locking. Weather or not this would be worth it long term, depends on what the price per gallon is.
Price-Capping: This is a plan that you can setup with your heating oil provider, that when prices fluctuate your price won’t exceed a certain point. Unfortunately, most home owners will fall for this. A majority of homeowners will believe that there is no downside to this. But on the contrary, there is. If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. It’s good to know that even if the price for heating oil drops, then dealers can still charge their customers whatever they want to. So while your price per gallon won’t go beyond a certain point, you might see yourself paying more than the market price.
Which Should You Choose?
Previously, there were only two options when ordering heating oil. These consisted of paying the premium costs for automatic delivery or ordering when you need it for cheaper costs using call-by only. But in today’s market, dealers are still charging at least 50 cents more per gallon of heating oil when using automatic delivery compared to call-by. Some dealers might even go up to a dollar more per gallon! Make sure that you watch this so that you don’t fall into spending more per gallon on premium fees! They’ll sometimes even lure you in by offering a cheaper cost for your first fill up. Be mindful of this!
Your float gauge will be able to help you keep track of your oil level. However, as it gets older it can read inaccurately as oil gets on the bobber.
Now, with call-by, you have a bit more flexibility. You can shop around before committing to a price by looking at local dealers in your area or by using FuelSnap. But, it’s also important to make sure that your heating oil gauge is working properly! The very last thing you want is for your gauge not to work during the winter months. You can replace your gauge by following our steps here.
But, there is some good news. There’s no longer just two options when it comes to ordering oil. There’s now a third option, utilizing the Smart Oil Gauge! Thanks to the Smart Oil Gauge, you’ll now have convenient prices available to you as well as access to several dealers in your area! You’ll have everything that you need at the touch of your fingers!
What is the Best Delivery Option for Heating Oil?
So, now that you know what your options are, you’re probably asking what the best choice is. Well, I’ve compiled which is best below:
Third Place: Automatic Delivery
If you don’t want to think about when you’ll run out of heating oil, then automatic delivery is for you! But, I rank this here because of the costs. The costs of this tend to be a bit higher. While there’s no price for a piece of mind, it is definitely the most expensive option. However, if money isn’t a problem for you then I’d absolutely recommend it! You might also be able to set up a budget plan for automatic delivery to get cheaper payments that are more spread out.
However, even with the convenience of automatic delivery, you can still run out of heating oil. To prevent this, it’s best to install some sort of tank monitor to keep an eye on your level so that you don’t run out of heating oil. You can either purchase your own, or ask your dealer!
Second Place: Call-by Delivery
Call-by delivery is a great way to save money on heating oil. Compared to ordering with automatic delivery, you can save several hundred dollars annually with call-by delivery. However, even with call-by alone, you are still at risk of running out. Those hundreds of dollars you’d be saving annually won’t mean anything if your pipes freeze and cause several thousand dollars in damages.
But, if your tank is located in a convenient place, call-by is the easiest to go with by far! Meaning that if your tank is right outside your home or in your garage, you can always walk over to it to check the level! This also allows you to shop around and find the prices that are best for your situation! Just be sure to frequently check your tank level so that you don’t run out!
First Place:Call-by with a Smart Oil Gauge
This is easily the best way to order heating oil nowadays. Our Smart Oil Gauges range from $140-$160 depending on which model! You’ll be able to monitor your tank level from your phone and keep an eye on when your oil level is low and when you’ll need a delivery of oil! You can even order from the app using our FuelSnap integration!
Not only that, the gauge will store usage data for the day, week, month and year! This will keep you up to date on how much oil you’re using and what your level currently is! The FuelSnap integration also allows you to place an order of oil from multiple dealers in your area, giving you a large variety of pricing!
The Smart Oil Gauge is a great way to monitor your fuel level! It can help you keep track of how much you’re burning and what your level is.
Should You Sign Up for a Service Contract?
A majority of dealers will tell you that it’s a MUST to get a service contract with them. While they are useful, they certainly aren’t a must. If your dealer is telling you that you must get a service contract, then you should find a new dealer. There are a lot of dealers that will happily service your system without requiring a service contract, as well as dealers who won’t force you into a heating oil contract.
Which Should you Order With?
Whichever plan you decide to go with is ultimately up to you. Automatic Delivery is the easiest and most convenient. You’ll get oil delivered regularly so you don’t have to worry when your next delivery is. While, call-by provides you with cheaper prices, but requires you to be a little bit more on top of your usage and oil level. But with the Smart Oil Gauge, either plan can be used reliably. The gauge will tell you when you need oil and what your level is, making use of both programs!
Just make sure that with whichever one you decide to go with, you stay on top of your usage and level so that you can keep an eye on when you need oil! If you don’t mind spending the extra money on Automatic delivery then that’s the one for you! Otherwise, if you want to save as much as possible, then go with call-by delivery only!
High heating oil usage can be a little irritating, especially in the winter. During this time, you might find yourself burning more during the day and finding yourself having to constantly order oil. So you might be asking yourself, “Why is My Oil Usage So High?”. Well, there are a lot of factors that can cause your oil usage to be so high. In this article, I’ll be covering exactly those factors.
Before reading on, if you’ve run out of oil or are afraid that you’ll run out of oil, then you should really stop down at your local gas station and buy about 5-10 gallons of diesel. This will help keep your system running if you’re running low or if you’ve run out! During the cold winter days, you should be good for about a day or two. But it’s also important to order oil as soon as you find out you’re out. You can order through our FuelSnap website.
Outside temperature is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to usage. The colder it is, the more your furnace has to work to heat the home.
What are the Causes of High Consumption?
