Harris Comfort Company Blog

Don't Always Believe What You Read about Switching Fuels

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:42:50 -0400

We've been telling our customers for quite a while not to believe the false claims the gas utilities are making about their fuel. And now we're also telling you not to trust one of the most trusted sources of information: The New York Times.

An article in the Sunday, January 22, 2012 edition of The New York Times made certain claims about natural gas that could potentially cost those thinking about conversions thousands of dollars in savings that may never come.

In their article "As price of oil soars, users can only shiver and cross their fingers," authors Diane Cardwell and Clifford Krauss basically claim that today's lower gas prices will stay low and higher oil prices will stay high. They also conveniently leave out vital information that would tell the whole story.

The truth is, energy prices are difficult to predict, even in the short term. We've seen this happen at least twice in recent history:

In 2008, Oilheat customers were told prices could rise to record levels. Instead, they happily watched those prices drop by more than $2 per gallon.
In 2002, natural gas prices were about where they are today. Only 6 years later, in 2008, natural gas prices shot up nearly 600%!

Now to some of the omissions from the article:

In 17 out of the last 20 years heating oil has been less expensive than natural gas. A heating system is a 20 year investment, not something changed for a temporary advantage of one fuel over another.
The EIA comparison of costs to heat a home with gas, oil and electric, overstates the real differences and misleads consumers. The cost to heat with electricity in Pennsylvania is twice as high as the cost of heating with oil, based on an average of 19 cents per kilowatt hour.
The authors cited that homeowners saved big by converting to another fuel. What they failed to mention was that these savings were the result of upgrading an outdated oil unit to a new heating system. The fact is, had these same homeowners replaced the outdated system with a brand-new energy-efficient Oilheat system, they could also have cut their heating bills by upwards of 40%.
Natural gas is going to be increasingly liquefied so it can be exported. Right now, natural gas costs upwards of 5 times more in Asia and Europe than in the United States. That can't help but mean higher natural gas prices for American consumers. As a matter of fact, in January, the EIA projected that natural gas prices in the U.S. could rise 54% within 6 years due to increased exports. Furthermore, the boom in drilling for natural gas is starting to drop off as gas companies cannot earn an economic return for the current commodity cost of gas. That, too, signals that the price of utility gas will rise.
The New York Times article also doesn't mention that Oilheat continues to get cleaner and greener. The average Oilheat consumer used more than 1,100 gallons per year 30 years ago and today that same consumer uses about 700 gallons. Moreover, today's modern oil-fired boilers and furnaces are up to 40% more efficient than older units. And with the introduction of Ultra-Low Sulfur Heating Oil and Biofuels, we are seeing Oilheat becoming cleaner than ever.

No one, not the US Government, market analysts or even Harris Comfort, can predict where energy prices will go ... and placing a large investment of up to $10,000 for a conversion is nothing short of a gamble. But here at Harris Comfort, we can offer you all the full service conveniences that will add value to every gallon of oil we deliver. Add to that the warm, personal, customized service you've always depended on and it's plain to see - there's just no comparison. Oilheat is the way to go ... and Harris Comfort is the best way to get it.

Please click here to read more about the Harris Comfort full service difference.

Heating Assistance Is Available

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:01:22 -0500

None of our customers should have to face choosing between feeding their families and keeping them warm. That's why we recommend LIHEAP, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

LIHEAP is a federally funded program that helps eligible households in meeting their home energy needs. LIHEAP also offers an emergency benefit for households in a heat or heat-related energy emergency.

Additionally, LIHEAP offers a furnace repair and/or replacement benefit for households with inoperable heating equipment. For further information and 2011-2012 income guidelines, please contact the appropriate state agency:

Pennsylvania: Click here for Pennsylvania Department of Welfare information or contact your local county assistance office or the LIHEAP hotline, 1-866-857-7095.

New Jersey: Click here for New Jersey Department of Community Affairs information or contact your local county assistance office or the LIHEAP hotline, 1-800-510-3102.

More information can be found at the "State Low-Income Energy Assistance Snapshots" page of the LIHEAP Clearinghouse website - click here to visit.

Also, please contact us online or call us if you are unable to pay your bills to see if we can help you. Our phone numbers are (215) 968-7477 or (215) 788-4596 in Pennsylvania, and (609) 386-4658 in New Jersey. All information will be kept confidential. We want to make sure that every one of our customers is able to enjoy a warm and cozy winter.

What Are Those Red Flags?

