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.
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!
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!
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!
Happy Heating,
Hunter
