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Great news about oil prices, filling safety, no heat tips, and more!

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Prices Are Down and Savings Are Up

Because of falling oil prices, most people have been saving a lot of money on heating costs over the past two years.

(Crude oil prices recently plunged to their lowest level since December 2003!)

We encourage you to invest your fuel savings back into your home so you can save even more money.

We’re ready to help! Whether it’s a repair, a tune-up or a new furnace, boiler, water heater or oil tank, our trained technicians can take care of virtually any issue that affects your home comfort.

We can also help you save money and increase your peace of mind with our Heating Maintenance Plan.

Some customers who have replaced old, inefficient oil boilers have cut their annual heating expenses by as much as 40%! And paying for your replacement equipment is as easy as pie, thanks to great financing programs.

Low prices won’t last forever, so let us know how we can help!

Contact us today to request a free estimate on new heating equipment. We also welcome your call: 302-738-4144 (Delaware) or 410-398-2146 (Maryland).

What Does a Safe Delivery of Fuel Oil Sound Like?

Do you have a basement oil tank? If you do, you should hear a whistling noise whenever our driver makes a delivery. This is perfectly normal.

In addition to your oil tank, your heating oil storage system includes the fill pipe, vent pipe, and vent alarm. Our driver connects the hose from his oil truck to the fill pipe when making a delivery of fuel. As oil flows into the tank, air is pushed back out. As the air goes through the vent alarm (located between your tank and vent pipe), it makes a whistling sound. When the whistling stops, the tank is just about full.

This prevents overfilling and the possibility of a spill. Safety codes do not allow us to deliver your fuel if the vent alarm is not working.

Do You Have the Proper Piping?
Other safety codes must be followed so we can ensure safe deliveries to your home. One of the most important codes involves your fill and vent pipes. Older piping made from Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) must be replaced because this plastic piping becomes brittle during winter conditions, making it more likely to crack when a tank is being filled.

This is such an important issue that many insurance companies are now enforcing a No-Fill mandate for tanks with PVC piping.

If this is an issue for you, we can easily resolve it by upgrading your plastic piping to more durable iron or copper piping. If you have any questions or concerns about your oil storage system, please feel free to contact us.

Ask the Expert

Q: What’s the first thing I should do if my heat stops working?

A: The first thing you need to do is to stay calm. Remember there are many simple reasons that can cause your heat to stop working. Sometimes, you may even be able to fix the problem yourself.

Here are common reasons for losing heat:

You may have tripped a circuit breaker or blown a fuse.

Your oil tank may be empty. Consider automatic delivery.

Your thermostat may be on the wrong setting. Also, if the display screen on a digital thermostat is blank, you either need new batteries or the power supply has been interrupted.

The power switches to your heating system may have been turned off accidentally.

As a last resort for getting your heat back, press the reset button on your oil burner once. If your furnace or boiler starts to run again but shuts down after a few minutes, do not press the reset button again. Pressing it more than once can flood the system with oil and result in a costly repair.

For your convenience, we have put together a No-Heat Checklist that gives you a step-by-step guide that shows you everything you should check before calling us for emergency service. Why not bookmark it now for easy access?

If you go through all of these tips and can’t figure out the problem, it’s time to call us: 302-738-4144 (Delaware) or 410-398-2146. (Maryland).

When our service technician arrives, tell him everything you did to the system and if anything out of the ordinary happened, such as an unusual noise, smoke or a strange smell.

In many cases, this will help our technician find the problem—and get your heat back on—faster.

More Hot Tips

  • Mark the circuit breaker (or fuse) that controls your heating system.
  • Make sure you know the location of your system’s power switches.
  • Regularly check the condition of your furnace filter, or the water gauge level if you have a boiler.

Recent Testimonials from Hillside Customers

Hillside is always proud to boast when our employees receive reviews from customers. Our service department has been busy tuning up and repairing equipment. Here are a few recent testimonials from customers of Hillside’s maintenance, repairs, and installations.

“George & Randy were courteous and very pleasant. They did a great & timely job.” -Karen Mc. from Newark 1/28/2016

“Mike was great, he explained everything he was doing. Thank you.” -Walter C. from North East, MD 1/20/2016

“Great work!” -Slavin Insurance from Elkton, MD 1/7/2016

“Excellent job by Mike & Luke! Good teamwork!!!”” -Lois Mc. from New Castle 12/2/2015

“Mike & Randy were a good team. Mike especially went the extra mile for service.” -Elaine K. from Newark 12/17/2015

“The tech explained keeping the furnace clean & tuned helps extend furnace life.” -Tom G. from Newark 12/22/2015

Give Hillside a call for prices and options: DE: 302-738-4144 or MD: 410-398-2146

Are Your Energy Bills Worrying You?

