Say What? Translating Industry Lingo
Here at Dead River Company, our employees are thoroughly trained and certified according to rigorous industry and safety standards – ensuring we deliver service to our customers with the greatest skill and expertise. This is a complex industry and we know that when speaking with your service technician or energy advisor, it may sometimes seem like our experts are speaking another language.
To help out, we have put together this guide to some of the more unfamiliar terms that are common in the industry.
If he’s your service technician…
What he said: “I’m here to install your pig.”
What it means: Don’t worry it’s not a real pig! The service technician is planning to install a standard 120 gallon propane tank commonly referred to as a “pig”.
If he’s your delivery driver…
What he said: “Based on your K-factor, our system tells us you are due for a delivery.”
What it means: We calculate when you will need your next automatic delivery based on the average temperature in your area over a period of time and how many gallons of fuel you have historically burned under those circumstances – the K-factor. If there are any changes in your home that will considerably alter your usage, it is important to let your local office know!
If she’s your residential energy advisor…
What she said: “Installing this new high efficiency system will increase your AFUE to 90% saving you hundreds of dollars, a 14% ROI, just in the first year.”
What it means: The annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) is an efficiency rating that can be used to calculate how much money you will save each year by installing a more energy efficient system. A 90% AFUE means that 90% of the fuel is being used for heating and 10% escapes as exhaust. If, say, your annual fuel bill is $1,300, increasing your AFUE from 65% to 90%, would save you about $351. Return on investment (ROI) can be calculated by taking the first year of savings and dividing by installation costs. If the installation costs were $2,500, your ROI for the first year would be 14%.
We hope you find this helpful! These are just a few of the industry terms – should you ever have a question please feel free to contact us!
