It's finally summer, so it must be time to start thinking about next years heating season.
I have a fixed price contract for propane which will expire at the end of June and I'm trying to decide how to proceed. This was our first winter owning a home, and we used ~1100 gallons of propane for a total cost of ~$3400.
Yes that's waaaay too much. Yes, I have a programmable thermostat set at 60/64, wear long underwear, shut off two rooms, etc, etc. I live in Maine. It was 34F this morning. We average 7100 Heating degree days a year. Anyways, I am actively working on energy efficency- that's another topic.
My question to you in on purchasing the energy I do use. There are a ton of options - pre buy, fixed price, min price guarantee, equal payments, etc, etc. I feel like I need to be a futures trader just to get heat! In the past I have alway paid cash for oil and called around for the best price when I needed delivery. The problem with propane is I don't own the tanks in my yard - the propane company does. I've heard some of them won't deliver to tanks they don't inspect due to safety issues, etc. so I am basically locked into whomever I choose. The good news is I could switch suppliers in summer as no heat for a day would be fine (the furnace also does our hot water on demand so it does run occasionally in the summer) what do I do?
Thanks!