Should I Buy a Home That Runs on Heating Oil?
One of the most important considerations to make during your exciting house-hunting process may be your future home’s heating system. Today’s homes in the Northeast are commonly heated with fuels like natural gas, propane, or heating oil.
Natural gas, propane, electric, and other energy sources are all great options. But home heating oil has been a steady and reliable heating method all year-round.
To help you understand the advantages of an oil heating system in a home, we have dedicated this blog to outline a few of the many benefits of home heating.
Heating oil works quickly & efficiently.
Interestingly, home heating oil works faster to heat your home than natural gas or propane. Not only does heating oil burn 300 degrees hotter than natural gas, but it also has a much higher energy content. Specifically, heating oil has an energy content of 140,000 BTU/gallon, whereas propane has an energy content of 84,250 BTUs per gallon, and natural gas has an energy content of 20,160 BTUs per pound. What does this mean? It means that your home heating oil system is both more powerful and more efficient than other gas and electric home heating systems!
It has been found that heating oil systems are on average 16% more efficient than gas equipment. You would need to burn approximately 40% more natural gas to receive the same heating equivalent as you would from home heating oil.
Heating oil today burns much cleaner.
As home heating oil is one of the older home heating methods in use today, some people still hold onto the outdated belief that an oil heating system is dirtier than more modern heating systems. Actually, a properly-maintained oil heating system does not create soot, dirt, or odors in the home! Improvements in heating oil technology have allowed modern systems to meet (and exceed) the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. In fact, heating oil burns 95% cleaner now than in 1970, and the latest ultra-low sulfur heating oil products and biofuels continue to make it even cleaner and greener all the time.
Heating oil is safe.
- Less combustible. Heating oil, unlike gas, is not combustible when exposed to a flame. This is because heating oil cannot burn in a liquid state. To ignite heating oil, it must reach a temperature of 140 degrees, which is the temperature at which it begins to vaporize. In other words, home heating oil cannot catch fire unless it exceeds a temperature of 140 degrees. By contrast, natural gas and propane are considered highly combustible gasses at any temperature.
- Easier to monitor. An oil heating system is easier to monitor. In the event of an actual malfunction, the chemical properties of home heating oil create smoke, an obvious indicator that there is a problem with the oil heating system, far before carbon monoxide levels could be unknowingly released into the air. By contrast, a malfunctioning gas home heating system produces no visible signs of dangerous carbon monoxide leakage.
Keep in mind that the inhalation of fumes from heating oil is not fatal. Gas on the other hand is known as “the silent killer” because it has become the leading cause of death due to carbon monoxide poisoning in the U.S.
Lastly, heating oil contains no cancer-causing agents, meaning it is absolutely safe to store within your home.
Heating oil prices are inexpensive.
Initially, the cost of heating oil tanks, maintenance, and overall heating oil prices may appear high compared to other home fuel options. If you look back at heating oil prices over the last 30 years and adjust for inflation, however, you can see that heating oil is actually more affordable today than it was back then. In addition, advances in central heating systems have made home heating oil a lot more efficient than in the past. Such improvements in technology mean that a little heating oil goes a long way, giving you more bang for your buck!
Heating Oil from Star Home Heat
Are you looking to purchase a property with an oil heating system or are you considering replacing your current system with one that takes heating oil? Star Home Heating Oil has been providing friendly and knowledgeable home heating oil expertise to the Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island regions for the past 25 years. With our streamlined and convenient heating oil marketplace, homeowners can search for the best heating oil prices, every time.