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:48:34 -0500

Have you seen the small red flags we've placed by your oil fill pipes? They're there for a reason - to mark where your fill pipe is so your delivery driver can find it when there is snow on the ground, and ensure a timely and safe Oilheat delivery.

There's something else you can do to ensure on-time deliveries this winter - shovel and maintain a path to your oil fill pipe. You make it easier for our drivers to deliver to your home when they don't have to step over piles of snow or risk slipping on ice.

Remember, your safety is always our prime concern. If you are a senior citizen or have medical issues, please don't do anything that might put your health at risk.

Until our next blog entry, have a happy, healthy, prosperous new year from your friends at Harris Comfort!

Happy Holidays from the Harris Family!

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:51:08 -0500

We want to take this opportunity to wish all our customers a joyous holiday and a happy, healthy, prosperous new year.

Whether you\'ve been our customer for many years or just a few weeks, we value your business. The reason behind our success as a comfort leader in Bucks County for over 50 years is simple: loyal customers like you. Thank you!

As 2012 quickly approaches, we rededicate ourselves to our mission of providing \"Comfort Year Round.\" We know you have many comfort choices - but you\'ve told us you\'ve remained our steadfast customer because of the Harris Comfort Difference: friendly people ... high-quality products ... and prompt, dependable, full service.

The Harris Comfort Difference also means personal service from a family-owned business. If you call us, there\'s a pretty good chance there\'s a Harris in the office to serve you. We\'re not a large, impersonal entity - and we like it that way. As we like to say, we\'re \"still family and still local.\"

Again, thank you for your patronage, and we wish you a happy and healthy holiday season and a warm and wonderful winter.

Seal and Insulate in November to Save Energy All Winter

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:23:41 -0500

With another cold winter bearing down on eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey, this is a great time to button up your home, improve you energy efficiency and reduce your home\'s winter energy needs.

Many homes are riddled with air leaks and insulation shortages that let cold air in and warm air out and increase the cost of staying comfortable, according to the U.S. Energy Star website. Energy Star has published a very helpful booklet, The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Sealing and Insulating with Energy Star, which explains how to find and fix air leaks. The booklet is available online on the Energy Star website.

The booklet explains important truths about air leaks. \"You may feel drafts around windows and doors and think these leaks are your major source of wasted energy,\" Energy Star explains. \"In most homes, however, the most significant air leaks are hidden in the attic and basement. These are the leaks that significantly raise your energy bill and make your house uncomfortable.\"

Leaks can be found in the attic behind knee walls, at wiring holes and plumbing vents, around recessed lights and other places where you might not think to look, according to Energy Star. The booklet helps you determine whether you can tackle the job yourself and explains how to discover leaks systematically and plug them.

Insulation is vital, but it doesn\'t compensate for air leaks, according to Energy Star. \"Even if you have enough insulation in your attic, sealing attic air leaks will enhance the performance of your insulation and make for a much more comfortable home,\" the booklet states.

The booklet lists the materials and techniques you\'ll need to tighten up those big leaks and explains how to insulate the attic - or improve the insulation you already have - once you\'ve sealed the leaks.

By acting now, you can take advantage of the federal government\'s tax credits for energy efficiency, which expire at the end of this year. Work you do in 2011 can qualify for a credit on your 2011 federal income tax.

Other great ways to cut your heating costs are to have your system tuned and to upgrade to higher efficiency heating equipment. Please call Harris Comfort (215-968-7477, 215-788-4596 or 609-386-4658) or contact us online to schedule a tune-up or request a free heating system evaluation.

There are some great online resources that can help you understand home sealing and insulation and make some cost-saving improvements before the fierce cold arrives. Here are a few:

Harris Comfort\'s Energy Conservation Tips

Energy\'s Star\'s Do-It-Yourself Guide to Sealing and Insulating with Energy Star

Air Seal and Insulate with Energy Star

Energy Star\'s recommended levels of insulation

Energy Savers page on air-sealing an existing home

Energy Savers page on adding insulation to an existing home

Beware of Chimney Cleaning Scams

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:57:51 -0400

We have heard from several customers that there are chimney-cleaning companies in the area calling homeowners and claiming that the heating company told them to call about chimney work.

Harris Comfort has not asked any chimney companies to call any of our customers. When we recommend a chimney cleaning, we tell you ourselves, and we recommend reputable companies that we trust.

Chimney scams are nothing new. There have no arrests in our area recently, but alleged scammers face charges in New Jersey and New York, and New Jersey has issued a consumer advisory.

