January 2016 Bulletin

Happy New Year


GOOD NEWS FOR OUR BUDGET ACCOUNTS:

Santa has come to Rand-Handy in the form of lower fuel prices. The cost of oil is the lowest it’s been in about 10 years. The low prices in conjunction with the warm weather in November and December has allowed most of you to build a credit balance on your account. During the month of January we will be looking at the budget accounts and most of you will see a reduction in your monthly payment for February. Any credit balance that you may have will be reflected in this new monthly amount. So check your February budget bill and you may be pleasantly surprised! For those of you who pay electronically, please remember to change the amount coming to us directly from your bank. (Until the reprojections are made, please continue to pay your original budget amount) A good way to start the New Year, don’t you think?

Photo of Rand-Handy Scenic CalendarOur 2016 Scenic Calendars

These calendars are in our office and they are available for you and your friends. Please stop in for your copy. Or, if you can’t make it to us, call us and we will mail one to you or bring it with us for your next oil delivery.

WHAT IS A DEGREE-DAY?

By definition from the Weather Bureau, a Degree Day is the average of the high and low temperature of the 24 hour period of that day, subtracted from a reference temperature of 65 degrees. (Ex: High temp. was 40 degrees; Low was 20 degrees; the Average temp. was 30 Degrees. Subtract 30 from 65 and it gives you 35 Degree Days for that day) Knowing the rate at which you consume oil to heat your home (we call this your consumption rate, or k-factor), we can then determine how much oil you have used during that period of 35 Degree Days. As these Degree Days accumulate each day, we are also able to determine how much oil you are using and when we will need to refill your tank. Pretty neat stuff, huh?

**Editors note: We start counting (accumulating) DDays as of September 1st. As of the end of December 2015, we are 25% behind a normal season to date. (1767 vs 2380 normal) Dec. 2015 did not have any days that came close to a normal DDay. On the other hand, Feb. 2015 had a total DDays that added up to 21% greater than a normal Feb. WOW!


A Note from our Delivery Department

Rand-Handy Delivery Truck decorated for the HolidaysPlease let us know if you have changed any of your living habits. The most common reason for a customer running out of oil is a change made at home. Following is a list of what we see the most:

  • You have a new baby in your home or additional people living with you.
  • You have installed an addition or finished the basement.
  • You are not burning wood as much as you used to.
  • Someone is at home all day now.

Most people don’t think to call us when these changes are made, but it will make a difference. We can make changes to your consumption factor (k-factor) to prevent the chance of you running out of oil. We try our best to keep you warm and comfortable every day, so let us know if anything has changed at your home. Thank you.

“FLU SEASON”

Food for thought:

Some doctors say that cheerful people resist disease better than grumpy people!!

Does this mean that the Surly Bird catches the Germ??

HUMIDIFIERS SAVE ON FUEL COSTS

photo of home humidifier systemHumidifiers are an important energy saving addition to your heating system. Body moisture escapes faster in dry air, making you feel cooler. By adding moisture to the air, you will feel warmer at a lower room temperature.

Other advantages are: Less wearing of carpets and upholstery; less shrinkage of woodwork; longer life of furniture; etc…

If you would like a free estimate on installing a humidification system in your home, please call us at 781-834-8831, or email us.


BITS AND PIECES

One day an eight year old boy and his Dad went to the pet store to buy a puppy. After a while, the boy noticed one puppy in a pen by itself and asked, “Why is this puppy all alone?” The manager explained, “This puppy was born with a bad leg and crippled, and we may have to put him to sleep.” After a short conversation with his boy, the Dad told the manager that they wanted to buy that puppy. “But why would you want a puppy that would never be able to run and play with you?”, asked the manager. The boy then bent over and patted the puppy on the head. Then he pulled up his right pant leg exposing his brace and said, “Mister, I want this one because I understand what he is going through.”


GENEROSITY BEGINS AT HOME IN MARSHFIELD…..

I feel the need to tell a story of a local couple who came into our office recently and asked to make a donation to a needy family, but wished to remain anonymous. They gave us $200 and asked that we use it towards an oil delivery for a household that we think needs some extra help. This couple was in a difficult situation a while back and they got help from an anonymous donor. They told us that this is their way of paying it back. This exemplifies not only the Spirit of Christmas, but also the genuine kindness that we don’t see very often.

Needless to say, we have several families that we know can use this help and we were honored that they trusted us to make this decision for them. As you can imagine, the family we donated the oil to on their behalf was extremely grateful. THANK YOU!


FROM OUR ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT:

We want to thank you for all of your efforts in keeping your account up to date. It is the time of year when some of you may be seeing us more than once a month for an oil delivery, and by keeping your account current, we can schedule your next delivery for you at the appropriate time. Please call us if you are having any difficulty keeping up and we will do what we can to accommodate you.

As always, we want to Thank You for choosing us as your service provider. We appreciate your business!

Happy New YearSeasons Greetings to all of our customers and friends.

From our family to yours, we wish you all the best for a Happy and Healthy 2016.

NOVEMBER OIL DRAWING WINNERS

1st Prize: Pat T., Marshfield

2nd Prize: Grace D., Marshfield

3rd Prize: John K., Kingston

Please note that you can now enter the oil drawing online. Please complete the form below to be entered in next month’s drawing.

CONGRATULATIONS to OUR Winners!

Posted in Bulletins/Newsletters.