As summer draws to a close and signs of autumn slowly start to appear, you may be thinking that it's time to get a head start on equipping your home for winter. One of the most important ways you can prepare for the upcoming winter months is through checking your furnace for signs of wear and considering the repair or replacement of a broken system.

Winter may technically be three months on the calendar, but everyone knows the chilly or freezing weather often lasts longer than that.

If your home heating system runs on oil, then you rely on your oil tank to safely store and protect that oil. Unfortunately, oil tanks aren't impenetrable, so you may experience the common problem of water making its way into your tank.

Choosing a fuel oil company can be a daunting task. On the surface and at first glance, all propane and oil suppliers seem relatively similar. They all claim good things, but how do you know for sure which ones are better than others? What makes one good, and what are the things you should be looking for in an oil company, anyway?

Heating oil, also known as No. 2 Fuel Oil, has been used to heat homes since the invention of the oil burner in the 1920s. Since then, it has remained a popular option for millions of Americans in regions with freezing, snowy winters.

In the 21st century, there are lots of ways to pay for something, including heating oil. From cash on delivery to a payment plan, how do you know which option is best for you?

Heating oil customers throughout New England and the Mid Atlantic are bombarded with offers from heating oil suppliers to lock in their price for the winter either through a price “cap” or a fixed price plan. While on the surface these offers can be appealing, they are really a marketing and retention tool for oil companies that, over the last 10 years, have cost consumers significant amounts of money.

For a heating furnace to operate at full capacity, it must be balanced in its setting, which requires proper installation. To extend furnace life during the time you occupy a residential property, you must deal with any problems promptly and clean vents and ducts as needed.

Winter is coming just as it always does. Are you ready to fight back against the cold?

Being a homeowner means you always have to have one foot in the future. You're anticipating potential problems, needs, repairs and maintenance. With so much to think about, it can be easy to forget the less obvious systems in your home that need tending to. One of these systems is your oil heating system.