If the only motorized vehicle in your life is a standard passenger car, then you are likely only paying attention to the cost of unleaded gasoline. But, as pricy as gasoline is today, diesel fuel is even more expensive.
For large vehicle fleets, farms and other commercial ventures, the high price of diesel is an aggravating reality of life. Diesel has on-road and off-road uses that make it indispensable for many businesses.
But why is diesel generally priced higher than gasoline? To answer this, we first need to understand how the two fuels are different.
Both gasoline and diesel are products derived from crude oil. The distillation process separates the different hydrocarbons that compose either gasoline or diesel. Here are some essential differences:
Functionally, diesel produces 10 to 20 percent more energy in combustion than gasoline. So, diesel engines get more mileage per gallon of diesel than gas engines.
There are three factors that contribute to diesel’s higher price point compared to gasoline:
While there’s little that one individual fuel company can do to reverse the high taxes, refining costs, and demand driving up diesel prices (not to mention global conflicts, market speculation and OPEC cutting production) we CAN help make your diesel fueling easier!
Rather than losing work hours driving to the pump to pick up fuel, arrange on-site diesel delivery with Dorr Oil and Propane. In Barrington, Manchester, Stratton, and other communities in Southwestern Vermont, our diesel delivery team is trusted by companies, work sites, and farms alike. We also proudly provide diesel for generators at schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities, and other vital organizations.
Are you ready to arrange your next diesel delivery with the help of the Dorr team? Drop us a line today! We’ll give you a no-hassle quote to best fit your business’s distinct needs for this winter season and in the years still to come.
Don’t wait until the first frost to get a jump on your seasonal to-do’s! Here are a few easy preparations you can take care of now to pave the way for a warm and comfortable winter:
The professionals at Dorr Oil & Propane have the knowledge, experience, and resources to answer all your questions about keeping your family warm while managing heating costs.
Get in touch with us today to learn more.
Our customers in Manchester, Stratton, Sunderland, and nearby Southern Vermont communities love our easy automatic propane delivery service. It can be a great way to prevent running out of propane or heating oil! But automatic deliveries aren’t the best solution for everyone.
When your fuel patterns are inconsistent—whether it’s because you only use your house on weekends, or you run a rental property—you may use a lot of fuel one month and less at other times. That makes it hard to use our algorithm to best predict your needs. Even things like using a propane fireplace often can have an impact on your scheduling. That’s why the real-time accuracy of our wireless tank monitoring service is so great!
Wireless tank monitors track the level of propane or heating oil in your tank in real-time and transmit your usage via wireless cellular technology. When the tank gauge reaches a pre-set level, the monitor alerts us—and you—directly via a wireless mobile app.
In addition to timely alerts, the app gives you even more control and insight. You can use it to easily track and adjust your monthly energy consumption which can help you save on energy costs.
Even if you don’t use it to improve energy efficiency, a tank monitor can save you the expense and hassle of fuel runouts and take the guesswork out of knowing when to order fuel—especially if you’re ordering propane for a second home.
If you’ve never run out of propane, you don’t know what a hassle it can be. There’s the inconvenience, of course. There’s the cost of an emergency fill-up, plus a leak test for safety.
And, if you rely on propane for heat, you can add the potential for frozen pipes and the expense of that repair. If you lose heat and it’s cold enough, water in your pipes will start to freeze and expand, resulting in cracks or breaks. A tiny crack of just an eighth of an inch will leak more than 250 gallons of water a day and a burst pipe will release a real flood.
Even if your tank doesn’t hit completely empty, you’ll have problems. When propane levels get too low, air can get into your system, which can lead to expensive damage. In general, you shouldn’t let your tank’s propane level go below 20%.
And if you use heating oil, letting your tank run completely empty may result in emergency delivery fees!
A wireless tank monitor is easy to install, and we can have you ready to go in a matter of minutes!
Contact us today to find out more about the benefits of wireless tank monitoring and how we can get you set up—100% hassle-free.
Our commitment to providing great service never stops. That’s why we’re excited to introduce the new Fuel Genie mobile app! You’re going to love how it makes all kinds of tasks and requests easier, from ordering heating oil and propane to checking and paying account balances—even reviewing past service records!
The best part is that it’s super easy to get started—all you need is your Dorr Oil and Propane account number and an email address. Just search for Fuel Genie in the Apple App Store or Google Play and download the easy-to-use app.
When you’re ready, click on “Account Login” and follow the prompts to set up your account. P.S. Don’t forget to save your password!