There are many factors to what causes high heating oil consumption. These can range in a large variety, but the most popular reasons tend to be the ones below:
Exterior Temperature: On the daily your heating oil system is constantly working. This is to ensure that your home is nice and warm at all times of the day. But, the colder the temperature is outside, the harder your system works. If it’s cold outside your system will work a lot harder to heat the home.
Interior Temperature: While it might not seem like it, your home’s internal temperature can have a major effect on how much oil you’re consuming. You’ll provide your home with the most comfortable temperature around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. But, if you set the temperature higher than this, you’ll often find yourself burning more oil as your furnace will start to work harder to get your home to the desired temperature.
How Big Your House Is: The size of your house determines how much oil your system will burn. This is because the larger your home is, the harder your furnace has to work to keep the house warm. Ranch style homes for example, are a little bit harder to heat compared to an average two-story home. Ranches will typically have a larger exterior surface area, which gives the heat more places to escape from. This makes it harder for the house to maintain the heat.
How Well Your Home is Insulated: Homes with good insulation will often have an easier time keeping heat in the home. Unlike homes that have poor insulation such as drafty windows or doors. In a home that’s older, drafty windows and doors are very common, which will give the heat a chance to escape resulting in higher usage.
How Old Your Heating System Is: Older heating oil systems will tend to have a weaker efficiency compared to newer heating oil systems. This typically means that over time, your system will consume the same amount of heating oil, but produce less heat per gallon. Usually equipment that is on the higher end will tend to last you around 30ish years. However, once that 30 years has gone by the system might not be as efficient as you think it would be!
How You’re Using Your Heating Oil: This is another consideration that will likley affect your heating oil use. Say that you’re using heating oil for both heat and hot water. You’re actually going to be using more oil to get hot water and heat in the home. Compared to using one or the other where you’ll end up using less oil overall.
This tends to be what a newer home furnace looks like. These tend to be more efficient than older ones.
The Impact of Home Size and Temperature
There are two important factors when it comes to heating oil consumption. I mentioned a few above, but the two biggest contributors are home size and temperature. If you look at the below graph, you’ll notice there is a large impact on what causes a high or low usage. The home’s insulation also plays a part and based on it’s insulation, your home will retain more heat. But, if your home is old and doesn’t have proper insulation, this can cause high usage as well.
This chart shows you the average temperature of how much oil you will be burning on average based on the size of your home.
On your average winter day, you should see yourself burning about 5-7 gallons of heating oil. This is the average of how many gallons are burned per day. Understand that this is just the average. Depending on the size of your home this could be more or less.
The outside temperature also plays an important roll in how much oil your system will consume. During the summer for example, outside temperatures will usually get to around 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit. So during this time of the year, your usage will be very low! This is because you’re only using heating oil for hot water and not for heat. Sometimes, you might not even be using it at all! While in the winter where temperatures are constantly below freezing, your usage will be higher because you’re using oil for heat and hot water.
Yearly Usage
A majority of heating oil users will only use heating oil in the winter. Some users also have electric heat for water so they’ll only need to pay attention to their usage during the winter months. Now your yearly usage will be different depending on house size, what you’re using it for and outside temperature.
But winter months will often have you burning more oil than during the summer. This will be a major difference in your year heating usage than with others. This is because, each home in the northeast is a different size and heat system is different. However, there is still an average or basis that you can compare your usage too. The below graph displays the average usage throughout the year for homes in Connecticut. You can reference it below:
This graph is a yearly estimate for how many gallons you’ll burn in year based on the size of your home.
Keeping Track of Your Heating Oil Usage
Ensuring that you keep track of your heating consumption is very important. This is because your consumption will determine how much oil you’re burning and what your usage is. The best way to monitor your usage and what your oil level is is with a Smart Oil Gauge. The gauge operates off of an ultra sonic sensor meaning that there’s no worry for the gauge to become inaccurate with oil or sludge on the end of it!
Additionally, you can also set a custom tank size if your tank is not of the normal size. You will just have to contact our support line with the orientation and dimensions of the tank. The Smart Oil Gauge connects to an app on your phone where you’ll be able to view your usage data and level readings! You’ll be able to see this information in day, week, month and year! If you want to export your data, you can do that by logging into the website and you can export it to Microsoft Excel!
Your Oil Usage
How much oil you’re burning is caused by many different factors. It’s caused by your insulation, the size of your house and much more! Having a high usage can be caused by a multitude of different things. The size of your home and the age of your system can contribute immensely as well as what the outside temperature is! But getting a Smart Oil Gauge can help turn the tides and put you in control of your usage! Just make sure that you follow our steps of how to replace your tank gauge! Using the above methods can help you stay on top of your usage and prevent run out!
Diesel is very similar to heating oil. They both have a similar consistency, and they both come from crude oil. But you might be asking, if diesel is a better heating oil option than heating oil. Or you might be wondering if your tank can use diesel instead of heating oil. I’ll be answering those plus much more in this blog post!
Diesel can be purchased at your local gas station! It is typically located on the same pump. But some gas stations have them separately.
Using Diesel Long-Term
While diesel is similar to heating oil, it isn’t a good long-term heating oil solution. If you have a heating oil system, you should only use diesel in an emergency situation. Meaning that if you run out of heating oil, then you can run out to your local gas station to pick up some diesel. Diesel actually burns slightly hotter than heating oil. So long-term usage of diesel in a heating oil tank will actually damage your system. This is because your system isn’t designed to use diesel for a long period of time.
Diesel burns roughly 138,000 BTUs per gallon compared to heating oil’s 137,000 BTUs. Now, this is only a slight difference. But it’s big enough to pose long-term problems if you decide to use diesel instead of heating oil for your heating oil system. Using diesel long term will only pose problems for your system. If you wish to use diesel as a long-term heating oil solution, then you must have your system converted over to a diesel system.
