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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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | FEBRUARY 2017 25 W e are driving the 'whole-house' approach more than we ever did before," says Peter A. Aziz, president of Bantam Home & En- ergy in Bantam, Conn. "We have sort of a moral obligation" to do so, Aziz says, and he goes on to de- scribe the savings in money and environmental impacts that can be achieved through a whole-house approach. Consider the interplay between insulation and windows, and the affect on heating requirements in a home, Aziz says. "One saves energy," he says, referring to insulation, "the other"—windows—"wastes energy." Bantam Home & Energy installs both, and in doing that, weighs the outcome of a job in terms of energy efficiency. Likewise, energy efficiency can be enhanced by adding a central humidifier to a forced air system, Aziz notes. It is an inexpensive and effective way to add 2 degrees to the tempera- ture in a home, he says. "It increases comfort and reduces cost." The company also offers plumbing, remodels, and water treatment systems—especially for accounts that have wells. Aziz is attentive to a different kind of environment as well—the working conditions in the Bantam Home & Energy office, in a converted two-story house in the small commu- nity of Bantam in the western part of the state. An interior decorator hired for a remodel of the office installed a white noise system at Aziz's request. Employees on the first floor work at circular pods; the white noise enables them to communicate verbally with each other as needed, and also allows them to conduct phone conversations without disturb- ing each other, Aziz says. Bantam Home & Energy Takes the 'Whole House' Approach IF IT HEATS, COOLS, SAVES MONEY OR INCREASES COMFORT, THE MARKETER SAYS, 'WE DO IT.' On a walking tour of the premises, Aziz stands below two storage tanks elevated on a scaffolding so that the company's fuel delivery trucks can pull up and be replenished. One is a 20,000-gallon capacity tank for heating oil, the other a 10,000-gallon capacity tank for diesel. Below is a concrete containment area that was installed to comply with spill prevention, control and coun- termeasure (SPCC) regulations set by the EPA. Near to the tanks is a maintenance garage where the company's oil, diesel, and propane trucks, plus service vans— numbering approximately 40 vehicles in all—are repaired and maintained. The garage features a heated floor, a nod to the New England winters. By Stephen Bennett Peter A. Aziz, president of Bantam Home & Energy. " PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE BY STEPHEN BENNETT