Title: Office Manager Been at company since: 1989 Role (or Roles since start): started as a CSR Interests/about me: I have 5 grandchildren & 2 great-grandchildren who keep me busy following their activities. Hobbies: love to travel, and read.
Mark Gagnon
Title: President Been at company since: 1989 Role (or Roles since start): Started out making deliveries, working with Techs etc in 1989. Became President upon my fathers passing unexpectedly in 1991. Interests/about me: Married with three children. Enjoy the outdoors. (fishing, hunting, skiing etc) Active in several community organizations. Two time Rotary Club President, founding member of Marshwood Education Foundation, Maine Energy Marketers Executive Board, South Berwick Building Committee, Coached youth soccer when kids were little.
Scott Hemingway
Title: Sales Manager Been at company since: July 2004 Role (or Roles since start): Develop builder and contractor networking programs, commercial projects, customer retention and LP Gas sales. Interests/about me: Married w/ 2 adult children and 5 grandchildren. Enjoy family time, golf, hunting and watching the New England Patriots and the Red Sox.
Mark Leach
Title: Director of Operations Been at company since: 1977 Role (or Roles since start): Driver, Service Tech, Sales & Operations / Safety - Training Interests/about me: my family, member of the South Berwick Fire Dept. since 1975, Safety trainer for Propane Gas Assoc. of New England, providing training for first responders throughout New England.
Mike Place
Title: Equipment Sales Been at company since: 2007 Role (or Roles since start): Started here as an Oil and Propane Service Tech/Installer. Learned Air Conditioning service and installations. Then moved into sales. Interests/about me: Spending time with the family, being outdoors, and camping.
Kent Davis
Started in the business by wearing the uniforms, painting oil and propane tanks, and threading pipe for his Dad and Grandmother in the late 70’s. He has learned the difference between working for a family owned business and a family operated business. Just because a family owns a business doesn’t mean they take care of their customers like they are family. That is one of main reasons Kent has worked for the Gagnon Family since 2006. The Gagnon’s both treat their employees and customers like extended family and operate their business with the same vision. Kent’s number one role is customer retention as he considers it an honor to visit with our current customers and sign up new folks and serve them with the best products in the industry matched with excellent support and service. Kent’s longevity in the industry equips him with a vantage point of seeing what works and what doesn’t from a management perspective, a technician’s view, and from our customer’s standpoint. Kent is our heating oil salesman and focuses too, on liquid oil sales and protecting our customers with oil pricing. Kent’s family has been born and bred in Eliot and they all have a special affection for the Seacoast area. Kent considers it a privilege to be able to work in his “homeland” every day of the week. Kent and his wife live in Eliot, serve their local church in Eliot, and find joy in helping local residents by serving Kittery’s Fuel and More Board, Incorporator of Kennebunk Savings, and State of Maine and Eastern Region Advent Christian Association of Churches.
Dan Richardson
Title: Service Manager Lifelong Eliot resident and graduate of Marshwood High School. Two adult sons, Shawn and Patrick. Has been in the industry, primarily on the service and installation side, since starting at Davis Oil while still in high school. Enjoys a round of golf and spending time at his families camp. Coached youth basketball for many years. Member of the South Berwick Rod and Gun Club and former member of the Eliot Fire Dept.
We know that your family’s comfort and safety are your priorities. They’re ours, too — along with your peace of mind. Our customers know they can trust us to be there when emergencies arise during the heating season — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You’ve heard of Murphy’s Law: If something can go wrong, it will — and usually at the worst time. That definitely applies to your heating system. Things often go haywire when you least expect them to and when they’re a challenge to handle — like losing your heat during a brutal cold wave or when there’s a snowstorm brewing.
These emergencies won’t wait until the weather clears or normal business hours resume — and neither will we.
Since our founding, in 1904, we have helped thousands of customers through the worst of times — restoring their heat, resolving fuel or water leaks, and handling other complex situations. So no matter when you need us, rest easy and enjoy peace of mind. We are on call and at your service — and our expert technicians will be there to help keep your family warm and safe.
As we like to say, your comfort is our concern.
Warmly, Mark Gagnon, President
Enter our new prize drawing to win a Yale Assure touchscreen deadbolt + Amazon Cloud Cam. Enjoy keyless access for yourself and family members and easily monitor and control your front door from anywhere by connecting with the Cloud Cam.
Read this newsletter and answer the questions on our contest page to enter. All entries received by 1/17/20 with the correct answers will be entered into a drawing. Three winners will be selected!
No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase chance of winning. See contest page for details.
Sometimes less is more. That’s certainly true when it comes to reducing paper clutter and the time you spend on paying bills. Here are a few ways that you can simplify — and save money too.
Switch to Auto Pay — Make easy, automatic monthly payments through your checking account or with a credit card, and we’ll give you a $20 credit.*
Go paperless — Get electronic billing statements and reduce paper clutter. Sign up for convenient paperless billing today, and we’ll credit your account $10.*
Take it online — Register your account online and view statements, enroll in programs and pay your bills right from your laptop or mobile phone. Our website is mobile friendly.
*Valid for new enrollees only, please.
The journey to seek out better comfort can bring you much wisdom. We hope you will find more peace after reading these answers from our home comfort wizard.
Is it ever possible to fix a heating problem on my own?
