As you prepare for yet another cold Cape Cod winter, you are probably going to make it a point to fill your heating oil tank. A full heating oil tank will help ensure your home and water stays warm, which, in turns, keeps you comfortable.
But will a full heating oil tank last you all winter or will you need to order a refill of heating oil before the winter is over and done?
There are multiple elements that impact the amount of heating oil that a homeowner uses and, in turn, how long heating oil lasts.
Outside temperatures is one factor. When temperatures are warmer (around 50 degrees Fahrenheit) a household typically uses about 2 gallons of heating oil a day. When temperatures drop to about 15 degrees and below, the amount of heating oil a home uses can increase to about 8 gallons a day.
How long heating oil lasts also depends on the size of a home (larger homes use more heating oil than smaller homes), how insulated a house is, how warm you like to keep your house and how much time is spent at home (the more you are home, the more you are probably using your heating oil during the winter months).
Most residential heating oil tanks are 275 gallons. However, this does not mean that they are filled with 275 gallons of heating oil at a time. It is really only safe to fill tanks of this size with about 240 gallons of heating oil.
With that being said, it is generally safe to estimate that during the winter, a 2,000 square foot home will go through about ¼ of a tank of heating oil a week. However, this estimate is affected by the factors mentioned above (weather, insulation, etc).
If a home has a standard residential 275 gallon heating oil tank and only two gallons of heating oil are being used a day thanks to warmer temperatures, your heating oil should last you around four months. If temperatures are lower, your heating oil supply may last only about 2.5 months or even as little as about 5 weeks if the weather is really cold.
We think it is pretty safe to say that no one wants to be left without a sufficient supply of heating oil on a winter day here on The Cape. So Cape Cod Oil & Propane recommends that any will-call customers call for their next heating oil delivery when their tank is ¼ full. This will help you avoid running out of fuel entirely. If you aren’t up to tracking your fuel levels that’s fine! Cape Cod Oil & Propane can do it for you with our automatic delivery option.
If you’re looking for reliable heating oil delivery service on Cape Cod, look no further than Cape Cod Oil & Propane. We’ve been delivering heating oil to the community since 1974 and we are also here for heating oil tank repairs, maintenance, and installation as well as commercial heating oil.
Contact us today to become a customer!