Fuel Oil News

Fuel Oil News May 2016

The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding

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BIO: Charlie Bursey began his long career in the oil heating industry in 1963. He has deliv- ered coal, kerosene and oil and serviced heating and cooling equipment. He has also managed service departments, worked for a manufacturer and currently works with F.W. Webb, Warwick, R.I. He is a recipient of the Association of Oil & Energy Service Professionals' pres- tigious Hugh McKee Award for making an outstanding contri- bution to the fuel oil industry; having had an understanding and cooperation with his/her fellow man; and having unselfishly aided the industry in education and related activities. CONTACT: ChasBursey@aol.com Charles Bursey, Sr. SERVICE 50 MAY 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com M ost readers of Fuel Oil News are probably familiar with the words "degree day," but for those who are not I will begin with a brief overview of the meaning. A heating or cooling degree day is a measurement to determine how hot or cold the temperature has been over a 24-hour cycle. Whenever the temperature is below 65°F, you have what is referred to as a heat- ing degree day. To determine the HDD, you simply add the high and low temperatures together and divide by 2, and this will give you what is referred to as the mean tempera- ture. Subtract this mean temperature from the base figure, 65°F, and you will have the HDD for that 24-hour period. If you're wondering where to get these num- bers, there are many sources, such as the daily newspaper or one of the many electronic HDD devices. You may also hear the term "K factor," which is simply a number showing how rapidly a home owner uses fuel, often also referred to as a burn rate. The term "useable degree days" refers to the number of days that can lapse before the next delivery. Also keep in mind that all automatic deliveries are set with a usable reserve so as to avoid a run out and a no-heat call. Reserves are set based on the size of the most common tanks. Examples of reserves would be approxi- mately as follows: for a 275-gallon tank, 75 gallons; for a 550-gallon tank, 150 gallons; and for a 1,000-gallon tank, 250 gallons. Now let's think about the winter, or non- winter, of 2015-2016. I have spoken with a number of oil company owners whose biggest complaint was this poor winter for selling fuel. I remember only four cold days. On one of those, the temperature dropped to -9 degrees Fahrenheit; three days later the temperature had soared into the 60s. Some oil company owners and managers told me that their gallonage was off by as much as 20% to 30%. Let's analyze the fall-out from this kind of winter, and who, other than the oil compa- nies, was affected. The installers likely did not sell as many boilers and furnaces. The service companies did not sell as many parts, and the wholesale distributors probably are left with a larger than normal amount of inventory. Without the usual cold season, run times for boilers and burners were greatly reduced. This in turn reduced the failure rate of boilers and parts. Just think: All this was the fallout of fewer degree days. On a more positive note, I'm hearing from many contractors that they are getting calls for A/C a month earlier, oil companies are already starting to push their seasonal tune-up service and the swimming pool installers are already back to work. On a final note, I've always said that the two things that we can't control are the weather and the sea! l F O N Degree Days To determine the HDD, you simply add the high and low temperatures together and divide by 2, and this will give you what is referred to as the mean temperature. Subtract this mean temperature from the base figure, 65 °F, and you will have the HDD for that 24-hour period.

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