Despite Cold Snap and Wind Storm... Oil Heat Still Most Dependable

With all the winter storms we have experienced since November 2006, one would think this is one of the coldest winters on record. December and January have both been quite cold, but only compared to winters over the past decade. Degree days (a calculation used by dealers to determine your heating oil usage) are definitely up by nearly 20 - 22% over last year, however if you are to compare these months to an average winter in the 1960's, 70's, or 80's one might say this is more normal temperature for the Pacific Northwest region.

During the ferocious wind storm in December, most of us in the Puget Sound region lost power. Many of us with were without electricity for six to seven days and all of us were humbled by the dependence we have on basic needs such as electricity, refrigerators, information via the local news broadcasts, and of course heat!

If you were one of the prepared families who have a home with a generator, you were able to power your oil burner unit and supply heat to family. This was untrue for nearly all natural gas or other energy users. Many family members and neighbors took refuge in homes powered with oil heat and were thankful of their own heat source.

Jim Walker, an oil heat user, called our office the week after the storm and raved about how his home was the warmest on the block. Most of his family and many of his neighbors took shelter in his home for a warm nights sleep and to protect their children from the bitter cold. Oil heat was something the Walker family could depend on.

Your heating oil dealer, despite not having electricity in their own offices, kept their trucks running and distributed heating oil where needed to heat their customers homes. This is but one reason why using oil heat in your home provides you with choice, convenience and comfort even during one of the fiercest storms in the Pacific Northwest's history. Oil heat - an energy source your can depend on!