What is residential heating oil?

So, you wanna know more about residential heating oil? Before we dive into all the details (trust us, we love geeking out on this stuff), let us get you set up with the basics of the industry. Think of this as “residential heating oil 101.”

Residential heating oil: A definition

Essentially, residential heating oil is the oil delivered via truck to your home to heat it.

If you want to go deeper, here are a few more details. We already know ULSHO oil is the cleanest and most efficient oil around and it’s what Heatable uses. These days residential heating oil (ULSHO) is essentially diesel fuel (ULSD) but it is dyed red to indicate that taxes have not been paid on it. Did you know that you have to pay tax on fuels that are used in cars and trucks? Yup - basically anything that is used for road transportation.

In the past, ULSHO was different from ULSD, but now since the change in regulations they are pretty much the same thing, but they can have different additives in them. This is why if you run out of heating oil (or are close to it), you can grab some diesel and put it in your heating system in a pinch – but luckily with our Heatable app, it’s easy to avoid needing this makeshift solution!

Benefits of residential heating oil

It’s safe. Home heating oil won’t burn in a liquid state, so it won’t ever spontaneously combust. If a leak should happen, it’s not an explosive hazard. Additionally, ULSHO oil has been a big improvement for your home and the environment. This clean and efficient oil has a sulfur content of 15 ppm – much less than traditional oil that clocks in at 4,000 ppm.
It’s efficient. A gallon of heating oil produces 35% more heat than a gallon of natural gas, allowing you to use less fuel to make the same amount of heat – a win-win! Heating oil also produces the hottest flame of any home heating fuel so you can warm your house up faster. And, back to ULSHO – your system will run more effectively and efficiently without that sulfur build-up.
It’s durable. The last thing you need during a New England winter is surprises. What you do need is safety, efficiency, and durability you can depend on – and oil delivers, literally. A new heating oil system should last for 15 to 25 years or more if you maintain it right. (We’ve got all the tips you need to do that right here!) Plus, ULSHO will help maximize the life of your system.

What are residential heating oil storage tanks?

Heating oil tanks are generally regulated by the States. All oil tanks currently installed are above ground, either in the home or outside. Homes cannot install below ground tanks because of the safety issues with them – you can’t see if they are leaking.

Residential heating oil tank sizes

If you aren’t in the mood to go measure your oil tank right now (yea, we’ll just go ahead and assume that’s a hard pass), we can help you out! Most residential heating oil tanks are around 44” high by 60” long by 27” wide. If your tank is significantly bigger or smaller it may have a different capacity. In terms of gallons, the average size residential heating oil tank is 275 gallons and the usable amount (i.e. the amount that the tank can safely hold and what we will fill to) is approximately 240 gallons.

Residential heating oil delivery

If you’re used to calling for an oil delivery between 8-4 and then taping a check to your door – those days are over. Heating oil is now super simple. All you have to do is sign up on our website or mobile app, and whenever you need oil just Tap, Tap, Swipe – and we bring the heat. Yup – you read that right - that’s it!

We deliver heating oil across Maine and New Hampshire (check out our growing list of delivery areas here) Monday-Friday all year round and we even step our game to seven days a week in the winter because, well, it’s still cold on weekends. Our delivery dates are guaranteed, our minimum delivery is 100 gallons (only because it costs more to deliver less than that), and we only charge you for the exact amount of oil that goes in your tank – so no worries if you’re not sure exactly how much you need.

What about outside tanks?We don’t deliver to outside tanks because we recommend that anyone with an outside tank use kerosene or heating oil blended with a product that makes it not gel. Otherwise your oil will freeze (or gel) in the winter and you really don’t want the headache (i.e. permanently damaged expensive equipment) that comes with that!

Do you deliver to businesses? We love small businesses, so if you are a Small Business Owner reading this right now, go ahead and hit us up for some heat!

Residential heating oil prices

Heating oil prices go up and down all the time – and while we WISH we were in control of them, the reality is that the current residential heating oil prices are primarily driven by global market forces relating to crude oil. In case you were sleeping during Econ 101, here’s a quick recap: Crude oil is a commodity and its price is driven by supply and demand. If the demand is higher than the supply, the price goes up. If the supply is higher than the demand, the price goes down.

And, let’s not forget about Mother Nature. She plays a big part in this whole thing, too. Say we have a harsh winter or a string of intense storms (a likely scenario in these parts). You (and all your East Coast neighbors) are going to be using a lot more oil to keep warm. This makes demand go up and supply go down. You know what happens next.

All that said, we’re deeply committed to providing consistently low heating oil prices without the negotiations and without the hassle. We give you a price-per-gallon on the day you order oil and we stick to it. Even if the price goes up on the day we deliver, we honor the original quote – every single time.

Ok, I’m up to speed on residential heating oil and Heatable sounds pretty sweet – where do I sign up?

At Heatable, we’re all about bringing you heating oil in the smartest, fastest, least expensive, and easiest way possible. To get started, simply enter your zip code on our website or app and see if you live in one of our ever-expanding Maine & New Hampshire delivery areas. If you do, we’ll show you the current price of oil – and let you know exactly when we can deliver it (hint: very quickly, we’re kinda known for that). You’ll need to enter a few pieces of information for your first delivery, and then from there on out you can order heating oil anywhere, anytime, and all online with just two taps and a swipe on your smartphone. Just Tap, Tap, Swipe and we bring the heat!

Learn more about Heating Oil

Visit our Ultimate Consumer’s Guide to Heating Oil for everything you need to know about heating your home with #2 heating oil.

Why Heatable?

Heatable’s the smart way to order oil! Our website and quick order app put you in control of your heating oil purchases. You can order anywhere and at any time. Just enter your zip to see your super-low price and get started.

We provide lower prices for all! Heatable is committed to providing consistently low heating oil prices. Our technology and streamlined process allow us to offer the same low price to everyone – no negotiating necessary.

We’re heating oil superstars! Founded by industry veterans, we’ve been around the block (literally hundreds of thousands of times). We have our own fleet of bright orange trucks, and we make our own deliveries.

Heating oil delivery at your fingertips. Try us today!

References:

https://www.maine.gov/dep/waste/abovegroundtanks/residentialheatingoil.html