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
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/605088
24 DECEMBER 2015 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com BUSINESS OPERATIONS storage capacity among respondents averaged out at 3,085 gal- lons. Some 42% of respondents indicated that they would likely be buying a new truck in the coming year and 15% indicated that they would be buying a new tank to mount on existing chassis. DIESEL EXHAUST FLUID New environmental regulations require that diesel engines offer enhanced emissions technology. This involves either selective catalytic reduction (SCR) or exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). SCR technology provides a notable boost in fuel efficiency and power compared to EGR, but requires the use of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) that is stored in a separate tank. SCR technology is seen as being the dominant technology between the two alterna- tives. Respondents were asked to identify how they were going to meet the DEF requirements for their fleets of vehicles. DELIVERY TECHNOLOGY Where delivery technology is concerned, cellular phones play a dominant role in the delivery process. However, two-way radio equipment, GPS tracking and dispatch support software each has a solid user base among respondents. CUSTOMER TANKS Respondents reported that between the two most common sizes, 82% of their home heating customers had 275 gallon tanks, and18% had 550 gallon tanks. HVAC EQUIPMENT AND SERVICE Roughly 74% of respondents install and/or service heating and cooling equipment. As would be expected, oil related appliances were heavily sold, installed and serviced (with100% of respondents selling oil burners). However, 7% were involved with solar heat- ing, 74% with air-conditioning, 4% with wood pellet appliances and 52% with gas burners. The vast majority of the HVAC business was residential—87%, and some 80% of respondents noted an increase in residential business in the previous year. For the commercial side, 60% of respondents noted an increase in commercial business dur- TABLE 11 DEF SOLUTIONS JUGS 50% 55 GALLON DRUMS 40% IBC TOTES 12% DON'T UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION 13% TABLE 12 FOR DELIVERIES, DO YOU USE: TWO-WAY RADIO EQUIPMENT 28% CELLULAR PHONES 91% PAGERS 5% GPS TRACKING DEVICES 38% DISPATCH SUPPORT SOFTWARE 25% TABLE 13 DO YOU SELL, INSTALL OR SERVICE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING EQUIPMENT? (SELECT ALL THAT APPLY) OIL BURNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100% FURNACES (GAS/OIL/ELECTRIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96% DOMESTIC HOT-WATER SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96% WARM-AIR SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92% RADIANT HEATING SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58% GAS BURNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52% BOILERS (OIL/GAS/ELECTRIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97% HYDRONIC SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75% SOLAR SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7% WOOD PELLET SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4% AIR-CONDITIONING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74% ELECTRIC RESISTANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7% TABLE 10 TRUCKS OWNED AND LEASED OWNED AND LEASED 11 HOW MANY ARE CLASS 7? 8 HOW MANY ARE CLASS 8? 3 NUMBER OF TRAILERS 3