Saving Money on Home Heating Costs

X Great Ideas For Every Budget

Affordability and energy costs are making headlines and driving elections in our area and nationwide. You can lower your thermostat and wear more sweaters, or you can control your home heating costs without sacrificing comfort.

We’ve got five easy ways to keep your family cozy while keeping fuel costs manageable:

Keep Heating Costs Manageable

Sign Up for our Budget Plan. Our EZ Pay Budget Plan keeps heating bills predictable and eliminates the pain of bigger winter bills. We’ll spread your heating oil costs across 12 months, based on your average usage. Instead of several big bills over a few months, you’ll get predictable heating bills and pay one level amount every month, even if stretches of extra-cold whether cause you to burn moil oil. Plus, Budget Plan customers receive a 10-cent discount on every gallon.
Pay on time. We offer a 10-cent per gallon discount when you pay your monthly bill within 10 days. For Budget Plan customers, that translates into a 20-cent per gallon discount!
Enroll in our Price Protection Plan. With our Price Protection Plan, you buy your heating oil in advance to fix your price. Your heating oil price will not fluctuate, regardless of whether the market price rises or falls.
Use your programable thermostat like a pro. Used correctly, a programmable thermostat can help you lower your heating costs by 10% or more. Start by setting your thermostat 10° lower when you’re sleeping or out of the house. Maximize your savings, by setting it at 68° when you’re at home and awake. Smart thermostats make it easy because they learn your heating and cooling habits, and create a schedule that matches them. Some even connect with your home automation system like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
Get a tune-up. A tune-up offers a great return on investment by improving energy efficiency and lowering energy bills by 15% to 20% depending on your system. It’s never too late to schedule seasonal maintenance for your heating equipment. Regular tune-ups ensure your heating equipment is running smoothly, so you’ll use less fuel to keep your home warm. Our service technicians check for and fix problems that can decrease performance and efficiency, or could lead to breakdowns, no-heat emergencies, and expensive repairs. Did you know annual maintenance tune-ups are included in our affordable service plans?

More Ways to Save

Here are some other ways to spend a little and save a lot on heating costs:

Eliminate drafts. Unless you live in a brand-new home, it’s likely that as much as a third of the air in your home escapes via drafts around windows and doors. That’s like throwing money out the window—or door. A weekend of DIY projects, like sealing up drafts with caulking, weatherstripping and expanding foam, can help save you 20% or more on heating costs.
Change your filter. A dirty air filter can restrict air flow, making your heating equipment work harder to heat your home. That uses more fuel and increases bills. The filter protects your heating equipment from dirt and dust, which helps prevent problems that can lead to a breakdown—and an expensive repair. It’s an easy DIY measure you can do every few months between tune-ups.
Turn down your water heater. Most water heaters have a default setting of 140° but that’s not only dangerous, it’s also inefficient. Reducing the temperature setting to 120° will meet all your hot water needs and save as much as 10% in heating costs. When you consider that heating water—for bathing, dishwashing, laundry and more—accounts for close to 20% of your heating costs, you may want to talk to us about upgrading your water heater to a high-efficiency model that can help you save even more.

Here to Help You Save

Over four generations, the team at Bolkema is always looking for ways to make sure it’s worth it to be our customer. From dependable fuel deliveries to great, neighborly service, we go above and beyond to make sure you’re comfortable and help you save money.

Contact us for more information.