Connecticut residents experience a full range of seasons throughout the year. While there are many advantages to living in this picturesque area, the broader range of temperatures makes it more important to ensure you can keep your home sufficiently heated.
To ensure that you do not run out of oil, or have to continually check your oil gauge, you might sign up for automatic heating oil deliveries. This service uses an algorithm to estimate your oil usage based on the weather and your previous oil consumption. It does this by calculating what is known as the “K-factor.”
Here is how your oil company calculates the K-factor and compares it to degree days in the region to keep your family comfortable throughout the season.
Defining the K-Factor in Simple Terms
The K-factor is a unit of measurement that tells fuel providers how many degree days it takes a specific customer to use one gallon of fuel. Providers must calculate the K-factor for each customer since a variety of conditions affect this measurement. Some things that affect the K-factor include the square footage, ceiling height, and amount of insulation in the home.
A longer heating history helps create a more accurate K-factor, as fuel providers then have more data to include in their calculations. However, your supplier can still determine your K-factor with very little information when there are several degree days within a single 24-hour period.
To determine the K-factor, your company divides the number of degree days between deliveries by the number of gallons delivered. For example, suppose that you received 100 gallons of fuel from your previous delivery. Now, assume you had 800 degree days within that 30-day period. Dividing those 100 gallons by 800 degree days gives you an 8.0 K-factor.
Degree Days: What Are They?
To determine your K-factor it is important to understand degree days and how your delivery company uses them. Degree days or heating degree days (HDD) are days when the outdoor temperature drops below 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Companies use the 65-degree benchmark since this is the point when most people start heating their homes.
To determine your degree days within a 24-hour period, add the high and low for a given day. Divide that sum by two to find the average temperature for that day. Then, subtract that number from 65 to find the number of degree days within a 24-hour period.
Consider this example:
- 30 (high) + 20 (low) = 50
- 50 / 2 = 25
- 25 – 65 = –40
There will be 40 degree days within this 24-hour period.
How Companies Use the K-Factor and Degree Days to Calculate Automatic Deliveries
Rather than providing a fuel delivery every 30 days, your supplier will calculate deliveries based on your number of degree days. This means that if you use your delivery of 100 gallons of fuel to provide heat for 800 degree days, your next delivery will arrive before you surpass those 800 degree days.
Since the basis for automatic deliveries relies on degree days rather than actual time, you won’t follow a traditional monthly cycle. When the temperatures are colder, you’ll receive deliveries more frequently. You’ll also get fewer deliveries as the temperatures warm and you experience fewer degree days.
Additionally, your fuel provider won’t wait for you to use the full 100 gallons from the previous delivery. They will use their calculation of your degree days to determine when you have 10 to 20% of your fuel remaining. At that time, they will send out your next automatic delivery. This calculation ensures you’ll never run out of fuel.
Keep in mind that any fuel consumption changes can alter your K-factor unexpectedly. This might include installing a second furnace or using your fuel for hot water. Even after replacing an old furnace, the new unit might use more or less fuel to provide the same consistent temperature. This will affect your K-factor as well.
Unless your fuel provider offers fuel usage monitoring, it can be beneficial to notify your provider about changes to your fuel consumption. They can use the extra information to modify your K-factor and adjust your automatic deliveries.
Relying on Established Supply Companies
When you get your heating oil and fuel from an established company, you can trust that they will meet your customized heating needs. After years in the industry, your supplier will know how to calculate your heating needs based on the K-factor and degree days in the Connecticut region.
You can depend on these procedures to ensure your automatic deliveries arrive on time, every time.