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Oilheat ServicesCalculate Your Potential Savings | Water Heater Upgrades | Service Plans State and Federal Assistance | Tank Protection 
Full-Service Oilheat dealers serve as a "one-stop shop" for home heating products and services. They deliver fuel, offer cost management programs, install and service equipment, and offer service contracts that protect customers' boilers and furnaces. They also deliver peace of mind - providing emergency service all year round.Payment PlansVolatile energy prices pose challenges for businesses and homeowners, and NYOHA full-service Oilheat dealers offer a variety of plans to limit risk and make payments predictable. Customers are advised to familiarize themselves with the different options and their implications. Price programs are designed to provide predictability and peace of mind. Budget Plans: Many customers use budget plans to spread out their heating costs. The dealer projects the customer's total cost for the next year and divides it into equal payments to be paid over nine to 12 months. It's a great way for homeowners to avoid the winter budget pinch that can occur when expenses for heating and the holidays mount simultaneously. Capped Price Programs: Price volatility has made price caps very popular because they protect against both increases and decreases in oil prices. The customer gets a guaranteed price cap, or maximum price that the dealer will not exceed, and which protects against rising prices. If the market price drops, the customer's price decreases. The dealer incurs additional fees when offering price protection, and many dealers ask their customers to cover some of those costs with an annual enrollment fee. Fixed Price Programs: Under this plan, the price of oil is fixed for a given period of time and will not go up or down. If the retail price goes up, the cost to the customer remains the same. Conversely, if the price goes down, the consumer doesn't benefit. Fixed price plans are good for people who need to know how much their oil is going to cost throughout the season, so they can budget the rest of their expenses accordingly. Pre-Buy Programs: Some dealers offer customers the chance to buy all their fuel in advance of the heating season at a reduced cost. [ Back to Top ]
Emergency ServiceA home or building needs reliable heat on very cold days, both to keep the occupants warm and to prevent potentially catastrophic situations such as frozen pipes. Full-service NYOHA Oilheat dealers provide emergency service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Customers can rest assured that if they experience a heat outage, they can call their dealer and get through at any hour. Highly trained technicians are available around the clock to visit the site and perform whatever work is required to restore the heat. It is an indispensable benefit for customers who choose a full-service dealer. Automatic DeliveryAutomatic delivery is a great choice for customers who don't want to concern themselves with checking the fuel gauge and calling their oil dealer to request deliveries. The dealer develops a schedule based on the customer's past usage and adjusts the schedule as the heating season progresses to account for variations in weather. A degree day tracking system can be used in conjunction with scheduling software to maintain an accurate schedule. [ Back to Top ]
Equipment UpgradesOne of the most important benefits of working with a full-service Oilheat dealer is the chance to stay current with the most advanced, efficient Oilheat equipment. Many NYOHA member dealers are equipment specialists who work closely with customers to keep their systems up to date and achieve optimal fuel efficiency at the most reasonable cost possible. Advances in equipment technology are incorporated with each new design, and older equipment generally becomes obsolete in terms of efficiency long before it stops working. The ENERGY STAR® Web site www.energystar.gov recommends that homeowners consider replacing any boiler or furnace that is more than 15 years old. The most direct path to fuel savings is to replace outdated equipment with new ENERGY STAR®-rated systems. A full-service Oilheat dealer offers new systems that can save 30 percent or more. That's like replacing an 18-mpg SUV with a 25-mpg sedan, but with one major difference - the owner sacrifices nothing! In fact, new Oilheat systems actually improve comfort while conserving fuel. The newest systems incorporate two-stage heating, in which the burner has a high-fire mode for colder days (and other times of high demand, like when multiple showers are going) and an economizing low-fire mode for milder days. Many new systems also employ condensing technology, which improves efficiency by using a secondary heat exchanger to draw additional heat from the oil flame. That means more heat goes into the building, and less is wasted up the chimney. Warning Signs That Your System May Need Upgrading ...
The Benefits of Upgrading
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Calculate Your Potential Savings
The Fuel Savings Analysis Calculator developed by the National Oilheat Research Alliance can demonstrate the savings you could achieve by upgrading your heating system. It is easy to use and provides customized calculations based on your current equipment, your location and a range of choices in replacement equipment. Click here to use the calculator. Water Heater UpgradesHot water generation accounts for about 20% of a home or building's fuel costs. A full-service Oilheat dealer can provide a building or home with a choice of cost-saving water-heating options, including systems that combine solar energy with oil. An owner who wants a hot water supply that never seems to run out should consider a direct oil-fired water heater. Oil burns hotter than utility gas, so recovery time is faster, and the occupants are less likely to run out during periods of heavy usage. Whether a building is heated by furnace or boiler, you can use a direct-fired model that has its own burner and tank. Buildings that heat by boiler also have the "indirect" alternative that uses the boiler to heat the hot water. Here are brief descriptions of the different model types of indirect-fired water heaters. Internal Tankless Coil: The coil containing the domestic water supply is located in the water jacket of the boiler. One drawback to this design is the absence of hot water storage; another is the need to maintain the temperature of the boiler water at a high enough level to heat the domestic water as it passes through the coil. External Tankless Coil: This water heater has a separate storage tank that contains an internal coil. The unit connects to the sides of the boiler. A newer version of the external tankless coil water heater is the plate heat exchanger. It contains a series of wafers or plates with internal porting; plates alternate between boiler water and domestic water. Tankless Coil with Storage Tank (or Aqua Booster): This system was introduced to boost water heating capacity. After water has been heated by going through the indirect system's coil, it is stored in a vertical storage tank. The temperature of the hot water in the tank is usually maintained by means of a recirculating loop; it allows water to be reheated by going back to the coil, either by gravity or forced circulation. [ Back to Top ]
Service PlansFull-service NYOHA Oilheat dealers generally offer service plans to protect the customer's heating equipment and keep it running properly. Also known as a maintenance plan or contract, a typical service plan includes periodic system maintenance as recommended by the manufacturer. By regularly inspecting and tuning a system, an Oilheat dealer can fix small problems before they turn serious. Most service plans include 24-hour emergency response, so the customer knows that help will be on the way any time they experience a problem with their heating system. Some service plans also cover major components of the heating system, guaranteeing that repairs and replacements will be made at no cost to the customer. Dealers offer different levels of coverage to suit the customer's budget and needs. Service plan coverage ranges from basic parts service and annual tune-up to all-inclusive, top-of-the-line plans that can cover the repair and/or replacement of over 100 parts and include replacement allowances for oil tanks, boilers, heat exchangers or furnaces. [ Back to Top ]
State and Federal AssistanceThe State of New York administers programs that help residents who are struggling with the expense of heating and weatherizing their homes.
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Tank ProtectionHomeowners can protect their underground storage tanks (USTs) and aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) with ProGuard. ProGuard protects against the cost of an accidental tank release and provides for environmentally friendly cleanup and tank replacement at minimal cost ... giving homeowners the peace of mind they deserve. The ProGuard program has the following benefits: For underground storage tanks:
1-888-354-0677 or visit the Powderhorn Agency Web Site. [ Back to Top ]
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