When Can You Put Diesel in your Tank?
Diesel should only be put into your heating oil tank in an emergency. If you run out of heating oil, then stopping off at the gas station to get 5-10 gallons of diesel should be the first thing you do after verifying that you’re out of oil. But, before you do this you really should make sure that you’re definitely out of oil. You can determine weather you are out or not by doing the following:
Check the Float Gauge Reading: Take the plastic cap off and slowly pull up the colorful disc on the float. Once you do that, you can determine if the level is low or not. If it slowly goes back down then you’re not out of oil. But if it falls back down and can move about freely you might be out of oil.
Grab Diesel: Going to your local gas station and grabbing roughly 5-10 gallons of oil is the best thing to do in a situation like this. It’ll hold you over for a couple of days until your next delivery comes.
Locate your Fill Pipe: These are usually located outside your home and says “Fuel Oil” on the caps. Only fill the tank from here, NEVER FILL FROM THE TANK’S FITTINGS!
Wait 10 Minutes: Before you turn your system back on, you’re going to want to wait a couple of minutes for the sludge to settle at the bottom of the tank. Then, you can press the restart button your furnace and the system should kick back on. You might need to bleed out the lines if you don’t have hot water or heat back.
Using diesel will be super helpful for you in a pinch! Stopping off at your gas station can save you when you’re running low!
Running Low on Oil
When you run out of heating oil, your system will shut down and you’ll wake up to a cold house. If this is the situation you find yourself in, it’s important to determine weather or not you’re actually out of oil or not. This is is because sometimes it can be an entirely different issue. Other issues could happen such as a faulty starter or a clog in the feedlines. So it’s very important to determine weather or not your tank is actually out of oil.
If you’ve followed the above steps, then it’s crucial that you order oil as soon as you can! You can order from your regular dealer, or by using our FuelSnap program. After placing your order, you should run down to your local gas station and grab around 5-10 gallons of heating oil. Doing so will help you stay warm until your next delivery!
A Great Short-Term Heat Source
While diesel in a heating oil system is not something that you should have for a long-term, it’s fantastic for short-term usage. If you run out of oil, then run down to your local gas station and purchase about 5-10 gallons of oil to keep you going until you get your next scheduled delivery. It’s very useful in a pinch!
Just be careful about letting your tank level run low. Running low or running out of oil can cause your pipes to freeze which can damage your home! Even if you have to keep running to the gas station, do not let your tank level get low! This can and will damage your system! Using something like a Smart Oil Gauge will be very helpful to ensure that your tank never runs out of oil! The gauge will track your level and usage data to help you ensure that your system will always be up and running!
The prices for home heating oil can get pretty expensive nowadays. The Northeast tends to be notorious for expensive heating oil prices! It creates a lot of heat per gallon which makes it very desirable by many as a primary heat source. However, this can sometimes lead to high energy bills come the winter time. But there is a way around those expensive energy bills and it’s called “Locking In a Price for Heating Oil”. This happens when you place an order for a delivery. At the time of placing an order, your price is locked in and cannot be changed. But how useful is this?
A Variety of Heating Oil Prices
The interesting thing about heating oil is that prices tend to fluctuate. They can tend to be a little bit more complex than you might think. First and foremost, there are two main ways that heating oil is ordered. That’s through call-by and automatic delivery. While call-by tends to be a bit cheaper, automatic delivery is much more convenient.
However, while automatic delivery is more convenient, be aware that this is the more expensive option of the two. You will end up paying more money annually than with call-by only. That being said, it’s still a convenient and useful way to purchase heating oil if you’re willing the spend the extra money.
Most dealers will offer both automatic and call-by delivery services. They use the same trucks, but automatic tends to have more premium costs
Call-by only is definitely the cheaper option. This is because you’re choosing from a select few dealers in your area and this will usually give you a bit more variety in pricing. This will allow you to select the best pricing available to you at any given time.
Market Pricing of Automatic Delivery
Now, if you’re going to go with Automatic Delivery, then it’s important to note that you’ll have to pay whatever the “current rate” is. This price is determined by the heating oil dealer themselves. This is usually the price that they pay per gallon plus roughly 80 cents to a dollar. On average, this tends to be $.50 more per gallon then the average call-by only customer would pay. You should definitely keep that in mind if you’re considering using Automatic delivery long term.
Market Pricing for Call-by Delivery
When you compare call-by pricing to automatic delivery pricing, will call is usually always cheaper. This is because will-call is much more competitive than automatic delivery. Dealers who offer call-by delivery will tend to have a variety of prices because they want to get your business. Unlike automatic where they already have your business and can charge you whatever they want, call-by isn’t like that. They are actively seeking your business, so making their call-by prices as low as they can is beneficial to them. If you use our FuelSnap website, you’ll see what dealers are offering in your area.
Fixed Pricing: Some dealers will offer a fixed rate on heating oil gallons. This usually will work by agreeing with the dealer on a permanent price per gallon for you. The pricing will usually depend on your average usage throughout the year. Unfortunately, there is usually an additional fee for this and some dealers might require you to get a maintenance plan on top of this. This tends to be a double-edged sword because on one hand you’ll be saving money but on the other hand, you’ll be having to spend more.
Price Caps: This another tempting plan that dealers will offer you. With a plan like this, you’ll only have to play up to a certain price. Now this does sound pretty enticing. But what’s the catch? Well for starters, the dealer might try getting you to pay a fee up front or in worst case scenarios, the oil price inflates! This typically means that dealers can charge you more simply so that they can make a profit. Another important thing to mention is that if the price of oil goes down, then you’re still going to be paying the capped price. The dealer will decide on a price with you that you’ll pay. For an extended amount of time you’ll continue to pay that price until you or your dealer terminates the agreement.
