Maine Oil Dealers Association

1. A heating system tune-up will save you money.

To get the most value from the heating oil you buy you should call your oil dealer and schedule an annual tune-up of your heating system. Having your system tuned up will ensure that it is running properly and at peak efficiency. That can mean saving as much as 5% on fuel. Many oil dealers have their own professionally trained and certified Oilheat technicians who can service your furnace or boiler. Or they can recommend a reputable heating system company. Remember, the best time to schedule this important job is during the spring and summer. Once the temperatures begin to turn cold in the fall, Maine's oil dealers become very busy keeping you and four out of five Maine families supplied with heating fuel. Call your oil dealer today for more information.

2. A new Oilheat system could be 40% more efficient.

How old is your heating system? You may be surprised to learn just how efficient Oilheat systems have become over the past 20 years. Upgrading an old system to a new one is an investment that can pay for itself in a relatively short period of time.

Installing a new flame retention oil burner can save 15%
Upgrading to a modern Oilheat system can save up to 40%
The money you save on fuel can pay for the upgrade
Home equity and home improvement loans make financing easy

Just imagine: If you have an old system, you could cut the number of gallons you use each winter as much as 40%. And, if you're like most Maine homeowners, your local bank will be happy to talk with you about a home improvement loan – especially since you'll be saving money and building the value of your home.

3. Is money leaking out of your windows?

It's easy to tell which windows are the troublemakers. And leaky windows can slowly rob you of hundreds of dollars worth of heat over the course of a few heating seasons. To test which windows need help, simply cut a narrow strip of very light plastic about a quarter inch wide and 15 inches long (plastic dry cleaning bag material works very well). Tape the strip to the top of a pencil and hold it a few inches away from the window on a windy day. Be sure that your window is closed and locked. If outside air is blowing into the house, you'll see the strip moving.

The good news is that there are a number of things you can do to fix the problem:

Maintain: You can improve the integrity of your windows with some simple maintenance. Caulk around loose panes. Add weather stripping between sashes and sills.

Enclose: You can reduce leaks and improve a window's insulation effect by stapling or tacking a tight layer of polyurethane plastic sheeting on the outside. For extremely troublesome windows, you can apply plastic sheeting to the inside as well.

Replace: If there is still a lot of leakage, window replacement might be the only permanent solution. Ask your local lumberyard or building supply dealer for information on replacement windows. Keep in mind that replacing windows is easier in the summer, and typically less expensive to install, than it is in the winter.

Don't forget to check your basement windows, too.

4. Spend time with your thermostat and spend less on fuel.

It doesn't cost you a single penny to change the setting on your thermostat. But turning your thermostat down can definitely save you money. And, you don't have to be cold, either. You can control your thermostat "spending" if you can develop a few wise habits.

When you're home, adjust your temperature setting by moving it just 2 degrees at a time. Give it a try. Or if you're calling for heat, simply raise the setting on your thermostat slowly. Stop when you hear your furnace kick on.
Lower the thermostat setting when you go to bed, raise it at breakfast. (Replacing your one-setting thermostat with a day/night thermostat or changing the settings yourself can save you as much as $100 a year if done correctly and consistently.)
Lower the thermostat setting when you leave for work, raise it when you return. If you turn your thermostat down five degrees when you're not at home, you can save about 5% on your annual heating bill.

It's important to remember that when you do lower the thermostat don't go overboard. It takes a lot of energy to raise the room temperature from 60 degrees to 68 degrees. Lowering your thermostat setting to 64-65 degrees is just about right.

5. Shut the door good and hard.

To hold heat indoors and keep the cold outdoors, all four sides of the door need to be weather tight — a tricky balance because the door will stick if it's too tight. Rubberized weather stripping around the edges of the door that compresses slightly when the door is closed makes a tight seal to keep out the cold winter wind. Your local hardware store is a great source for all kinds of weather stripping products.

Of course, a weather tight storm door and a weatherized solid door make a great combination. The storm door forms a first defense against wind, and the trapped air between the doors makes a very effective "dead air" insulation barrier, too.

Here are a couple more things to keep in mind. If you have an eighth of an inch gap at the bottom of an average 36 inch wide door, that's the same as having a hole in the wall about the size of half dollar coin. Think of all the cold air that can blow through a hole that size non-stop, 24/7, all winter long.

Now keep in mind that the average open door makes a 21 square-foot hole in the wall that lets cold air come rushing into your nice warm house. So whether you're entering or exiting, you'll save on your heating bill if you're quick about it. Don't linger in the doorway, and make sure you have your car keys so you don't have to come and go twice.

