Do you use heating oil in order to keep your home warm? If you do, make sure you have enough fuel in the oil tank, especially during the cold winter months. Knowing the amount of heating oil needed to keep your home comfortable every day is an important part of determining how much you’ll need. Many people as us questions like, “How much heating oil will I use a day?” This article will answer this common question.
Some Factors That Can Affect Your Usage of Heating Oil
Table of Contents
- 1 Some Factors That Can Affect Your Usage of Heating Oil
- 1.1 1. The Design and Size of Your Home
- 1.2 2. Ambient Temperature
- 1.3 3. The Condition of Your Oil Furnace Or Oil Boiler
- 1.4 Temperature and Heating Oil Consumption
- 1.5 Use Historical Statistics to Estimate Heating Oil Requirements
- 1.6 Basing Average Heating Oil Consumption on Square Footage
- 1.7 Heating Oil For Your Home’s Water Heater
- 1.8 Final Word
- 2 Call Skylands Energy Service For Reliable Oil Deliveries
Below, we discuss some of the common factors that influence your fuel oil consumption.
1. The Design and Size of Your Home
There’s no doubt, the design and size of your home will play a big role in how much heating oil you’ll need each day. Even when the temperature is the same, a larger home is going to need more heating oil than a smaller one.
Your home’s design can also be a major factor. It’s not just the square footage of a home that determines heating requirements, but the interior overall volume should also be taken into consideration. Additionally, the thickness of your home’s walls, as well as the insulation, will impact fuel consumption.
2. Ambient Temperature
Fuel consumption will also be affected by the ambient temperature where you live. Colder climates or temperatures will require more heating oil to keep your home warm. Even a drop of 15 degrees F. can possibly lead to a doubling of your oil usage.
3. The Condition of Your Oil Furnace Or Oil Boiler
An oil heating system should be well-maintained and clean in order to function as efficiently as possible. Prior to the heating season, have your oil furnace or boiler serviced by a professional. The more efficient your heating system, the less oil it will require.
Temperature and Heating Oil Consumption
The average capacity of an oil tank is 275 gallons. When the outside temperature is 50 degrees F., a home will typically require 2 gallons of fuel oil each day. Thus, a tank that is full should last approximately 137.5 days or about 4 ½ months. This means that for most people a full tank of heating oil should last the entire heating season.
However, during cold weather, temperatures will certainly fluctuate. A temperature drop can mean your heating system will require more oil. For example, on a typical 40-degree F day, your system will consume about 3.7 gallons of oil. This should last about 74 days or 2 ½ months, assuming the temperature remains constant.
Sometimes outdoor temperatures will drop to 20 degrees F. When this happens, you’ll be looking at a typical home consuming 7 gallons of fuel oil per day. In this case, a full tank of oil will only last 39 days, if the temperature stays consistent.
During the colder months, temperatures can fluctuate between the 20s and the 40s with an average of about 30 degrees F. So, an average home will need approximately 5.3 gallons of oil per day. In this case, during the coldest months of the year, a full tank will last about 52 days or 1 month, 3 weeks.
A 275-gallon oil tank is generally enough to provide heating oil for the typical home. However, it’s important to estimate the amount of fuel you’ll need before your next refill if your tank is smaller.
Use Historical Statistics to Estimate Heating Oil Requirements
If you’ve been living in the same house for many years, you can look at past heating bills in order to average oil consumption. Keep records of how much fuel you use each year. This information can then be used to more accurately determine how much heating oil you’ll need annually, monthly, and daily.
If you haven’t lived in your home very long, you can check how much oil similar size homes in your area typically use. You can ask neighbors about their own heating oil consumption to help you estimate how much you’ll need each day. It’s also possible to contact a local heating oil supplier to get a good estimate for your area.
Basing Average Heating Oil Consumption on Square Footage
The average consumption of heating oil can be impacted by the home’s size. While an average-size home in the United States is 2,687 s.f., your home might be larger or smaller than this average.
The following estimates in fuel consumption compared to outdoor temperatures for every 1,000 sf of living space can be estimated as follows:
- 10 degrees F: 3.27 gallons of fuel oil
- 20 degrees F: 2.67 gallons of fuel oil
- 30 degrees F: 2.07 gallons of fuel oil
- 40 degrees F: 1.47 gallons of fuel oil
- 50 degrees F: 0.87 gallons of fuel oil
So, if your home is 3,500 square feet, you will need approximately 3.5 times the above-listed average requirements for heating oil. For example, a typical 40-degree F day would require about 5.15 gallons of oil.
Heating Oil For Your Home’s Water Heater
A water heater will generally use electricity, natural gas, propane, or heating oil. If your home is using heating oil both to heat your home as well as your water supply, your calculations will need to be adjusted to reflect this additional usage.
On average, a water heater will require 0.5 to 1.0 gallons of oil each day. Of course, this consumption will depend on the size of your home and how much water you use in a day.
Final Word
It’s possible to estimate how much heating fuel you’ll need on a daily basis based on historical statistics, the size of your home, and outdoor temperatures. However, if you have just moved to the area, a local provider of heating oil will be able to help you get a good estimate.
Call Skylands Energy Service For Reliable Oil Deliveries
Skylands Energy Service offers reliable and affordable heating oil delivery services throughout Central New Jersey. We have many delivery plans and financing options available to meet your needs.
Likewise, our family-owned company has many different types of home comfort services. This includes heating oil delivery, coal delivery, plumbing services, heater repair, heating system maintenance, heater installations, and more. Be sure to give Skylands Energy Service a call today to see what we can do for you. All of our services come with a guarantee to ensure your satisfaction. Call now!
Contact us now at (908) 707-1776 to find out more!