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“Just got my electric bill…yipes. What can I do to get this monthly expense under control?”

If you are wondering how to reduce your energy costs, you first need to understand which appliances in your home are using the most energy.

As a rule, if the appliance produces heat, it is drawing a lot of power. Think of hair dryers, toaster, clothes dryer, oven, space heaters, electric blankets, water heater, dishwasher, and furnace. These are the appliances you might consider limiting usage or turning down the heat setting, if there is one, to save money.

  • Then consider the appliances that draw power constantly: refrigerator, freezer, water heater, furnace, and air conditioner. Some of these items might not draw the most power, but they do use energy nonstop for a cumulative effect on your wallet.
  • If you have a spare refrigerator or deep freezer that you use to stock food for the holidays or special occasions, consider emptying it out when not absolutely needed, transferring the food to your primary refrigerator or freezer; then unplug the appliance until needed again.
  • Lower the temperature of your water heater a few degrees. Wrap the tank with a water heater blanket to insulate it, which will better maintain the temperature of the water inside it.
  • If you’re in the market for a new water heater, consider a tankless one that heats water on-demand (click HERE for info), when you turn a hot water faucet on, rather than constantly heating water in a tank until it’s needed. Tankless water heaters are more expensive than traditional water heaters, but they take up a lot less space and you begin saving energy (and money!) right away.
  • Turn down your thermostat a degree or two in the winter and up a little in the summer to save energy when heating or cooling your home.

Is your furnace old and tired? Chances are, it’s costing you more money than you need to spend heating your home. Your HVAC system is the single biggest user of energy in your home. Replacing it with a more modern, energy-efficient rated system will save energy and reduce your home heating costs. If you are considering replacing your furnace, give us a call! We install and service all types of furnaces – not just for oil heat – and can guide you on an efficient, appropriately sized furnace for your home.

For an estimate on replacing your water heater or furnace with a more energy-efficient one, call Hillside HVAC for a consultation. In Delaware: 302-738-4144. In Maryland: 410-398-2146.

Don’t Let Deep Snow Become Deadly

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“My head ached, I was a little dizzy and I felt queasy. Not thinking clearly, it took me a few minutes to realize the piercing noise I was hearing was an alarm going off in my home. It was the carbon monoxide detector. Despite the frozen landscape outside, I knew I needed to get out—fast.”

Carbon monoxide poisoning sneaks up on you. CO is an odorless, invisible gas that can overcome you in confined spaces, such as inside your home, garage or car, without warning. CO poisoning can be fatal or have long-term health effects.

oil deliveryCarbon monoxide is a gas that is emitted from furnaces, fireplaces, stoves, portable gas heaters, automobiles, outdoor grills, and gas-powered tools. Home heating systems are designed to vent CO safely to the outdoors, but when venting is faulty (blocked or leaky), CO can leak indoors and become deadly.

This winter is expected to be as snowy as last winter. Deep snow can block the vents that direct carbon monoxide out of your home, which can cause those gasses to back up into your home, threatening you, your family members and pets. Similarly, snow and ice can also block tailpipes on cars, causing deadly CO to back up into the cabin of your car.

Stay well this winter. Check your car’s tailpipe before driving away to make sure the tailpipe is free of ice or snow. Locate your home’s outside vents so you can clear them quickly when it snows. If you’re unsure of where they are, ask one of our technicians when they come out to service your home heating system for the winter.

And above all, get a carbon monoxide detector for your home, or check your existing CO detector to make sure it’s still working. It could save your life.

Heating Safety Tips:

  • Don’t use outdoor grills inside the home; exhaust from portable generators and outdoor grills contain carbon monoxide.
  • Use generators outside of the home, not in enclosed spaces (garages, basements, porches).
  • Run the generator outdoors at 20 feet or more from doors, windows, and air intake vents.
  • Get familiar with the exhaust system your furnace has and know where your home’s heating system exhaust inlets and outlets are located so you can clear the snow away from them.
  • Check your car’s exhaust pipe to make sure it is unobstructed.

Symptoms of CO poisoning: flu-like symptoms (but no fever), headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, brain fog. If you experience these symptoms, get out!

Need a CO detector or to schedule winter maintenance for your home heating system? Call Hillside HVAC! In Delaware: 302-738-4144. In Maryland: 410-398-2146.