Take a look at a simplified version of the above information. You’ll be able to to look at the pros and cons of each option that’s available to you.
Making Sure You Get the Best Price
There are a lot of different ways to save on heating oil costs, and I cover all of those ways in my article on The 10 Best Ways to save on heating oil costs. But, ultimately the best way to save on heating oil costs is to use call-by delivery. You’ll be able to get a larger range of pricings so that you can figure out what price per gallon is best for you!
If you decide to go with a call-by delivery, feel free to use our FuelSnap website! This website will give you a list of dealers available to you in your area! This means that you can get a variety of different pricings in your area! Our website will help you get the lowest prices available to you! You’re also locked in at checkout! So that means if the price per gallon goes up, you’re still paying the price you paid for!
Now, if you decide to stay with automatic or sign an automatic delivery contract, then understand that it will be more expensive. You’re going to pay for the convenience and peace of mind of knowing that heating oil will always have a delivery coming every month and that you won’t have to worry about when to order!
Heating Oil and Propane are some of the most popular sources of home heating in today’s day and age. They both have their own benefits and downsides that could determine weather or not they would be fit for your home. But if you’re thinking about switching to propane or heating oil, then you’ve come to the right place. This is an important decision, so it’s good to be sure that you’re making the right one. In this article, I’ll be covering what you need to know for both heating and propane so you can find out which best suits you!
Both Fuels are Deliverable
When it comes to Heating Oil and Propane, they are both known as “Deliverable Fuels”. Other forms of heating such as natural gas and electric heat will come to you automatically. However, when it comes to heating oil and propane, they don’t. You have to get them both delivered to your home via a truck. Now, it’s important that you maintain a steady and constant supply of either of these two fuel sources. That’s because if you’re not careful, you can run out of oil which can damage your system.
The two primary ways to order either oil or propane is by “Call by” or “Automatic Delivery”. Call-by only deliveries are exactly what they sound like. You call when you need oil/propane and your provider will come out and deliver to you. Call-by is usually cheaper and will save you money. But, you will have to call when you need a delivery, which isn’t an issue if you’re on-top of things! However, if you tend to forget things easily automatic delivery is probably better for you! This plan is a bit more expensive, but it will put your mind at ease for when you need to order oil. You won’t have to worry about when you’ll need oil next and your provider will come out and deliver to you every so often!
What’s the Difference between Storing Heating Oil and Propane?
Both heating oil and propane are stored in tanks. But the tanks for both are slightly different. Heating Oil tanks can be in all different shapes and sizes and locations. Meanwhile, propane tanks are all roughly the same shape and are located away from the home and are never right up against it. Both fuel tanks for Heating Oil and Propane can hold their desired fuel for a long period of time. Typically, several months.
There are three common tank locations to keep an eye out for on Heating Oil Tanks:
Indoor Tanks: These are the most common locations where you’ll find Heating Oil Tanks. They are also the most desired. Typically these are in your basement, crawl space or garage. These tanks are never exposed to the outside elements and fluctuation of temperature.
Outdoor Tanks: These tanks aren’t as desired as indoor tanks, but are the second most common way you’ll see heating oil tanks. Even though these tanks are located outdoors, they provide an easy and accessible way to access and inspect the tank! But, these tanks will need to be replaced more frequently than indoor tanks because they are exposed to the outside elements and fluctuating temperatures.
Underground Tanks: These tanks are the least preferable option, but they are also incredibly rare nowadays. There is no way to inspect these tanks for leaks, making them hard to service. You’ll need to stick measure the tank manually to find out how much oil is in them. Additionally, these tanks are old and often prone to leaking which can cause environmental damage.
This is what your average heating oil tank looks like. You can find them both indoors and outdoors but most commonly indoors.
While Heating Oil tanks have various styles and locations, propane tanks don’t have as many options. There are only ever really two propane tank styles that you’ll see:
Outdoor Tanks: This is the most common way that you’ll see propane tanks. They are often above ground and are located away from the property incase of a leak. They stick out like a sore thumb, but are in the backyard of the home owner.
Underground Tanks: Now, these tanks are usually very rare for propane. But they do exist. These tanks are actually preferred because they protect the tank from the elements.
This is what a propane tank tends to look like. You can find them above ground away from the home.
The Benefits of Using Propane
As a fuel source, propane is very versatile. It can be used as a primary fuel source to heat your home, as well as a secondary fuel source for utilities. You can use it heat fuel stoves, fireplaces, furnaces as much more! Most commonly however, they’re used on grills. If you have an outdoor grill that you use during the warmer months, you might find yourself refueling on propane occasionally so that you can cook yourself some hamburgers and hotdogs!
The Downsides of Propane
The major downside of using propane is that there is a lack of flexibility. You are always provided a propane tank by your provider. Meaning that you don’t own your propane tank. This means that you’re only able to order from that propane provider when you need to order. You’ll also be unable to order from a different distributor because in some states it’s illegal to fill another provider’s tank. For this reason, most propane tank providers are a little pushy when it comes to selling tanks and propane.
Propane tank providers will often make a large profit on selling propane when they get you to switch from heating oil. What they don’t tell you is that propane is very restrictive. The biggest restriction is the fact that you don’t own your tank. But say for example you want to switch to heating oil or switch to a different provider. Well in that case, the provider will have you buy your tank. This can often cost you several thousand dollars.
You also can’t top off your tank incase you run out of propane. You’ll have to wait for you to get close to running out before you place an order. Because of this, you won’t be able to get any propane in an emergency situation. You’ll have to wait until your provider schedules your next delivery.
