If you’ve never given much thought to your heating equipment before, you may use the words “boiler” and “furnace” interchangeably. In casual conversation, it might not make a difference but if you’re shopping for or building a new home, or if you’re looking to replace your current heating system, understanding the difference is important. As you start to do your research, you’ll discover they are not the same. So, what’s the difference between a boiler and a furnace? In a nutshell, the main difference is how they distribute heat. A furnace uses a system of ducts to blow heated air throughout your home. A boiler heats water to create steam to spread heat via baseboard radiators or flooring systems. Boilers are one of the most common types of home heating equipment here in the Northeast for good reason: They’re efficient and effective at generating steady, consistent warmth.
There are two types of boilers. Forced hot water boilers heat water to between 170 degrees and 200 degrees and provide instant heat through pipes throughout the house. Vents in the baseboard then disperse the heat throughout the house.
Steam boilers create steam and sends it to radiators as a vapor. When the vapor cools, it returns to the boiler to become steam again. Because it’s still hot—just not hot enough to produce steam—it takes less energy to reheat the water when it passes through the system each time. That’s one way a radiant system is more efficient.
Radiant floor heating warms the objects and people in the room rather than the air around them. The heat is transferred to people and objects in the room via infrared radiation, like heat from the sun. this makes a radiant heat system about 15% more efficient than other heating systems. Another nice benefit is that even ceramic tile floors are warm under your bare feet in the winter.
Still, radiant heating systems aren’t perfect for every home. They can be expensive to install retroactively, and they can raise your floors by as much as a half an inch: Good to know if you have low ceilings. It can also affect doors and doorways between rooms. Lastly, because it’s installed under the floor, it’s much harder to access the heating elements for repairs or maintenance.
How you heat your home has a big impact on your comfort. It can also make a big difference in what you spend each month to keep comfortable. That’s a lot to think about if you’re planning a renovation, or building or buying a new home.
When it comes to heating your Fairfield County, Connecticut, home, a boiler is a great option. We can help you choose the best model for your home, budget, and preferences. Not sure what’s the right choice for you? We’re happy to answer all your questions and walk you through your options. If a furnace might be a better choice, we’ll explain why. And once you decide, you can rely on the experts at Marandola to install your equipment correctly to insure it keeps your home comfortable for decades to come, and reliably deliver the fuel to keep it running.
Helping you keep your home warm and comfortable is our biggest priority. Contact us today for more information.
One of the best things you can do right now to save money next winter is to schedule a tune-up on your furnace or boiler. A professional tune-up from our expert heating service technician ensures that your system will run at peak efficiency, saving you money on heat. This annual maintenance service is also our chance to correct any small problems, such as worn parts, before they cause you an expensive breakdown.
Why now? Our service schedule fills up rapidly in the fall, when the cooler weather makes everyone start paying attention again to their heating system. Fall storms and early cold snaps cause further complications because sometimes we have to cancel scheduled tune-up appointments so that we can respond to no-heat emergencies.
If you’re enrolled in our Heating Oil Service Plan, the cost of your tune-up is included in your coverage. Besides a tune-up, a service plan will also save money with its comprehensive repair coverage. The savings from one repair call could be more than the cost of the annual plan.
You can also rest easy with our promise of priority service for all service plan customers should you ever have a no-heat emergency.
Contact us today to schedule a heating tune-up and read more about our service plan coverage.
Many of our customers told us that switching to our Monthly Budget Plan has taken away a lot of worry about big delivery payments. Here’s why.
Rather than paying in full every time you get a delivery, our monthly payment plan, which begins in July, spreads your payments throughout the year. This lets you effectively cut your winter fuel payments in half! There is absolutely no cost to enroll.
To make it even easier, ask us to set up automatic payments with your credit card. You’ll save on checks and stamps, and you’ll get peace of mind knowing that your payment will always arrive on time. To reduce paper clutter further, we can also start sending your billing statements via email.
Switch to Auto Pay and/or E-Billing for the first time and we’ll give you a $20 credit when you enroll by August 1, 2023.
Questions? Please get in touch with us today.
When you enroll in our no-cost automatic delivery program, you won’t have to worry about calling us when your tank is running low—or, even worse, you run out of fuel. When this happens, we have to disrupt our delivery routes to help customers who prefer to call in their orders.
This causes delivery delays for all of our customers. These disruptions can really wreak havoc during cold weather, especially if we have some drivers out sick.
Here’s how automatic delivery works. Marandola uses your prior heating oil usage and current weather conditions to accurately predict when you are going to need more heating oil. When the time comes, we schedule a delivery to your home before you run low. It’s the ultimate in peace of mind!
If you’re still calling for your fuel, you can get in touch with us and make the switch to automatic delivery, at absolutely no extra cost. And you’ll have one less thing to worry about next winter.
In fact, we’ll give you a one-time $25 account credit when you enroll in our automatic delivery program for the first time. You must enroll by August 1, 2023 to be eligible for this credit. Please contact us today!
We’re always open to offering you proven technology if we think it will improve our customer service.
With that in mind, you will soon be able to download the Marandola Fuel mobile app, available for IOS and Android devices. This free app gives you 24-hour access to your account when you’re on the go. You can pay bills, and look up account information when it’s convenient for you.
To get started, search for the “Marandola Fuel” mobile app in the App store or Google Play Store.
We’re excited to offer this convenient new service to our customers. Please let us know what you think!
To enjoy American-made, clean-burning propane in your home, you first want to rely on a propane gas supplier that always has an abundant supply on hand. You also want a team of experts who know propane both inside and out. What’s more, you also want to count on personal and courteous service whenever you call. In other words, you want to be treated as a person, not as an account number.
Thanks to our propane partner, Casey Energy, we can be your one-stop shop for all things heating oil and propane—including dependable deliveries and expert equipment service.
Here’s what you’ll get when you become a propane customer of ours:
Propane is a great choice if you’re looking for a clean burning, high-efficiency fuel to power your water heater, clothes dryer, stove, space heater, pool heater or fireplace. Here are a few examples of equipment we can supply and install—and the distinct benefits they can bring:
Eliminate the hassle of multiple vendors, companies, and things to keep track of. Marandola and Casey Energy are one family, with one simple, easy solution for you! Contact us today to learn more about our existing propane offers, rates, and more.
*Conditions apply. Please speak to a customer service representative for details.
Dear Marandola Fuel Customer,
We are overdue to reach out about the alarming surge in energy prices. People are astounded by how much prices have risen, and how fast. Prices were already up more than a dollar this season from the previous year because of issues related to the pandemic. Then, the Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked the energy markets, sending crude oil up over $130 per barrel as of this morning.
An existing very tight supply picture, with the news yesterday of a US embargo of Russian oil have raised heating oil costs to an all-time high.
To give you a sense of this of how this affects us and you, in the last 6 business days, the cost of heating oil has surged over $1.50/gallon.
If you fixed or capped your price this year, we will honor all commitments as we always have.
We have been through this before and we will ride this out. We have been in business over 80 years and have very strong relationships with suppliers and financial institutions. If you are having trouble paying your bill, talk to us. Many times, we can work out something to give you more time.
Nothing will make us happier than when prices start dropping. Until then, trust us to look out for you and pray for the people of Ukraine.
Thank you,
Shane Casey, Owner