Spring Special – Tank gauge as low as $70
The 
heating season is almost officially over. If you are not on automatic delivery for your home heating oil, then monitoring your tank level can be a pain. A gauge for the top of your heating oil tank can come in handy, and Hillside is running a spring special to try and make sure that anyone that needs a tank gauge, gets one.
For $70 Hillside will completely install a standard gauge on above ground, outdoor tanks. A gauge is a great way to ensure that you never run low or out of heating oil again. The $70 price is for 275 gallons above ground, outdoor tanks that we can access. Indoor tanks and combination vent/gauges may cost slightly more.
Call us for your individual pricing. DE 302-738-4144 MD 410-398-2146
Home Heating Safety and Tips
As the weather turns suddenly bitter cold with howling winds and the promise of snow, many will turn to using space heaters as an additional source of heat in drafty rooms. While a space heater might be just the remedy for those challenging spaces on extra chilly days, please bear in mind that they also pose a certain hazard. The U.S. Fire Administration states that half of all home heating fires happen in December through February and that space heaters account for one-third of home heating fires.*
With proper precautions, space heaters can be a safe auxiliary to your regular home heating system when and where you really need them. First and foremost, it’s important to read and adhere to the manufacturer’s guidelines on how and where to safely operate the space heater. They should never be used too close to combustible materials, such as drapery, clothing or bedding, which could ignite and spread fire throughout the home. Space heaters should also have a cord that is in good condition (not frayed or chewed) and adequate to carry the electrical load. Some extension cords are not adequate and could overheat and cause a fire.
Some of you might also turn to wood-burning fireplaces as an additional source of heat to take the chill off a room. Failure to clean the creosote that builds up inside the chimney is a leading cause of home fires. Make sure your fireplace chimney is cleaned once a year by a professional chimney sweep and that you use a glass or metal mesh screen in front of the fireplace opening to prevent hot cinders from escaping into the room.
We hope that when the wind is howling outside your windows that you and your loved ones are toasty and safe inside.
Give Hillside HVAC a call today so you can be prepared this winter! DE: 302-738-4144. In MD: 410-398-2146
(*Ref: US Fire Administration, usfa.fema.gov)
Charlie’s safety tips checklist:
- Keep combustible items (clothing, curtains, upholstery, bedding, rugs, etc.) 3 feet or more from space heaters and fireplaces.
- Make sure power cords for heating sources are adequate to handle the electric load so they don’t overheat and cause a fire.
- If using an alternative heater that requires fuel, such as kerosene, never refill it while hot and always refuel it outdoors using only the fuel recommended by the manufacturer.
- Never use a kitchen range as a source to heat your home. It is a fire hazard!
- Make sure you have a smoke detector on every level of your home, and replace the batteries every 6 months to ensure they’re working.
- Have a CO alarm in your home to detect deadly, invisible carbon monoxide gas, especially if you use a backup power generator.
Read more safety tips online at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/index.shtm.
Recent testimonials from Hillside customers
Hillside is always proud to boast when our employees receive rave reviews from customers. Our heating service department has been busy working on no heat repairs and routine maintenances. This is by far the busiest time of the year for our heating department. Here are a few recent testimonials from customers of Hillside’s heating maintenance, repairs, and installations.
“Matt is professional, knowledgeable, and refreshingly personable. I am very pleased with his demeanor.” –Barbara G.W. 1/15/2014
“Your service is excellent! Thanks so much!” -Kate S. 1/14/2014
“Matt was very professional and thorough. His detailed feedback was appreciated.” –Paul P. 1/10/2014
If your heating system is in need of repair, replacement, or maintenance, mention this email and receive $50 off the standard rate of a service call! We promise YOU will be the next Hillside customer writing a positive testimonial.
Give Hillside a call for prices and options: DE: 302-738-4144 or MD: 410-398-2146
Consider automatic delivery from Hillside and eliminate worries
Automatic delivery of home heating oil is a service provided by Hillside to allow customers peace of mind that their tank will never run low, or out. This eliminates the need for our customers to monitor their heating oil tank and avoids last-minute scrambling, or worrying about emergency deliveries. Scheduling for automatic delivery is done by the use of degree days. Hi-tech computer algorithms calculate usage and delivery dates based on previous weather conditions, in combination with past usage history of your home. Summed up, automatic heating oil delivery is our customers’ worry-free way to ensure that you always have heating oil when you need it. The current cold temperature and anticipated snowstorm have sent many of our customers in a frenzy. Last minute deliveries can sometimes be accommodated, but they cannot always be counted upon. Consider letting Hillside monitor and make automatic deliveries, and you can eliminate checking your heating oil tank and worrying about a run-out situation. In today’s hectic world it is nice to remove things from your to-do list.
Unlike some other companies, Hillside does NOT charge extra for automatic delivery. This is a FREE service that Hillside provides. Check out our heating oil delivery options or give us a call to see if automatic delivery is an option for you!
**Credit approval required for automatic delivery and billing
Thank you for supporting local, homegrown, family business!
Happy New Year from Hillside
Happy New Year from everyone at Hillside
Thank you to everyone that supports local, homegrown, family businesses.
