It’s undeniable — residents of the northeastern United States love the reliability of their oil furnaces. Homes in the Northeast use around 87% of all the heating oil consumed each year across the U.S. And with the efficiency of oil furnaces, it’s understandable.

During warm spring days and mild summer nights, people think more about cooling their homes than heating them. But when fall weather turns cold and days pass toward winter, thoughts change to throwing on an extra clothing layer, turning up the thermostat and letting the furnace take over.

An average of 7% of homes use oil heating to heat their homes and provide hot water for showers and washing. This 7% utilizes around 7 billion gallons of fuel every single year.

If you’re a homeowner with oil heat, you’ll want to get comfortable with your system and understand how your oil heating system works. As will all major home systems, yearly maintenance and knowledge can potentially save you from major repairs and fixes.

Is the reset button on your oil burner constantly tripping? Do you know what to do if it does? Resetting your oil burner is one of the most frequently misunderstood aspects of furnace maintenance in homes that rely on fuel oil. In this article, we’ll attempt to dispel some of the more common myths by providing practical advice that will keep your HVAC system working its best for years to come.

According to data from the United States Energy Information Administration, some 6 million American homes rely on fuel oil as their primary source of heat. With the majority of these homes located in the Northeast, knowing how to properly prepare your tank for summer downtime is an important concern. We’ve already gone over in detail the basics of fuel oil tank maintenance— so in this post, we look specifically at why you should keep your tank at least half full at all times.

For a long time, thermostats remained one of the simplest components of a home heating system. Many people who live in older buildings still rely on manual thermostats, which allow you to simply dial in the temperature of your choice. While easy to use, this type of thermostat has a number of drawbacks, including its limited accuracy and inability to perform automatic temperature changes.

In recent years, digital thermostats have largely come to replace manual units. Digital thermostats offer greater precision, more programming options and, with the introduction of “smart” technology, the ability to make temperature changes over your home’s Wi-Fi network.

When it comes time to bring your car in for an inspection, you probably do it without thinking twice. After all, it only makes sense. An inspection ensures your car is still performing at its best capacity, and a service technician can alert you when parts need to be fixed or replaced.

Your home heating system is no different. However, unlike your car, which you most likely use daily, your heating system can sit for months without use. You would not trust a car that has sat for months unattended, so the same should go for your heating system. During those months, many issues could arise. Without an inspection, it has the potential to severely affect the life of your system.

When Should You Have Your System Inspected?

Although there are several different situations that would require your system to be inspected, we will focus on three important ones: