You can often wait until you’ve used 1,000 gallons of heating oil

With summer drawing to a close and cold weather on the horizon, we are starting to get more calls about scheduling annual tune-ups. The early fall is an excellent time to schedule yearly service for your boiler or furnace. The colder the weather gets, the faster our time slots fill up. If you schedule your tune-up now, you’ll have the best choice of appointments.

The question remains — do you need to schedule a heating system tune-up every year?

The answer depends on your circumstances.

The benefits of annual maintenance

We always tell customers that their heating system is an investment in their family’s comfort and their home’s value. Additionally, an oil-fired furnace or boiler is a pricey purchase, so you absolutely want to give your heating equipment the best protection possible. An annual tune-up is a great start. For example, regular maintenance can ensure that:

• Your system is less likely to break down. Four out of five heating problems could have been prevented with routine service. Our technicians identify lingering issues that can lead to breakdowns.
• You’ll spend less money on fuel. A well-maintained boiler or furnace will run more efficiently, burning less oil.
• Your equipment lasts longer. Proper maintenance adds years to your system’s life, which pushes off the unpleasant task of replacing it.
• Your house will be safer. Our tune-ups include safety checks to ensure your system is venting correctly and no dangerous fumes are accumulating. We’ll also check your filters and clean your burners, improving indoor air quality.

When to schedule annual maintenance … and when to hold off

As you can see, your heating system can benefit significantly from a tune-up. Scheduling equipment maintenance every year is often the best course of action, but that’s not always the case.

Here’s a rule of thumb: schedule a tune-up when you’ve burned about 1,000 gallons of heating oil. On average, a 2,500-square-foot home in the Northeast will use just under that amount of oil in a year. So, for many homeowners, it just makes sense to tune up your heating system annually.

But if you have a vacation home in Suffolk County that’s not occupied full-time in the fall and winter, your fuel usage might be low enough that you can hold off. You might also have a little wiggle room because the B20 blend Bioheat® fuel we deliver is so clean burning that it leaves minimal deposits in your equipment.

You should also consider that the manufacturer’s warranty for your furnace or boiler might require you to get a tune-up every year. If that’s the case, you don’t want to skip service, or you could end up paying for a repair your warranty would typically cover.

We also recommend that you sign up for Burt’s Oil Heat Service Plan. This coverage includes a complimentary annual tune-up. It also provides discounts on repairs and guaranteed priority service.

Contact us to schedule your tune-up or learn more about our service plans.