6. Let the sun shine in.

In Maine, the sun rises and sets slightly south of a true east to west line. That's why "southern exposure" is very desirable. It's very basic passive solar. Even in the old days, builders would try to situate a new home so that the south side windows let the sun shine in and the north side of the house had fewer and smaller windows — sometimes no windows. Another old-timers' trick was to plant deciduous trees close to the south side of the house. That way, the leaves on the trees would block the sunlight in the summer, keeping the house cool. Then, when the leaves dropped in the fall, the sunlight would shine through and warm the home in the winter.

Where's the south side of your home? If you have deciduous trees, you're in great shape. But if your south side has lots of sun-blocking evergreens you might consider thinning or removing them to take advantage of free solar energy. A word of caution though: Depending on how large your windows are you might consider gradually thinning a group of evergreens to find the right balance between not enough and too much sun. You don't want to discover that your home becomes an oven in the summer because you took out too many trees.

7. Insulate. Insulate. Insulate.

Today’s homes are much better insulated than homes built 30 or even 15 years ago. Many classic older homes have been upgraded with new, more effective insulation. Still, it’s well worth taking an insulation inventory. Do you know the thickness and the quality of the insulation in your exterior walls, crawl spaces, and ceilings? Do you know their “R-Factor”?

Scientists use the R-factor to describe the differences in insulation effectiveness. The R stands for resistance to the flow of heat through the air (convection) or through solids (conduction). The higher the R factor, the slower heat travels through it.

If you have doubts about your insulation consult a local builder or insulation specialist for an expert opinion. You’ll find lots of do-it-yourself books and instructions on insulation at your local hardware store, too.

A quick insulation tip: Outlets, switches, and junction boxes on outside facing walls can be weak spots in your overall insulation system. Most hardware stores carry spray cans of foam insulation with easy instructions on how to seal off those cold spots.

Another quick insulation tip: Consider thermal window quilts. These thick, quilted fabric shades can help keep your home warmer by adding another layer of “dead air” in your window casing which helps prevent cold from leaking in.

Yet another quick insulation tip: Use foam rubber pipe insulation to insulate any piping that is near the outside walls of the house.

8. Fireplace and woodstove dampers? What goes up must go out.

A fireplace is a wonderful feature to have in a home. Not very efficient for heating, but very special just the same. Woodstoves, too. But remember, once your fireplace fire or woodstove fire is totally out and no glowing coals or embers are left and the fireplace or stove is cool to the touch, it’s time to close the damper. An open flue is an open invitation for your home heating dollars to fly up and out of the chimney.

DON’T FORGET TO OPEN THE DAMPER WHEN YOU LIGHT A NEW FIRE.

9. Five little ways to save on heating costs.

Not everything you can do to reduce your energy usage is as dramatic as system upgrades and replacement windows. Here are five very simple but effective ways to reduce the cost of heating your home.

1. Vacuum your baseboard units: if you have baseboard heat, remove the baseboard covers to expose the heating pipes and their heat dispersing vanes. Use a kitchen broom to sweep as much dust and lint as you can and then vacuum it off. Believe it or not, this will help your baseboards transfer heat to the room more efficiently.

2. Remove obstructions: Anything that stands between your baseboards, radiators, or floor vents makes it harder for warmth to get to the rest of the room. Make sure that armchairs, couches, drapes, bookshelves, etc. are not blocking your heat sources. Be sure to keep rugs slightly away from baseboards, too, because air needs to be able to pass through the bottom of the baseboard in order to force warm air out of the top.

3. Keep your closet doors closed. You don’t need to keep your clothes at room temperature so why pay for the extra fuel.

4. Close your curtains and shades at night to trap heat inside; open them during the day to let heat from the sun in. And be sure to keep windows on the south side of your house clean to maximize solar gain.

5. If you have a waterbed, be neat and make your bed every day. The sheets, blankets, and bed spread will help insulate the water so you won’t have to pay quite so much to heat it.

10. Invest in a high-efficiency oil-fired water heater.
Ask your oil dealer about an indirect water heater system. With these modern water heaters, you can enjoy a practically endless stream of hot water. During the heating season, this hot water is basically free; a byproduct of your home heating use. In the summer time, Oilheat is one of the most cost-efficient methods for making hot water.

11. Bundle up. Go outside. Enjoy the winter.

You can set your thermostat down five degrees, grab your hat and your mittens and go outside for a good invigorating walk around your block. Or strap on a pair of snowshoes and trudge off through the woods. You can skate, make a snowman, go bird watching, have a snowball fight, cross-country or downhill ski – there are lots of things to do outside in the winter. Actually, a little strenuous activity will warm you up while you’re saving money on that lowered thermostat. Exercise will help you stay in shape, and the better shape you’re in, the more efficiently your body can create its own warmth.

12. Every friend is worth 500 Btu’s per hour.

Invite a bunch of friends over for a pot luck dinner. At 98.6° of body temperature, humans give off approximately 500 Btu’s every hour. Put enough people in the room, and you can heat it with human power. Not to mention the warmth of having your friends and family getting together.