Check out all the things you can do once you’ve registered for an online account and downloaded the app:
The Fuel Genie app and our online account portal are just the newest ways we’ve developed to help you streamline your to-do list, eliminate paper clutter, and reduce the stress of ordering fuel and paying bills. It goes together with other great services and benefits we offer, such as our budget friendly payment options, automatic delivery service, wireless tank monitoring, and more!
Of course, we’re always here for you and are happy to take your calls. But using the customer portal or app means you can access your account and request deliveries any time that’s convenient for you.
Login and create your online account today, then, make sure to download the Fuel Genie app to discover all the great benefits for yourself!
While fuel and energy costs remain higher than in recent years past, it’s worth looking for ways to better improve your energy efficiency here and now. Adjusting your thermostats and combining errands to save gas are smart ways to lower your everyday costs. Alternatively, you might also think about replacing old, inefficient appliances and systems to achieve savings over the long term. So, if you have a traditional tank-style water heater that’s hitting the ten-year mark, you may be seeing higher energy bills or a lack of performance.
Consider that between bathing and showering, washing dishes, laundry, cleaning, and other tasks, the typical American household uses between 60 and 65 gallons of hot water a day. It makes sense to look for peak efficiency when it comes to heating water, as those costs can add up fast.
Now, any new water heater will likely be more efficient than older technology, but for super efficiency and savings, you should also weigh your options and consider going tankless.
Tankless propane water heaters—also known as on-demand water heaters—instantly heat water when you need it, rather than keeping a large tank hot all the time. Imagine having virtually unlimited hot water, all while seeing lower fuel bills. With a high-efficiency tankless water heater, it’s possible!
In addition to whole-house models, smaller versions can be installed where they are needed to generate hot water for an addition or for a spa tub, for example.
Although they save you money in the long run, tankless water heaters are typically a bit more expensive to buy and install. In addition, they require a little maintenance, particularly if you have hard water.
Deposits and minerals can reduce performance and efficiency if you don’t flush the tank at least once a year and clean the filters.
A traditional tank-style water heater is inexpensive to replace but costs a lot more to run. And it can’t really deliver enough hot water for more than two or three showers in a row, assuming no one is washing dishes or using hot water for anything else.
If your home has a basement, space may not be an issue. But if you don’t have a basement, that big tank uses a lot of valuable real estate in your home.
Whether you decide to stick with a traditional tank-style water heater or update with a highly efficient tankless model, don’t wait for your current water heater to fail to replace it! Like other essential equipment in your home, such as your refrigerator, you don’t want to go long without it—especially in winter.
Ready to explore the benefits of a tankless water heater for your southwestern Vermont home? The pros at Dorr Oil and Propane can help you choose the best option for your needs and install it efficiently. Plus, we offer great service and maintenance plans to protect your investment! Enjoy energy efficiency and all the hot water you need with a new water heater. Contact us today to get started or for a FREE estimate.
Even as the pandemic seems to be waning, ongoing supply chain issues and geopolitical conflict have each contributed to higher energy prices across the board—not just for the oil and propane to fuel your home, but also at the gas pump and at the grocery store. While we can’t control fuel prices at-large, we’re always looking for ways to help you keep costs manageable.
What we can tell you that customers who were enrolled in one of our propane price protection plans were well protected from the worst of this past winter’s price spikes.
We know every budget is different, but we have three smart payment options to help you keep costs under control. Get the details and find out which plan is right for you:
If we have a particularly harsh winter or prices spike, we’ll help adjust your payments, so you don’t get hit with a large balance in the early summer. Likewise, if it’s a mild winter, we can adjust and reduce your payments. The point is to help you save all while avoiding big fluctuations.
Ready to enroll? Click here to get started.
Ready to enroll? Click here to get started.
Letting the pros at Dorr Oil and Propane handle all your heating oil, kerosene, and propane needs is a smart choice. No matter what happens with prices next winter, our propane price protection plans are designed to help you keep costs manageable.
If you’d like to sign up for a plan, now is the time to enroll! Contact us to learn about all the ways we can help you save.
There are a lot of terms that get used when talking about clean energy and climate change-focused goals. One of them is achieving “Net Zero Emissions”. But what does that mean? In short, it’s about hitting a balance between emissions produced and emissions taken out of the atmosphere.
For example, you’ll hear that a certain measure to reduce carbon emissions (or “carbon footprint”) will be the equivalent of taking some number of gasoline-powered cars off the road. Switching to electric vehicles is a great way to take those cars off the road, but electric vehicles aren’t a perfect solution for everyone yet.
The need to decarbonize our energy sources is important, but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. That’s why the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making all homes and businesses convert to electric-powered heating systems is a bit misguided. Until there’s a reliable and affordable way to get all our energy from renewable sources like the sun and wind, we need to use a mix of the greenest options available.
