Category: Fall 2019

Dear Friends,

We’re pleased to welcome all G&C Petroleum customers to the Burt’s Reliable family. We’ve been a fixture on the North Fork for more than 100 years.

We’ve worked hard to build a company that’s responsive, dependable and easy to work with. We have 10 licensed service technicians, installers and plumbers on staff, so we can get to you fast and handle all your heating, cooling and plumbing needs. They’re trained to do the job right, and they take pride in taking care of you.

We also offer products and services to make your life easier. These include technology like Web-enabled Ecobee thermostats and Gremlin fuel-tank monitors, as well as the ability for you to make secure online payments and access your account through our website.

Our service plans cover heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters, and fuel tanks, and we offer great options to make payments easier, cut fuel bills and more.

Plus, we remain the only heating oil company on the North Fork that delivers ultra-low-sulfur natural heating oil with a B20 biofuel blend. It’s better for the environment, and you qualify for a 20¢-per-gallon tax credit from the state.

As we tell all our customers, whatever you need, we’ll take care of it.

Sincerely,
Martin Romanelli

We know that your family’s comfort and safety are your priorities — they’re ours too. Our customers know they can trust us to be there when emergencies arise — 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

If you have a service plan, you get priority service, and the added peace of mind of knowing that most repairs are covered. A service plan also includes the seasonal maintenance that can keep many problems from turning into emergencies.

According to Murphy’s Law, if something can go wrong, it will — and usually at the worst time. Emergencies won’t wait until the weather clears or normal business hours resume — and neither will we.

No matter when you need us, we are on call and at your service to help keep your family warm and safe.

It’s important that we be able to reach you fast in the event of an emergency. To do this, we need to have your current home phone number, mobile phone number and email address on file. Just call our office with your updated info or contact us through our website.

Everyone who provides their contact information before 1/17/20 will be entered in a drawing to win a $75 Visa gift card. Thank you in advance.

The journey to seek out better comfort can bring you much wisdom. We hope you will find more peace after reading these answers from our home comfort wizard.

Is it ever possible to fix a heating problem on my own?

While many types of malfunctions can cause your system to operate poorly (or not operate at all), the problems outlined below are not only quite common, but relatively easy and inexpensive to fix.

Power switches turned off

If your heat stops working, these are among the first things you should check. First, it often happens that the power switches for the heating system have been turned off by mistake. Simply turn the electrical switches back to the “on” position and your problem may be solved.

Unchecked air filters or water level

If you have a furnace, change or clean the filters about once a month; a dirty filter compromises efficiency and can even result in a shutdown. If you have a steam boiler, check the water gauge periodically. Low water levels are a leading cause of boiler shutdowns. Steam boilers should also be “flushed” when the water in the sight glass looks rusty.

Tripped circuit breaker

Going to the circuit breaker box and flipping the proper switch may be all you need to get running again. However, a circuit breaker rarely ever trips for no reason. If this happens once and never happens again, consider it a fluke. But if this happens more often, arrange for service, as this could be a sign of a serious problem.

Faulty thermostat

Many instances of heating systems not working can be traced to the thermostat, which sends a signal to your boiler or furnace to generate heat. If the wiring is deteriorating, these signals may get erratic. A buildup of dust inside your thermostat is another common culprit. You may also need to change the batteries in your thermostat.

Would I be wise to turn my thermostat way up to get warm fast?

Your heating system doesn’t work like a car — there is no gas pedal to step on to make it go faster. Your furnace or boiler will produce heat at the same rate regardless of whether your thermostat is set to 68 degrees or 85 degrees. (Setting the thermostat higher just makes your system work longer.)

Hot Tip #1: For better temperature control, trade in your old manual thermostat for a digital, programmable one. This allows you to automate your home temperature settings and can help you reduce your energy use and save as much as 10%.

Hot Tip #2: Never program your thermostat below 60 degrees, even if you’ll be away from home for a period of time. When your thermostat setting is too low, you risk frozen pipes. Water pipes near outside walls or in unheated spaces are especially prone to freeze-ups. The risk increases if cracks in your foundation allow cold air to seep into your home.

Would it be prudent to turn off the heat in some rooms?

Sure, you wants to save money on heating your home, but you don’t want to cause problems while you’re at it. One common mistake we see is when people drastically reduce or completely shut off the heat in different zones of their home.

While you might think you’ll save a little on heating costs, shutting off radiators or closing vents creates the possibility that pipes will freeze — especially in rooms that tend to be colder anyway. That’s a really costly problem.

If you have a furnace, closing some vents disrupts normal air flow, causing an imbalance that will just make your furnace work harder and strain your ductwork.

It’s best to keep heat flowing to all the rooms in your home.

A better idea is to keep the temperature at a comfortable level throughout your home and program your system to energy-saving settings when the house is empty or everyone is asleep.

If you have a zoned system, you can vary the temperature in different rooms, eliminating the temptation of shutting the heat off completely in some parts of your home.

Can you enlighten me about improving my heating efficiency?

A study of over 1,000 homes across the country showed that consumers are getting short-changed on energy efficiency because of a combination of poor equipment installation and lax maintenance.*

After adjustments were made to correct problems, however, efficiency improved, on average, by a phenomenal 36%! This was accomplished through the following methods:

• cleaning and adjusting the system — on average, annual maintenance alone can save you about 10% on annual heating costs.
• correcting flaws made during the initial installation, such as poorly matched ductwork.
• sealing the ductwork to prevent air leaks.
• improving insulation in the home in areas where air leaks caused significant energy losses.

As you can see, a few fixes could save you a lot of money on heat and keep you more comfortable.

*Source: National Comfort Institute

Q: What exactly is Bioheat®?

A: Bioheat is an eco-friendly blend of ultra-low-sulfur heating oil (it contains 99% less sulfur than conventional heating oil) and biodiesel (which is made from renewable resources like soybean oil). Bioheat burns more efficiently than conventional heating oil, so there’s less wear on your system and you’ll have fewer breakdowns. It also burns more cleanly, with lower emissions than natural gas. And because we deliver a B20 blend, you qualify for a 20¢-per-gallon state tax credit every year.

Q: What do I need to do to get this credit?

A: When you file your taxes, you need to include your annual usage statement, which we mail to customers at the beginning of every year. We also post the latest clean fuel credit form on our site, so you can print it out.

Here are four easy ways to earn $75 — perhaps even more — with account credits:

• Sign up for our E-Z Pay plan to spread fuel costs out over as many as 12 months and get a $10 account credit.*
• Choose Auto Pay to make easy monthly payments automatically for another $10 credit.*
• Go paperless: Get billing statements electronically, reduce paper clutter and get a $5 credit.*
• Refer customers: Recommend us to your friends and neighbors. For everyone who becomes an automatic delivery customer based on your referral, we’ll give you a $50 account credit after their first delivery. Just give us their contact information, and we’ll do the rest.

* Valid for new enrollees only, please.

Think you’re spending too much to heat your home?

You could see real savings by updating your heating system. A new, high-efficiency Peerless boiler or Thermo Pride furnace could lower your annual fuel costs by 20% or more — without sacrificing your comfort.

Today’s heating equipment operates with improved efficiency, so you burn less fuel to keep your home warm. When properly installed, new systems distribute heat more evenly and consistently.

You’ll also see savings on maintenance and repairs when you update your system. And a service plan will mean that it keeps working efficiently with few problems.

Give us a call and ask for a comprehensive heating system evaluation. The pros at Burt’s Reliable will give you an honest assessment and help you make the right choice for your needs and your budget. And our expert technicians will get your new system installed the right way, to ensure maximum savings and optimum performance.