To save money and ensure that your home or business remains safe and secure, you’ll want to make sure that your heating and cooling systems remain in excellent shape. As a homeowner, you should be aware that theft can occur, especially when it comes to products and infrastructure that are prized by others. When looking into how to foil the heating oil thieves, you can do a few things that will help you to avoid being taken advantage of.
You’ll generally want to ensure that your tank is situated in an area that makes it as invisible as possible from the street. You might do this by installing a fence strategically or perhaps planting a row of hedges to block the sight line. The primary goal is to prevent passersby from spotting the tank easily from the road, particularly those who may be scouting for valuable infrastructure and who could be tempted to steal your fuel.
If putting up an obstacle is not possible, then you might think of installing a light near the tank for the night hours. A brightly lit area may make potential thieves think twice about messing with your oil. In fact, a security light may indicate to people that you may even have a security camera watching over the area. This will be enough to drive most people away toward easier targets.
There are a number of security mechanisms that could potentially help you out. Adding a lock to the tank at the earliest possible convenience will deter some criminals. You might also buy an alarm that is triggered if someone tries to open the tank without permission. Digital alarms can be routed to your Smartphone so that you immediately know what is going on.
A general neighborhood watch program can also help out quite a bit. If many of the homeowners in your neighborhood use heating oil during the cooler months of the year, you can compare notes with them if you’ve noticed any shady occurrences in the recent past. As a general rule of thumb, a neighborhood watch program can work wonders in deterring crimes of all kinds.
Some insurance policies cover heating infrastructure, so this is something you may want to look into. Not all policies are created equal, so you should read the fine print. If it is covered, then you will be able to recoup the costs if some or all of your oil happens to be stolen.
You’ll want to have a general idea of what your oil level is so you’ll know if someone is siphoning it off. Monitors can be installed that can then be read from the comfort of your own home. If it appears that your fuel usage is progressing much faster than normal, you’ll want to do a more in-depth examination.
Reputable companies can ultimately check out your system to make sure that it is functioning properly. They can also determine what you might do to increase your security. You can then rest easy day and night.