If you are curious about the condition of your chimney or you think some work might be required, please give Harris Comfort a call. We work with reliable chimney professionals, and we'll be happy to advise you.

We check the base of your chimney when we do it a tune-up, and it's a good idea to have a professional check the entire stack periodically. The chimney is a vital component of your heating system and it requires periodic attention and maintenance.

The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) provides lots of helpful information about chimneys at its Web site, www.csia.org. Here are some interesting facts.

An Oilheat system typically vents into a chimney or through a basement sidewall using a custom venting system.
CSIA recommends annual inspection by a professional chimney sweep. An inspection can detect damage to the inside of a chimney that might otherwise go undetected.
Without periodic cleanings, a chimney's interior can decay and break down.

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Harris Comfort Over a Discount Company

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:29:33 -0400

As you probably know, the price of heating oil varies, and there are companies in Bucks County that charge less for a gallon of heating oil than we do. At Harris Comfort, we\'re proud of the choices we make, including our non-discount price - because it reflects our commitment to doing right by our customers.

Our goal is sell heating oil at the \"right price.\" By that, we mean as low as possible without cutting corners or taking chances with your equipment, your service, and your property.

With apologies to David Letterman, we offer this Top 10 List of reasons why Harris Comfort is a wiser choice for your home and your family than a discount oil company.

No. 10: Maximizing your clout. When you choose Harris for your fuel delivery and service, you are an account of consequence. We jump to attention whenever you call us for help, because your account is an important asset.

No. 9: Expertise and Vision. The Harris Comfort team is passionate about energy efficiency, and we help customers make great purchasing decisions on new equipment. Discounters cannot afford the kind of conservation expertise that we have.

No. 8: Innovation. At Harris, we take advantage of new technology to simplify your life. We have updated our website with an account management portal so that you can manage your home comfort affairs online at your convenience.

No. 7. Price Protection. With a discount oil company, you are completely exposed to oil price inflation. Harris Comfort, on the other hand, offers a Price Protection program that allows you to lock in a preseason price and even take advantage of falling prices.

No. 6. 24-Hour Service. If your heating system fails in the middle of an icy cold night, you need the help of an expert technician without delay. That\'s what you get with Harris Comfort, but many discount companies offer no service at all, let alone prompt, 24-hour response.

No. 5. Reliability. With no reputation to maintain, a discount company can act unscrupulously and then disappear and leave you hanging. Harris Comfort has been serving Bucks County for more than 50 years, and we\'ll be here for many more years to come.

No. 4. Commitment to the Community. Harris Comfort has been a solid citizen of Bucks County since 1956. We support numerous local organizations, including the Rotary Club, Bristol Exchange, the Salvation Army, Bucks County Rescue Squad, the Delaware Valley Philharmonic and many more. Most discounters are not nearly as involved in the community as we are.

No. 3. Great People. We are very picky about whom we hire, and when we find good people, we do our best to keep them with us so you can enjoy a sense of familiarity. In fact, all our technicians are certified by North American Technical Excellence. A discounter cannot afford such talented, trustworthy people.

No. 2. Protection From Liability. Harris Comfort carries excellent insurance so that you are shielded from risk when we visit your property. Discounters expose you to costly liability because they cannot afford a safe level of insurance.

And the No. 1 reason for choosing Harris Comfort? Value! A low price is nice, but it is not the same thing as a great value. In fact, when you consider all the important extras you are missing with a discounter, you see that our price is realistic, while theirs is \"dangerously low.\"

Wood-Burning Fireplaces Are Efficiency Losers

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:01:40 -0400

Wood-burning fireplaces cast a warm glow in a living room or den, but they can wreak havoc on a home\'s energy efficiency. In fact, they can suck so much heated air from a home that they actually make you burn more oil or propane, not less.

Mother Earth News discusses fireplace problems on their website: \"Depending on the type of fireplace you have, it may actually waste more energy than it creates throughout the season. The problem is that most heat goes up the chimney, drawing cold air into the house to replace the heated air. When a fire isn\'t burning, warm air can still escape through the chimney.\"

The Masonry Advisory Council offers a more technical analysis: \"The air that fuels a fire has to come from somewhere. ... In a cold environment, the air drawn into the firebox comes from the house and has already been heated to a comfortable temperature by the central heating system. As the air is expelled up the flue, it has to be replaced by more air. Where does this air come from? It must infiltrate the house from the outside, be heated up by the central heating, and then fuel the fire.\" The article includes a chart that illustrates how the energy drain occurs.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also weighs in on the topic on its Burn Wise website: \"Generally, burning in a wood-burning fireplace is an inefficient way of heating your home. Fireplaces provide less heat to your home, since most of the heat goes out the chimney.\" The article continues, \"Draft from a fireplace tends to suck all the warm air in a home and take it up the chimney. If you use a fireplace, expect other rooms in the home to be cooler due to escaping warm air. And, if you\'re using central heat while burning in a fireplace, expect your heater to work harder to maintain temperatures throughout the house.\"

Energy efficiency is not the only problem with fireplaces. Wood also generates 2,000 times the fire particle pollution that oil furnaces do.