The Benefits of Heating Oil
Heating Oil burns incredibly hot! Because heating oil will burn much hotter than propane, you’ll often get more heat per gallon of heating oil than per gallon of propane. Usually a gallon of propane will produce a total of 91,500 BTUs. This sounds like alot but only about 86,000 of those BTUs are actually effective. One gallon of Heating Oil on the other hand, produces 138,500 BTUs with 117,000 of those BTUs being effective. If you do the math, propane actually produces 30% less heat than heating oil would.
Another huge benefit to heating oil is that YOU OWN YOUR TANK! You can typically buy a heating oil tank from your local Home Depot or Lowes. You can order oil whenever you need it, regardless of when your next scheduled delivery is. Owning your tank gives you the freedom you’ll want to have when ordering oil in an emergency, or if you just want to get ahead of the game. You’re also not locked into a specific dealer. Yes you can sign up for automatic delivery but say you run out before your next delivery. You can order from FuelSnap or another local dealer in your area to buy oil in an emergency.
Heating Oil will also have a larger variety in prices. This is due to heating oil being more competitive than propane, so prices tend to fluctuate a lot. But that also means that you have access to sites and tools such as our FuelSnap website. Our website will give you a variety of dealers to choose from. This allows you to shop for the lowest prices available to you!
The Downsides of Heating Oil
The worst part about heating oil is that it stinks. It has a very distinct odor that’s easy to pick up on. Luckily tanks don’t leak very often. But when they do, you’ll know. If you regularly inspect and check on your tank, you’ll be up to date to prevent future spills and leaks.
Another thing that you have to be aware of with heating oil is fluctuating prices. Heating Oil prices tend to be all of the place because of the competitive market. However, oil prices are also prone to global events affecting prices. For example, back in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, oil prices were at an all-time high because we stopped buying Russian oil. However in 2020, oil prices were at an all-time low with the lock down during COVID-19 because nobody was really buying oil.
Concluding Thoughts
Propane is very useful when it comes to cooking, and heating with a fireplace or generator. But as a long term heating solution it leaves a lot to be desired. It’s significantly more expensive and much more restrictive.
While propane has it’s uses, not owning your tank and having to abide by your provider when you need a refill is stressful. If you need a delivery and can’t get one for a couple of days then you’re out of luck. You’ll have to wait until your next delivery. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t use propane at all! It’s a great secondary heating source alongside either heating oil, electric or natural gas!
Heating Oil is the best form of primary heating. Oil can run your furnace, boiler and much more! It’s also able to produce more effective heat than propane would! Heating Oil’s a great source of heating to have in your home and you’ll have the freedom or order from who and when you want!
If you’re new to your Smart Oil Gauge, then there are a couple of things that you need to know. But, don’t worry, because I’m going to go through everything that you need to know about your Smart Oil Gauge. In this blog post, everything you need to know will be provided here. Since my original article on this in 2023, we’ve made many improvements to the Smart Oil Gauge, including the new Duo model! So buckle up, there’s going to be a lot to digest in this article, so feel free to bookmark this and come back to it later!
Setting Up Your Smart Oil Gauge
The very first thing that you should do after getting your gauge is to set it up. It’s best you do this when the gauge is off the tank so that you don’t have to hunch over your tank when setting up. But on Smart Oil Gauge Duos, you can remove the interiors to troubleshoot. So, if you have a Duo model, you can install it before setting it up. But, if you have a standard model, then you’ll need to set it up before installing.
At the time of writing, we currently have two ways to configure the gauge. They are the app config mode and the alternate config mode. These modes are very simple to follow, and we have in-depth instructions on each of them. But first, you’ll need to download our Smart Oil Gauge app. This can be done by going to either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and searching up “Smart Oil Gauge”. You’ll see an app that looks like a Blue & Black Water Droplet with a white background. You’ll then want to make an account so that you can view your Smart Oil Gauge’s readings!
The App Configuration Process
Since 2023, we’ve significantly improved our app’s configuration process. The process is now much simpler which will make it easier to configure the gauge to the app! This process gives you a step by step guide with photos and videos of what he flashing light on the gauge looks like. This process also specifies that you have physical access to the sensor and your WIFI password handy to make this process as simple and smooth as possible. When the process asks you for the password for your WIFI network, it is going to ask you for the password for the network. So make sure that you connect your phone to the network that you wish to connect your gauge to. I have a step by step guide, that walks you through this process here.
Alternate Setup Process
Now our second process is the alternate process. This process requires you to go through your WIFI settings on your phone first. So using your phone, you’ll want to navigate to your internet settings to start off. Unlike the App Configuration, you can do this process regardless of if the app is installed or not.
To get the gauge into the config mode, you want to make sure that it’s on. Start by unscrewing the cap of the gauge. Then, press and hold the button down on the top right of the gauge (count one-one thousand, two-one thousand and let go). The gauge should start flashing once every second. After that, you should see a network show up that says “CCF#####”. You’ll want to join that network by typing in “smartoil” as the password. You’ll then see a screen that says “SSID”, “Password” and “Email Address”. If your phone doesn’t take you to the login screen, you’ll simply need to go to your web browser and type in 192.168.4.1 and you should be brought to the login screen. Tap on your WIFI and it’ll autofill the SSID box, then simply type in your WIFI password and your email address and press save!
Setting the Tank Configuration and Upload Interval
Once the gauge has been successfully set up, you’ll need to set the tank configuration and the upload interval. Knowing what kind of tank that your gauge is going to be installed onto is VERY important. It will determine if the gauge is accurate or not. Start off by finding out what size tank you have. This will make or break weather or not your gauge is accurate. If you received the email asking to finish the setup process, it’ll ask you to set the upload interval and tank size from that email. However, if you didn’t and are setting it up through the app, you can follow the below steps.
