Six Myths – And Truths – About Oil Heat
While Americans have been using heating oil to warm their homes and businesses for more than a century, it remains one of the most misunderstood of heating fuels.
Although most people are familiar with oil, they often don’t know a lot about oil heat, or how modern heating oil differs from other petroleum products and heating oil of the past.
Here are a few common misconceptions about oil heat that you may have heard, along with the truths behind them.
The Truth About Oil Heat
- Myth: Oil Heat is expensive.
Fact: Adjusting for inflation, home heating oil is cheaper now than it was in 1980; although the oil market does rise and fall, heating oil remains an economical source of home energy. Today’s cleaner-burning heating oil also saves you money by leaving fewer deposits on heat exchangers, which prolongs the life of your equipment and reduces the cost of repairs.
- Myth: Oil heat is dirty.
Fact: Today’s oil heat is 95 percent cleaner than it was just 40 years ago, and it’s virtually soot free. That’s one reason oil heat emissions aren’t even regulated by the federal Clean Air Act.
- Myth: Oil heat is dangerous.
Fact: Oil heat is nothing like other petroleum products such as natural gas or gasoline, both of which are highly flammable. In fact, heating oil can’t ignite at room temperature or under normal circumstances found in the home; in order to burn, heating oil must be vaporized and heated under the precise conditions found in your furnace or boiler’s burner.
- Myth: Oil heat bad for the environment.
Fact: Unlike many other heating fuels that can produce dangerous greenhouse emissions, heating oil burns without producing carcinogens; it is also biodegradable. Many companies are now experimenting with heating oil blends that are even more environmentally friendly, including increasingly sophisticated biofuel blends that combine ultra-low sulfur heating oil (ULSHO) with renewable fuel sources.
- Myth: Oil heat is an old-fashioned method of keeping your home warm.
Fact: More than 10 million homes in the United States utilize oil heating, and thousands of these homes have been built recently. New advances in oil heating technology have made it a viable option today.
- Myth: Heating Oil supplies are running out.
Fact: While the supplies of oil—like all fossil fuels—are theoretically limited, there is no end in sight, and new deposits are being discovered every day.
To get the facts about what heating oil can do for your home or business – or to get reliable heating oil delivery in Orange and Sullivan counties at a great price – contact the pros at Penguin Oil today.
Please note: At Penguin Oil, your safety and comfort are always our priority. Please see our COVID-19 Service Update Page to learn more about how we are working to keep your family and our crews safe and your heating oil deliveries (and propane deliveries) coming throughout this challenging time.
