Posted: June 4, 2020

Ben G. recently added an in-law suite to his home to accommodate Johanna, his mother-in-law. “She needed to sell her home because it had become too hard to maintain,” Ben says. “We were glad to have her, but she always felt cold and kept turning the thermostat up.”

Ben didn’t realize it at first, but this change in his household caused his fuel use to increase dramatically. Fortunately, while making an automatic delivery at the home, our driver noticed that the fuel tank was nearly empty. After speaking with Ben and finding out about his new situation, he alerted our office and we updated Ben’s records.

Every year families make changes in their household that, in many cases, affect their fuel use.

This was vitally important because in order to accurately schedule automatic deliveries, we need to know:

• the size of your home and its insulation
• the efficiency of your heating system
• the size of your fuel tank
• the number of people in your home

With this data, we calculate your K-factor, or burn rate. (We also track degree-days, an indicator of how cold the weather has been—because this affects fuel use too.) If your heating needs change, due to a new family member or building on an addition to your home, your K-factor changes too.

So when there’s something new going on at your house that makes you use more (or less) fuel, tell us. We’ll update your information to ensure that you’ll always have enough fuel.