To change this from the app, you’ll need to go to the tools screen. This starts from the “Tank Detail” screen. On IOS you’ll see a little gear on the bottom left that will take you to the “Tools” section of the app. On Android, it’s the three dots on the top right and “Configure”. Then, select your tank under “Sensors” and you’ll be able to change your upload interval and tank configuration.
There are standard sizes for 275, 330 and Roth tanks. You can find all these sizes on the app when you’re setting up the gauge. Now, say for example that your tank isn’t one of the shown standard sizes. You can email or call our support with the dimensions and orientation of your tank and we’re happy to configure that tank size for you! However, it’s important to note that the Smart Oil Gauge is not compatible with underground tanks and Roth 1500Ls.
The gauge’s upload interval will determine how often the gauge uploads. You can set this between anywhere from every hour to every 24 hours. But the more often the gauge is uploads, the more you’ll burn through the batteries. For example, if you have your gauge set to upload every hour, then you’ll probably only get six months out of your batteries on average. This is because the gauge will need to draw power from the batteries to upload to our servers and the more often it does that, the more life it burns. But, the less you have the gauge upload the more you’ll save on your battery life. For this reason, we recommend that the gauge uploads every 12-24 hours as this will give the gauge the best battery life.
Custom Tank Settings & Sensor Offset
In the previous section I mentioned custom tank sizes briefly. Well, they are very important if your tank is not a standard size. We do have tank sizes configured for less common tank sizes such as 120, 138, 220 and 240 gallon tanks. However, those are not available on the app and you’ll have to contact our support line to get those tank sizes due to them being so uncommon. So when you’re setting up the gauge, you need to get the dimensions of your tank, or know what size your tank is. Once you have the dimensions of your tank and orientation, we’ll provide you with a custom tank size that you can set your Smart Oil Gauge to!
Now a sensor offset is a little different. This is a setting that will ignore a specific amount of level readings to improve accuracy on gauges installed with an adapter. Offsets are not used on gauges that aren’t installed with an adapter. Typically on offset is determined depending on how raised your gauge is with the adapter. Ninety percent of the time, it’s going to be a 1-inch offset. All of our adapters will raise the gauge up roughly one inch. This offset accommodates for the gauge being raised up one inch.
Setting Alerts
While looking in the “Tools” tab in the previous section, you might’ve noticed the option “Alerts”. This is where you’ll be able to set alerts to be notified about changes with your heating oil tank. We offer a large variety of alerts for the Smart Oil Gauge. You’ll be able to configure these alerts in three different ways. Those being, “Texts”, “Emails” and “Push Notifications”. Here are some examples of the alerts that the gauge will send:
Abnormally high usage
Receiving a Fill
Tank Below 1/4
Tank Below 1/2
Sensor Not Reporting
Deals and Offers
Those are only a handful of the alerts that the Smart Oil Gauge offers! The nice thing about setting email and text message alerts is that you can put multiple emails and phone numbers onto the text alerts! This will help you share your alerts with your family and heating oil providers if you’d like! You can access these alerts from the “Tools” screen.
Batteries
Unlike your TV Remote, the Smart Oil Gauge doesn’t use AA batteries like Duracell and Energizer. The gauge needs two batteries that are 3.6 volts to power the device. The AA batteries are only 1.5 volts each. This means that these batteries will only power the LED light. When you put in standard AA batteries, the LED light on the gauge will still flash because they will have enough voltage to power the LEDs and not the gauge. The gauge will also not be able to enter any of the config modes with those batteries in it.
The Gauge MUST use SAFT LS14500 batteries. These batteries are reliable and will power the gauge without issue. Any other brand of 3.6 volts can work. However, they likley will not be as reliable as the SAFT brand. You can watch our video tutorial on replacing the batteries here.
Additionally, we DO NOT recommend replacing the battery box with an AC adapter or plug in device. This puts the gauge at risk of short circuiting during a power outage and can damage the interior workings of the device. Most important of all, it will void the warranty of your sensor.
Installing the Smart Oil Gauge
Installation of the Smart Oil Gauge is actually quite easy. All you really need is the gauge, pipe dope and a 14″ pipe wrench. You can also install the gauge by yourself! Now it’s good to note that you’ll want to install the gauge AFTER you configure it. This is not as important with Duo Devices because you can remove the interior guts of the device once installation is complete. But you should absolutely install the standard model after the gauge has been setup.
To install, first you’ll want to put a thin layer of pipe dope on the bottom threads. Then, go ahead and install the gauge onto the fitting you wish to install it on by hand, tightening it as far as possible. Then, you’re going to want to tighten it down all the way with a pipe wrench. Don’t be afraid to scratch up the piping with teeth marks, because that’s what the piping is meant for! You can watch our installation guides for Roth Installations and Granby Tank Installations to get a better idea of how the process goes!
Ordering Through FuelSnap
The Smart Oil Gauge has many useful features. One of which is being able to order heating oil through the app! The Smart Oil Gauge has integration with FuelSnap and will allow you to order oil through local dealers in your area! Just make sure to fill out your address and zip code so that FuelSnap knows what dealers are available in your area. You can only access FuelSnap’s integration from the “Tank Detail” screen. You will see an option that says “Check Oil Prices”. When you select it you’ll be able to place an order for heating oil.
Now it’s also good to note that ordering through FuelSnap is completley optional! This means that if you want to keep ordering from a dealer that you already order from, than that’s completley fine! Feel free to stick with what you’re comfortable with! But, if you are ever in a pinch and need heating oil, you’re always welcome to order through FuelSnap! You can also always order off of our website if you’d like to as well.