Here are three big reasons why the smart solution is a balanced solution:
Why switch to a less efficient heating fuel when there are safe and clean-burning fuels to help keep your home and family comfortable, even on the coldest nights?
It costs more to heat your home with electricity. Electric heat takes much longer to reach a comfortable temperature. Additionally, it can struggle to maintain it when temperatures are frigid for sustained amounts of time—which is the description of a Vermont winter. Electric heat pumps become less able to keep your home warm the lower the temperature goes, as they rely on outdoor air. In fact, many homes with electric heat pumps also need to have oil- or gas-fired furnaces or boilers as a backup to keep the home safely warm.
Because they must work harder, electric heating systems will drive up your energy usage, which in turn drives up your utility bill. That’s without factoring in the cost to convert to electric heating systems, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars in itself!
One of the selling points of electricity is that it has “zero” emissions. However, did you know that the generation of electricity is the second-largest creator of greenhouse gases in the United States? That’s because most of our electricity supply is generated by coal-fired power plants. Only the transportation sector creates more greenhouse gases. More than 63% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas.
Propane, on the other hand, is much more clean-burning, with nearly zero emissions created from its usage. Propane is a non-toxic, non-poisonous fuel that burns cleaner than other fuels. Additionally, propane will not create an environmental hazard if spilled.
Now, there’s an even “greener” type of propane. Renewable propane is made from sustainable sources—most commonly animal fats and vegetable oils. Much like other biofuels, it has a very small carbon footprint and requires no new or special equipment.
Everyone should have access to clean energy, but utility programs that promote rooftop solar power, electric vehicles, and home energy storage are largely inaccessible to low-income households. Achieving net-zero emissions is important, but we’ll only get there if everyone has access to cleaner-burning fuels.
The cost of electrification is too high—and while using electricity may be clean, generating all that electricity to meet the increased demand is not. With a balanced approach and a mix of clean energy sources, everyone can get to net zero, not just those with deeper pockets.
There are a range of factors to consider when choosing the energy source for your home heating and appliances, including cost, efficiency, dependability, and more. Thinking about making the switch to propane? You can feel comfortable knowing propane-powered appliances and equipment will not only create efficiency, but they’ll also keep your house running while helping the environment.
For more information about clean, versatile, and reliable propane for your home or business in southern Vermont, contact the pros at Dorr Oil and Propane today.
Yardwork, clearing the gutters, cleaning the grill. As the days get longer, and the weather gets warmer, those are the chores most likely to be moving to the top of your list. Chances are you’re not giving much thought to your boiler or furnace, other than those last few chilly nights when you might need to turn it up just a little.
Once the sun starts shining, the last thing on your mind is your heating system tune-up. But we’ve got some great reasons that you should schedule it in the spring or early summer months:
Speaking of out-of-pocket expenses, consider one of our service plans. Our service plans are so much more than a seasonal tune-up. They can really help you save when you do need a repair! Our Premium Service plan covers parts and labor for most repairs, and our Basic plan provides discounts on parts and labor. All our plans include priority emergency service. Because according to Murphy’s Law, if something can go wrong, it will—and usually at the worst time. These emergencies won’t wait until the weather clears or normal business hours resume, and neither will we.
Why wait? Contact Dorr Oil and Propane today to get on the schedule for your heating equipment tune-up and be ready for fall season that lies ahead.
You probably haven’t thought about your oil tank in a while. As long as it’s not empty, it shouldn’t even cross your mind. And that’s fine! Heating oil tanks are built to last quite a long time. But that doesn’t absolve you from checking in to make sure it’s operating as it should. Eventually, maintenance will be necessary, and over the course of a few decades, they’ll need to be outright replaced.
So, what kind of lifespan can you expect from your oil tank? The honest answer is “it depends.” Age, maintenance, and construction are just a few of the factors that influence how long your oil tank will last. The good news is that modern heating oil storage tanks have come a long way, offering decades or virtually leak-proof performance compared to older types.
Steel tanks are still available today, but they are built to a much higher standard than in the past. Using alternative construction materials such as fiberglass and polyethylene for the inner lining of double-walled tanks make them virtually leak-proof.
The bottom line is that a new heating oil tank costs far less than the expense of an oil spill or cleanup. If you think it’s time to replace your tank, contact Dorr Oil and Propane today to learn more about expert oil tank replacement, installation, and removal in Southern Vermont, including Manchester, Stratton, Sunderland, Dorset, and nearby communities.
We want to acknowledge the recent, alarming surge in energy prices. This is difficult for everyone and we want you to know we are here to help any way we can. If you need assistance or have any questions please contact us to discuss the best solution.