While many types of malfunctions can cause your system to operate poorly (or not operate at all), the problems outlined below are not only quite common, but relatively easy and inexpensive to fix.
Power switches turned off
If your heat stops working, these are among the first things you should check. First, it often happens that the power switches for the heating system have been turned off by mistake. Simply turn the electrical switches back to the “on” position and your problem may be solved.
Unchecked air filters or water level
If you have a furnace, change or clean the filters about once a month; a dirty filter compromises efficiency and can even result in a shutdown. If you have a steam boiler, check the water gauge periodically. Low water levels are a leading cause of boiler shutdowns. Steam boilers should also be “flushed” when the water in the sight glass looks rusty.
Tripped circuit breaker
Going to the circuit breaker box and flipping the proper switch may be all you need to get running again. However, a circuit breaker rarely ever trips for no reason. If this happens once and never happens again, consider it a fluke. But if this happens more often, arrange for service, as this could be a sign of a serious problem.
Faulty thermostat
Many instances of heating systems not working can be traced to the thermostat, which sends a signal to your boiler or furnace to generate heat. If the wiring is deteriorating, these signals may get erratic. A buildup of dust inside your thermostat is another common culprit. You may also need to change the batteries in your thermostat.
Would I be wise to turn my thermostat way up to get warm fast?
Your heating system doesn’t work like a car — there is no gas pedal to step on to make it go faster. Your furnace or boiler will produce heat at the same rate regardless of whether your thermostat is set to 68 degrees or 85 degrees. (Setting the thermostat higher just makes your system work longer.)
Hot Tip #1: For better temperature control, trade in your old manual thermostat for a digital, programmable one. This allows you to automate your home temperature settings and can help you reduce your energy use and save as much as 10%.
Hot Tip #2: Never program your thermostat below 60 degrees, even if you’ll be away from home for a period of time. When your thermostat setting is too low, you risk frozen pipes. Water pipes near outside walls or in unheated spaces are especially prone to freeze-ups. The risk increases if cracks in your foundation allow cold air to seep into your home.
Would it be prudent to turn off the heat in some rooms?
Sure, you wants to save money on heating your home, but you don’t want to cause problems while you’re at it. One common mistake we see is when people drastically reduce or completely shut off the heat in different zones of their home.
While you might think you’ll save a little on heating costs, shutting off radiators or closing vents creates the possibility that pipes will freeze — especially in rooms that tend to be colder anyway. That’s a really costly problem.
If you have a furnace, closing some vents disrupts normal air flow, causing an imbalance that will just make your furnace work harder and strain your ductwork.
It’s best to keep heat flowing to all the rooms in your home.
A better idea is to keep the temperature at a comfortable level throughout your home and program your system to energy-saving settings when the house is empty or everyone is asleep.
If you have a zoned system, you can vary the temperature in different rooms, eliminating the temptation of shutting the heat off completely in some parts of your home.
Can you enlighten me about improving my heating efficiency?
A study of over 1,000 homes across the country showed that consumers are getting short-changed on energy efficiency because of a combination of poor equipment installation and lax maintenance.*
After adjustments were made to correct problems, however, efficiency improved, on average, by a phenomenal 36%! This was accomplished through the following methods:
cleaning and adjusting the system — on average, annual maintenance alone can save you about 10% on annual heating costs.
correcting flaws made during the initial installation, such as poorly matched ductwork.
sealing the ductwork to prevent air leaks.
improving insulation in the home in areas where air leaks caused significant energy losses.
As you can see, a few fixes could save you a lot of money on heat and keep you more comfortable.
*Source: National Comfort Institute
Oil prices have been on quite a roller-coaster ride over the past year. They increased by more than 10% early last heating season, but by spring they had fallen by about 20%.
Because crude oil — which is refined into heating oil and many other fuels — is a globally traded commodity, many different forces can drive its value up or down. The geopolitical climate can have as much of an effect on prices as the actual climate.
But if you go back and look at historical trends, you’ll find that, yes, heating oil is a good value today. Adjusting for inflation, home heating oil actually costs much less than it did years ago.
Although the oil market will always rise and fall, heating oil remains an affordable source of home energy. Plus, today’s clean-burning ultra-lowsulfur heating oil saves you money by leaving fewer deposits on heat exchangers, thus prolonging the life of your equipment and reducing out-of-pocket repairs.
Everyone wants good value — and that’s exactly what you get with oil heat.
It’s important that we can reach you quickly in the event of an emergency or to confirm appointments. To do this, we need to have your current landline phone number, mobile phone number and email address.
Just call our office or contact us through our website with the information. Don’t worry, we will not share it with any third parties. It’s just between us!
Q: What should I do if storm water enters my home and reaches my propane appliances?
A: Always remember to put safety first when it involves your propane storage tank and appliances. Here’s what you should do:
After the flooding has ended, look for visible structural damage.
Do not relight pilot lights for equipment. Instead, shut off the service valve at the propane tank and call us.
Damage to propane regulators and controls is a significant problem when flooding occurs. We recommend a complete inspection of the entire system, because water damage to propane equipment and appliances is not always easy to identify. We will make sure that valves and regulators are operating properly and that the lines are pressurized.
If you smell gas, or see bubbles in standing water, extinguish all flames and smoking materials, clear the area immediately and contact us or dial 911.