Navigating the Tank Detail Screen
The tank detail screen is one of the screens that you will likely spend most of your time on when in the app. It’s basically your home screen when using the app. You can look at your graph, how many gallons are in the tank and little bubbles that give you information about your usage. It gives you the name of your tank, battery level and when the last reading was. It will also display the “FuelSnap” oil prices option if you wish to order oil through the app. Clicking on the option that says “graph” or the graph icon will take you to your level & usage graphs. The level graph will give you level readings for “Day”, “Week”, “Month” and “Year” which will contain usage information and averages for oil usage. The gauge will also give an estimate on what you will use.
When you are on the tank detail screen, you’ll see three bubbles that show up on the right hand side. These bubbles will give you gallons per day, days to 1/4th, and days to 1/8. Each of these bubbles will give you information you need to know about your usage. However, these bubbles will not fill unless you’ve got a full weeks work of data. Sometimes they will show up with information early. But, the information in that bubble will not always be 100% accurate until you have a full week’s worth of data. This means that each week your data will be different!
The Standard Smart Oil Gauge’s Sensitivity
It’s important to note that Standard Smart Oil Gauges have a slight sensitivity when the tank is full. This can cause the gauge to initially read less oil than what’s in the tank at first after a delivery. This will only occur on the Standard Smart Oil Gauge because it’s operating range is 8″-72″. So when the tank gets a fill, the gauge will read less oil than what’s actually in the tank after the delivery. You’ll then see the level slowly decline overtime with a sudden spike back up. That sudden spike back up is the oil level clearing the 8-inch sensitivity and tends to look like you got another delivery of heating oil.
Now the nice thing about this sensitivity is that once the oil clears the top 8″ of the tank, our system will automatically adjust your usage data. This is because the gauge will still pick up that you’re burning oil, and still collect usage data. So when the oil clears the sensitivity, our system will adjust and recalculate your usage accordingly. This is because when the ultrasonic signal returns to the sensor for the first time to report, the gauge is still in the sending mode. So the ultrasonic signal bounces off the device, back down to the oil level and back up to the sensor. This effectively doubles what the Smart Oil Gauge is seeing. You can check out a more in-depth explanation on this sensitivity here.
The Smart Oil Gauge Duo
Our newest device is the Smart Oil Gauge Duo. This gauge is currently our most accurate device. It’s operating range is 0-72″, meaning that it is accurate within that range with no 8-inch sensitivity like with the standard model. The dual sensor device gives the gauge the ability to be more accurate from the top of the tank after a fill.
The Smart Oil Gauge Duo also allows you to take the interiors out of the gauge when you need to troubleshoot. This can be especially useful when the gauge itself disconnects from the WIFI or you simply just need to update your information. The Duo also uses the same batteries as the standard model. So if you need to take out the batteries, then simply taking the gauge out of the tank and replacing the batteries can be done by removing the interiors.
The Smart Oil Gauge Duo also has a stronger seal than the standard model Smart Oil Gauges. The Duo is better for outdoor usage than the standard model. While the Duo has a better seal then the standard model, we recommend that you purchase the outdoor model if you intend to use the device on an outdoor tank. This is because the outdoor model is more suited for outdoor use and can better withstand the elements. If you want a more in-depth explanation of the Duo, you can find that here.
Force WIFI G Mode
This is our newest software addition and it’s incredibly useful. Force WIFI G is a new setting that we’ve created in hopes of combating issues with smart routers. Smart Routers will usually have a setting enabled called “Smart WIFI”. This setting will help the router become more streamlined and integrated. However, the setting in question is “Smart WIFI” and this setting is very beneficial to the router. Basically, it will move devices from 2.4ghz to 5ghz and vise versa to improve performance. But with the smart oil gauge, the device will disconnect because it’s not compatible with 5ghz. So when the router moves the gauge over to 5ghz, the gauge will ultimately disconnect.
However, with the new “Force WIFI G” setting you will be able to set your gauge to connect only to the 2.4ghz network. You can enable this setting by going into the “Advanced” options of our alternate process. Once you make it there, you’ll see an option that says “Force WIFI G” with a little check box. Once you check the box off and hit save and exit, the gauge should be able to connect to your 2.4ghz and stay connected to only that network. I’ve gone over the complete process in depth here.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve made it this far, then you know pretty much everything there is to know about the Smart Oil Gauge! But, I’m only scratching the surface of the more in-depth topics mentioned here. While i’ve kept these paragraphs brief, there are still more things to know! But, the Smart Oil Gauge is very useful and by reading this article, you pretty much know all the basics!
However, if your curiosity gets the better of you then I highly recommend checking out all of our other articles that I’ve written on our website! You’ll have a vast knowledge of what you need to know on both heating oil and the smart oil gauge! The Smart Oil Gauge is a very useful and powerful tool to use for your heating oil system and your home!
If you use heating oil as your source of home heating, then you’ll know that your heating oil tank comes equipped with a tank gauge. This is also known as a float gauge. It is a metal arm that comes equipped onto your tank with a little bobber at the end. This bobber will be able to give you a rough estimate as to how many gallons are in your tank. But over time, this bobber can get coated in sludge, and this can bog it down. This means that the gauge will be inaccurate as it gets older and coated in sludge. This also usually means that your tank’s float gauge will need to be replaced. In this article, I’ll be covering exactly how this is done and when you should replace it.
What will You Need to Do This?
Before I tell you what you need to do to replace your heating oil gauge, you should pickup the following items. These will make sure that your process is done swiftly and smoothly. To begin, you will need the following:
Rubber Gloves
A Pair of Old Clothes (Heating Oil is messy and smelly, wearing old clothes will ensure that you don’t ruin a pair of nice new clothes)
A Trash Bag
A Pipe Wrench that is 14″ or more. I recommend this one – Purchase It
Pipe Dope or another form of thread sealant –Purchase It
Understanding how a float gauge works is important so that you’ll know how much oil is in the tank. This will also help you get a better idea of what to expect when you’re replacing the gauge. At the bottom of the float gauge’s disc is a metal arm that will move up and down in the tank. This allows the bobber to sit at the top of the oil and gives it enough movement for the gauge to read. The gauge also has a cylinder with a colorful disc inside. The cylinder has little marks on it that help determine where the oil level approximately is. However, it’s important to note that float gauges are not 100% accurate because they do not accommodate for the curvature of the tank.
