Comfort and Savings: Finding Your Balance

This is the time of year when you want to make wise choices to stay comfortable while you keep your energy costs under control. Here are some tips to help you.

5 Propane Upgrades to Consider

Balance out your comfort and savings throughout the year with these five suggestions for propane upgrades.

1. Install a propane fireplace or propane log set. Vented propane hearths give you all the benefits of wood fireplaces without the smoke, mess or clean up — and at a fraction of the installation cost — no chimney required!
2. Warm up to a propane space heater. Do you have rooms that are drafty and cold? Do you do a lot of work in your garage? Vented propane gas space heaters are easy to install, incredibly efficient and extremely safe. They also burn cleaner, with fewer emissions compared to electric space heaters.
3. Upgrade to a new propane furnace. Propane gas furnaces are best in their class in terms of efficiency, with ratings from 90 to 98% efficient. A propane furnace can provide affordable warmth and comfort for any size floor plan, from small residences to large custom homes.
4. Go tankless. Swap out your old electric tank water heater for an innovative tankless propane unit. You’ll cut down on your water heating bills and enjoy a virtually endless supply of hot water.
5. Swap out your electric stove for a propane range/cooktop. Precision temperature control is just one of the reasons that 9 out of 10 professional chefs choose to cook with gas. Why not discover all the other benefits of a propane cooktop for yourself?

Propane — the more appliances you have, the more you’ll love it! For more propane upgrade ideas, please contact us and we’ll be glad to share our expert advice with you!

Raising Smart to a Higher Degree

A smart thermostat is a great addition for your home. A Wi-Fi enabled thermostat allows you to view and change temperature settings, check local weather conditions and more, all from your smartphone, computer or tablet.

Once the smart thermostat gets installed, you register it online. This enables access from any location. If you’re away from home, you can use your phone or tablet to adjust the temperature setting so your home is at the perfect temperature when you return.

Some thermostat models even allow you to adjust temperatures to your comfort and over the next few days your thermostat will “remember” the temperatures you like and build a schedule based on your patterns. Now, that’s pretty smart — and it saves you on both heating and cooling costs!

Put Your Comfort on Automatic

Many of our oil and propane customers get scheduled deliveries. They never have to call us for fuel because we carefully track their fuel usage and then make a delivery before their tank gets low. Automatic delivery does not cost anything extra!

This system works for most customers if usage is consistent, but there are exceptions, especially for our propane customers who use appliances at their discretion, such as fireplaces, space heaters and pool heaters.

In cases like this, we ask that you call us for a delivery when your propane tank gauge reaches 30%. This will give us plenty of time to get more fuel to you.

If you’re a heating oil customer who prefers to call in your order, you should do so when your tank reaches the ¼ mark.

Important: If you find you’re using a lot more or less fuel than you did last year, please call and let us know. We will be happy to adjust your delivery schedule.

Safety Corner

Here are a few tips on how to keep everything running safely and efficiently in your home.

• Keep the area around your heating equipment as clean and clutter free as possible. Never store anything flammable near your boiler, furnace or any other appliance.
• Change or clean the filter in your oil or propane furnace on a regular basis during the heating season. Dust and dirt are the natural enemies of your furnace; a dirty filter compromises efficiency and can even result in a shutdown.
• Whether you heat your home with oil or propane, install carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in your home. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions about location and maintenance.
• After a severe storm, carefully check your property for downed power lines, damaged gas lines or damage to your furl storage tank. Contact us to report any damage.