Home heating oil suffers from a bad reputation as an old-style, dangerous, and potentially environmentally harmful method of heating homes, but it deserves higher consideration. While home heating oil has been used for decades, that does not mean it is old-style. For many homeowners, a significant benefit is getting heating oil delivered to their homes. If your home is in a location that is not connected to the natural gas lines, you can get heating oil delivered and stored in a tank.
One oil delivery is often enough to heat a home for one year. Some people also consider heating oil dangerous, but like diesel fuel, it does not ignite readily from a flame. Heating oil does not ignite at room temperature when in liquid form. It ignites in your furnace only after sparks are sprayed and ignited between electrodes. So, the combustion process in the furnace is well-controlled and does not present a danger even when it leaks. On the other hand, natural gas can explode when exposed to a spark or flame.
Today’s furnaces also burn heating oil at 95% efficiency, making it an efficient heating method. Overall, heating oil has an old-school reputation. However, that reputation is unwarranted since it provides an accessible, safe, and efficient method for people to heat their homes.