A smart alternative is a propane fireplace or stove, according to EPA. \"Whether designed to burn natural gas or propane, they burn very cleanly, emitting very little pollution,\" EPA says. For an analysis of the heat value of wood, propane, heating oil and other fuels, visit the Department of Energy\'s Energy Savers website. The article explains how many BTUs are in each fuel source.

At Harris Comfort, we recommend propane stoves and fireplace inserts as a great alternative to burning wood. Many appliances fire up immediately at the touch of a button, and there is no ash to clean up. Please visit our propane page to learn more.

How Price Protection Works and What You Need to Know

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:13:34 -0400

We get customers calling all the time, asking how our price protection plans work, and what the different programs offer. When fuel costs are volatile, as they've been the past few years, a price protection plan can help you manage your home energy bills and - in many cases - save hundreds of dollars over the course of the season. At Harris Comfort, we offer a variety of price protection and payment programs because each family has different needs and concerns.

Pre-Paid Plan - with our Pre-Paid Plan, we calculate your expected usage over the upcoming season, and offer you the lowest price available at the time of contract, based on our forecasting of your fuel costs. You make one payment, in the beginning of the year, for a contracted number of gallons, based on those calculations. Since you've already bought your fuel for the year, your price is locked in, and you don't have to worry about rising prices. If you need more fuel than you pre-bought, the additional gallons will be billed at our market rate on the day of delivery.

Cap Plan - a Cap Plan gives you what's called 'downside protection.' We will calculate your estimated usage, just as in the pre-paid plan, and then lock in a "cap" on your per-gallon price. You're guaranteed that your price for those gallons will never go above that rate ... and if the market price of fuel drops below that price, you pay the lower rate. There is a Cap Protection fee added to your contract - this covers our insurance costs (called hedging) to ensure we can protect your capped price. If there's a credit on your account at the end of the season because prices dropped, we'll credit that to your account for the following year. As with the pre-paid plan, if you need more fuel than you protected, additional gallons will be billed at our market rate on the day of delivery.

Harris Comfort gives you two ways to take advantage of our Cap Plan:

Cap Budget Plan - calculates your annual cost, based on your cap price and gallons protected, and spreads it over 12 equal monthly payments. The Cap Budget plan can help you manage your home finances, and still enjoy the advantage of lower fuel prices. (Cap Protection fees apply.)
Pre-Paid Cap Plan - gives you the best of the Pre-Paid and Cap plans. You get a lower cap price because you pay in full at the beginning of the season, but you still benefit if prices go down. (Cap Protection fees apply.)

The next two options are not 'price protection' plans, but they offer you a chance to manage your fuel bills in the way that works best for you.

Posted Price Budget Plan - we will estimate your annual costs based on your past fuel usage and spread your fuel costs over the next 12 months. You pay the same amount each month, and we keep track of your actual delivery charges based on our daily market (or posted) price. At the end of the program, we will either credit your account for the following year, or bill you for any remaining balance on your account.

"Ride the Market" Plan - this is the easiest plan to understand. You need a delivery; you get a delivery, and get billed for the delivery based on that day's price. There are no commitments, and no additional charges. Your price fluctuates with the market, but Harris Comfort offers a $0.03 per gallon discount if you pay within 10 days.

If you have any other questions, feel free to call Harris Comfort at 215-968-7477, or contact us.

Welcome to our blog!

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:25:43 -0400

I would like to welcome you to our blog. Here at Harris Comfort, we continually try to make improvements that make our customers lives better. This blog will help do just that by periodically letting you know about important news, offers, tips and changes that could benefit all our customers. Please come back often to keep up with the latest entries.

I also encourage everyone to reach out to us, whether in person, on the phone or through the "Contact Us" page on our web site so we might learn and improve with your comments.

Please remember there are many Rebates and Government Incentives to upgrade your comfort needs in your home. Also, it is a great time to get your air conditioner checked out so it will be in great shape for the summer.