In the above picture, you’ll see approximately how a heating oil tank functions. You’ll see that the float arm extends outwards to give you the approximate reading of how much is in the tank.
What Causes a Float Gauge to Break?
The biggest reason for a float gauge breaking is when it gets coated in sludge. This tends to bog down the bobber which can cause the bobber to read inaccurately. Additionally, the metal arm of the gauge can also bend and break. If the arm of the float gets caught on the side of the tank or sludge holds down the gauge, it can break. Due to this, you might have to frequently change out your float gauges. Which can be expensive in the long run.
Sludge buildup is the most common cause for a float gauge to go bad. This is because the sludge will weigh down the bobber, causing inaccurate readings.
Additionally, over time the assembly of the float gauge can rotate. This is how the arm of the float gauge gets stuck on the sides of tank walls. When the float arm is stuck on the side of the tank, it can cause the bobber to get stuck and this can cause the gauge not to read what the tank’s level is.
Step 1: Loosening the Fitting
Before you go ahead and unthread the gauge from the assembly, you should loosen it up a bit. Start off by removing the gauge’s plastic vial on the top with your hands and remove it, revealing the disk. Then, you can put the pipe wrench on the gauge’s metal fitting. Now, you can begin turning. DO THIS VERY SLIGHTLY! If you turn it too hard, then the float will hit the side of the tank’s interior.
Important Note: If the fitting of the gauge isn’t moving, go ahead and soak it in penetrating oil for a couple hours or even a day or two. After a bit of waiting, the gauge should now come out of the fitting.
Step 2: Lifting the Disc and Completley Removing the Fitting
Once the fitting has been loosened, you’ll be able to start taking out the float gauge. You ideally should have someone help you with this process. But, it’s not a requirement to have someone help you do this, it just makes the process a lot easier. If you’re doing this alone, then continue to follow the steps below to get the float gauge out of your tank.
You’ll want to start by unscrewing or taking off the cylinder of the float gauge. Unscrewing this will allow you to pull up the disc and pull up the gauge out of the tank. Pulling the gauge out by the disc will pull the gauge out of the tank and make it easier to take it out without hitting the sides of the tank.
Step 3: Removing the Gauge’s Float Assembly
After loosening the gauge’s fitting, you can can remove the float assembly. Now, this is the messy part. So make sure you’ve got your gloves on and your trash bag handy! You’ll want to release the disc next. This will allow the gauge to settle back into the tank after dropping the disc. This will make it easier to get the gauge out of the tank.
Now that you’ve let go of the disc, you can pull the gauge out of the tank. However, be sure to have the garbage bag ready to put the old float gauge in. This will be messy and oil will come out of the tank. So after putting the gauge in the garbage bag, make sure you have your paper towels handy to wipe everything clean after taking the gauge out of the tank. Oil will spill out when you’re doing this. So be prepared!
Step 4: Install the New Gauge!
Now for the fun part, it’s time to install the new gauge! Weather you’re installing the Smart Oil Gauge or a new float gauge you’ll want to be sure to careful when you install it. But basically, you’ll be going through the process in reverse. But, before you do anything else you’re going to need to clean off the tank’s fitting. As per usual, you can use an old rag to clean off the fittings.
If you’re installing a new float gauge, then you’ll want to mark which direction you’d want to float gauge to go from the fitting. You can use a permanent marker or something similar to do that. You’ll also want to make sure that the float doesn’t hit the the sides of the tank because it’ll get caught and not be able to read properly. So you can always put the floats arm facing inward on the tank.
You’ll slowly want to lower the float into the tank until the tank’s fitting and the float gauges fitting connect. Then, you’ll gently want to lift up the new disc so that the arm lifts up in the tank so it’s not sitting in the oil. You’ll want to continue to slowly lift it up and tighten it until it’s snug. But it’s recommended that you do that slowly. After ensuring that the gauge is securely attached to the tank, you can reinstall the cylinder.
Installing the Smart Oil Gauge
Now, if you’re installing a Smart Oil Gauge instead of a float gauge the installation process is much simpler. All you have to do is put a thin layer of pipe dope onto the threads of the gauge. Don’t put a lot because that can cause the gauge to not read accurately if pipe dope gets on the sensor.
Now, if you find yourself unhappy with your current float gauge, then the Smart Oil Gauge is a great replacement option! There is no float arm that can get caught on the side of the tank and cause the gauge. The Smart Oil Gauge also uses an ultra sonic sensor that is able to determine how much oil is in the tank. Just make sure that your Smart Oil Gauge is configured for the right tank size!
The Smart Oil Gauge will be able to give you a breakdown of how much oil is in your tank and what your usage is. This will help you better understand what to do incase you run out of oil or you need to know what your usage is. You’ll be able to find out all of this through the purchase of a Smart Oil Gauge!
Closing Points
To ensure that your float gauge is reading properly, you’ll need to make sure that the float is properly installed into the tank and sits on the tank properly. This will ensure that the float’s bobber will be able to read the oil level properly.
But, if you wish to go with the Smart Oil Gauge as your new gauge, you won’t have to worry about a bobber getting stuck on the tank or the gauge being unable to read properly. As long as your Smart Oil Gauge is set up for the right tank size, the gauge will be accurate. The gauge will also be able to send you alerts from the app via notifications or emails. This way you can make sure that you’re not running out of oil!
Happy Heating,
Hunter
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