Holidays can be a time to earn Cash from Hillside
Holidays are a time to gather with friends and family. It is also a time for chatting, catching up on our lives, and sometimes even gossiping. This is happening all over, and Hillside is flattered to have come up in conversation. 2 Hillside customers have earned referral CASH recently. Congregating with our families and friends can sometimes be stressful for conversation topics. A couple people we know have broken the tension, made it a few minutes further along in their evening, AND earned $50. We would like to believe that our customers are so happy they just cannot contain their praises of Hillside. We realize that our customers may have been stuck in such an awkward Holiday moment that talking about heating oil and/or their heating and air conditioning company became a welcome distraction. Regardless of the situation, we here at Hillside are honored to have been a part of the conversation. Word of mouth and recommendations will ALWAYS be the most powerful and complementary form of advertising.If you are gathered this Holiday Season and need to break the tension or silence in awkward conversation, try to earn yourself $50 or $100 by referring Hillside. All the details and fine print (there is no fine print) can be found here: referral
Give the Gift of Warmth with a Gift Certificate from Hillside
Still, a few more shopping days left. Gift certificates and gift cards are all the rage these days for holiday presents. Consider a very practical, useful, and what would be a much-appreciated gift, the gift of warmth and comfort from Hillside. Hillside is offering the warmest gift possible, credit toward heat or heating efficiency this winter. If a friend or loved one heats his or her home with heating oil, any gift certificate purchased will be applied toward a heating oil delivery… easy enough. Gift certificates can also be applied toward any type of heating maintenance, tune-up, repair, or replacement. All types of heating systems are eligible, hot air or boiler oil furnaces, propane or natural gas, or electric home furnaces.
10% incentive for gift-giver: As an ADDED INCENTIVE for you, our customer, for every $100 dollar spent on a gift certificate for your loved one, Hillside will apply $10 credit toward your (the gift giver) account!
The holiday season is a time for being with and appreciating family and friends. Nothing shows love and affection more than a practical gift that is both thoughtful and useful.
Happy & Safe Thanksgiving from Hillside
Thank You from everyone at Hillside for supporting LOCAL, homegrown, family business. We value your patronage more than any words can express.
The Infamous Hillside Pen
Warning, this is long-winded and boring, continue reading at your own risk. I have been telling the stories of the Hillside pen for years. We started giving away a pen at the Cecil County Fair about 10 years ago, simply because it was the cheapest give-away pen at the time. The following year we still had the same pen. Several people stopped by our booth to get another because they liked the pen they got from Hillside last year. Seemed odd to me, but OK, thanks for stopping by and saying hello. Here it is 10 years later and dozens of people come by our booth each year at the Fair to re-up on their Hillside pens. Many customers come to our office and ask for our pens. I hear story after story of how this is the “best writing pen” people have ever encountered. It felt like a practical joke on me, but with no possible punchline. Regardless, for some reason, people really love the pens we give away.
Today I was told a story about a hospital visit. During that visit, an observation was made that the nurse was using a broken Hillside pen. When asked about the pen, the nurse admitted to getting the pen from the Cecil County Fair, and it was her favorite pen. Unfortunately, the pen was in a bit of disarray. These friends of mine happened to be sitting on a nice personal supply of Hillside pens and kindly replaced the nurse’s broken pen with a brand new one.
Thank you to everyone that continues to validate that Hillside has great pen picking ability.
Your support of Hillside is 100% support for local, family-owned businesses.
Tips for the upcoming cold weather
A few tips from Hillside to be prepared for the upcoming heating season.
Recent mornings have been chilly, which means that the cold weather is not far away. There are several things that you can do to ensure that your heating equipment performs optimally.
Give your equipment a test run. None of us want to turn the heat on sooner than necessary. A test run will give you piece of mind that your unit will come on when you actually need it. Nobody likes to go out to his or her car first thing in the morning just to realize you have a dead battery. If your heater is not going to kick on, it is best you know before you actually need the heat.
Change your air filter regularly. Depending on what type of air filter you have, it should be checked or changed every 1-3 months. Even if you have the expensive cleanable air filters that last an entire year, it is still worth a minutes time to give it a check for dirt or anything that might block airflow.
Close any unused heating vents. If you have rooms or areas of your home that don’t need direct heat, close off the registers or vents. If that part of your house does not need to be heated to a comfortable sitting temperature, don’t waste your money.
Tune-up your equipment regularly. As with any piece of mechanical equipment, proper maintenance will ensure that it is running optimally and efficiently. A little preventative maintenance can go a long way to avoiding untimely breakdowns and prolonging the life of your equipment. Hillside does maintenance, repairs, tune-ups, and offers annual maintenance plans for almost all types of equipment. Check out our services HERE.
Consider a programmable thermostat. These programmable thermostats are ideal for people who have a Programmable Thermostat set schedule, leaving and returning home at the same time each day. A programmable thermostat will turn your equipment on and off to meet your schedule, so it is warm when you get home, but saving you money while you are away. If your schedule is a bit unpredictable, consider a programmable thermostat that you can access from anywhere you have your smartphone or Internet access. Turn your equipment on or off from anywhere, adjust the temperature, check outside temperature, and even change your program schedule whenever you need! Hillside is proud to offer a fantastic remotely accessible programmable thermostat, give us a call if you are interested or would like more info.
Is it time to consider replacement of your equipment? Nobody likes to think about such a major expense, but if you have to, the payback time for newer more efficient equipment is getting shorter and shorter. An investment today can show payback in savings of utility costs in just a few years, not to mention much more efficiency, and not worrying about how much more life is left if your equipment. Hillside always does free estimates on new and replacement equipment and we have financing available for those that qualify.
Your support of Hillside is 100% support for local, family-owned businesses.
Hours:
Monday—Friday: 7:30AM–4:30PM
Saturday: 9:00AM–1:00PM (Winter)
Open daily in case you need us.
