Best Methods To Estimate Heating Oil Usage Per Day
If you have a heating system that uses heating oil for warming your home, it’s important that you make sure your fuel tank has sufficient oil to handle your heating needs, especially when it gets cold. You can get a good idea of whether you have sufficient oil to last throughout the winter by first figuring out how much oil you’ll need. Clients often ask us, “How much heating oil will I use a day?”. This article will address some of the factors to consider in order to answer this question.
Factors Affecting Usage of Heating Oil
Table of Contents
- 1 Factors Affecting Usage of Heating Oil
- 1.1 1. Size and Style of Home
- 1.2 2. Outdoor Temperatures
- 1.3 3. Oil Furnace or Boiler Condition
- 1.4 Temperature and Consumption of Heating Oil
- 1.5 Historical Statistics Can Help You Estimate Heating Oil Requirements
- 1.6 Square Footage and Heating Usage
- 1.7 Heating Oil as Fuel for a Water Heater
- 1.8 Final Word
- 2 Call Hart Home Comfort For Your Home Heating Requirements
Below, we list some of the factors that influence your daily heating oil consumption.
1. Size and Style of Home
The design style and size of a home will have a direct impact on how much heating oil will be required to keep it warm and comfortable during the winter months. A bigger home will definitely need more fuel oil than a home that’s smaller. Even when outdoor temperatures are the same, more square footage will need more heating oil than the home with less square footage.
Additionally, a home’s style or design can be a big factor in heating fuel consumption. It’s not just the home’s square footage, but also the volume of its interior space. Sufficient insulation and the thickness of exterior walls also affect fuel consumption.
2. Outdoor Temperatures
Outdoor air temperature in your local area will affect how much fuel is used by the furnace. Colder ambient temperatures will mean more heating oil consumption each day. Any drop in temperature can make a big impact on fuel usage; for example, even a 15 degree F drop in the outdoor temperature can double oil consumption.
3. Oil Furnace or Boiler Condition
It’s important to keep an oil furnace or boiler clean and maintained properly in order to ensure the best efficiency. And, with greater efficiency, your heating system will use less oil.
Temperature and Consumption of Heating Oil
Heating oil tanks often have a 275-gallon capacity. When the outdoor temperature is 50 degrees F., a typical home can use approximately 2 gallons of fuel oil each day. Therefore, a fuel tank that is full will last approximately 137.5 days or four months and 2 weeks. This would allow a full fuel tank to meet your heating needs for an entire winter.
However, temperatures don’t remain constant. When the temperature drops, you can expect to see higher consumption of heating oil. For instance, a 40-degree day will typically need about 3.7 gallons of oil. If ambient temperatures stay at 40 degrees, a full fuel tank will provide about 74 days or 2-1/2 months of heat.
Sometimes, the temperature might be 20 degrees F. If this happens, the typical home will use 7 gallons of oil per day. A tank full of fuel will only last about 39 days assuming a constant ambient temperature.
During the coldest months, temperatures can fluctuate between 20 degrees and 40 degrees F giving an average temperature of degrees F. In this case, an average home would use around 5.3 gallons of oil each day. This will provide about 52 days or a month and three weeks worth of heating during the coldest winter months.
A 275-gallon fuel tank will usually be enough to provide a typical home with fuel for the season. A smaller tank will mean you’ll need to estimate your requirements for fuel in order to have a good idea when you should schedule a refill for your tank.
Historical Statistics Can Help You Estimate Heating Oil Requirements
If you’ve been in your home for a number of years, you can use past heating bills to help calculate the average consumption of oil. Keeping a record showing yearly fuel consumption can help. This information can be used to determine not only your annual heating oil consumption but also how much oil you use monthly and daily.
If you’re new to the area, you can find similar homes in the area. Ask neighbors how much heating oil they use to give you a good guide on how much you’ll need per day. A call to a heating oil delivery company will also be able to give you a reasonable estimate.
Square Footage and Heating Usage
A home’s size can have a big impact on the consumption of heating oil. In the US, the average square footage of a home is 2,687 s.f., your home might be larger or smaller.
Outside temperatures and average fuel consumption per 1,000 s.f. is as follows:
- 10 degrees F – 3.27 gallons
- 20 degrees F – 2.67 gallons
- 30 degrees F – 2.07 gallons
- 40 degrees F – 1.40 gallons
- 50 degrees F – 0.87 gallons
If your home is 3,500 s.f., then you’ll require 3.5 times more fuel oil than the average listed above. For example, a 40 degree F day will require 5.15 gallons of oil.
Heating Oil as Fuel for a Water Heater
A water heater generally uses natural gas, propane, heating oil, or electricity. If your home uses heating oil for the furnace as well as to heat water, you’ll need to factor this into your calculations for heating oil.
A water heater uses about 0.5-1.0 gallons of oil each day. The amount your home requires will depend on the size of your home as well as your daily water usage.
Final Word
It’s possible to get a good idea of your daily consumption of heating oil when you take historical data, average daily temperature, and the size of the house into consideration. However, if you don’t have all of this information, you can also contact a heating oil provider and ask for an educated estimate from them.
Call Hart Home Comfort For Your Home Heating Requirements
When you need superior HVAC services in the area, do not hesitate to call Hart Home Comfort. We have the best professionally certified technicians who can conduct high-quality heating and cooling services, including maintenance, repairs, replacements, and installations. All our friendly techs are equipped with the correct tools, extensive knowledge, and years of experience to service any HVAC system accurately.
Our company has the most competitive and affordable home comfort service costs in the area. When you need to replace your HVAC system, we can recommend the best and most budget-friendly unit for your home. Schedule an appointment with Hart Home Comfort today for a free, in-home estimate.
We also offer fast and reliable home heating oil deliveries. You can choose from one of our many financing plans and delivery options. This way, you can customize your oil deliveries to meet your needs. Hart Home Comfort delivers EcoBlend Bioheat® heating oil, a blend of high-quality ultra-low sulfur heating oil and biodiesel. By ordering your fuel from us, you can help reduce carbon emissions and help the environment, while taking advantage of our superior oil delivery services. Call today to schedule a full delivery for your home or office.
For any questions about what Hart Home Comfort can do for you, give us a call today. Click here to contact us now or call us at (631) 667-3200 to find out more!