Heating Oil Use During the Winter

With the New Jersey winter fast approaching, now is the perfect time not only to stock up on some heating oil but to read up on all you need to know about heating oil use in winter. It can even come in handy during fall. In fact, knowing your heating oil us habits is necessary for 4-5 months in New Jersey. Read on to learn more about this valuable commodity for winter.


How Much Heating Oil Will You Use Each Winter?

There are essentially two primary factors that will determine how much heating oil you will use during the winter: how long you have your furnace on and the size of your home. Obviously, the bigger your house and the longer your furnace is left on, the more heating oil you will use in the winter.

How Much Heating Oil Will You Use Each Winter

Heating Oil Tank Sizes

There are several sizes that heating oil tanks come in, ranging anywhere from 300 gallons to 1,000 gallons. The basic rule you can follow is that a 300 gallon oil tank should work for homes with a max of two bedrooms. Three and four bedroom homes will require a tank that’s around 500 gallons.

Average Heating Oil Use Per Hour

It’s also very important to keep in mind that an oil furnace should burn around 0.8 to 1.7 gallons of oil per hour. That means that if you keep your furnace on for 10 hours a day on average while using a 500 gallon oil tank, you’ll need to refuel your oil tank after 28 days.


Additional Factors

While we’ve covered the two biggest factors that go into how you will use your heating oil, there are several other factors to keep in mind so that you can have the most accurate assessment of how to prepare for winter.

Outdoor Temperatures

The temperature outdoors is something to always pay attention to. On warmer winter days around the 50-degree range, you will probably only require around two gallons spent per day. Keep in mind though that the very cold days that are around 10 or 15 degrees Fahrenheit may have you spending up to 8 gallons of heating oil each day. Visit the link below to learn more about average temperatures throughout the state of New Jersey.

Age & Condition of Furnace

Another important factor to keep in mind is the age and condition of your heating furnace. Older furnaces or furnaces that haven’t been well maintained for a few years will burn through more oil than is necessary. If you believe your furnace is burning far too much oil it should be checked by a specialist for repairs or be replaced.

Size of Oil-Burner Nozzle

The last thing to keep in mind that many people do not consider is the size of your oil-burner’s nozzle. This is tied into the previous point because older furnaces are more likely to use larger nozzles which will burn through more oil. Newer furnaces will have smaller nozzles which are over three times more efficient.


Summary

How much Heating Oil Will You use During Winter
  1. How long the furnace is run
  2. Size of your home
  3. Outdoor temperatures
  4. Oil furnace age and condition
  5. Size of oil-burner nozzle
home heating oil

Contact Us

If you require advice on how to best use your heating oil during winter or need new equipment to keep your heating system in top shape, Patriot Discount Oil is guaranteed to prepare you with excellent heating for the coming cold months here in New Jersey. Get in touch with us today!

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Holiday Schedule

In observance of the holiday, we will be closed on Friday, 3/29, and re-open on Monday morning at 9:00am.  Please keep in mind that any orders received after 3:00pm on Thursday, 3/28 will be processed on Monday morning for delivery the week of April 1st.  

Thank you for your continued business.