Home Heating Oil Facts to Learn & Understand
If you are considering or recently purchased a home heated by oil, you may not be too familiar with the fuel, system or the benefits! To help you better understand home heating oil, Eagle Petroleum has created an extensive fact guide. Our home heating oil facts cheat sheet contains interesting specifics and details surrounding the usage of fuel in the United States, efficiency, pricing and much more. These 15 facts will tell you everything homeowners need to know about heating oil so you can make the best decision for your house.
25 Heating Oil Facts Homeowners Should Know
Almost 18 million homes in America use heating oil.
The Northeast region of the United States accounts for the most use of home heating oil. More than 5.5 million homes in this area use it to heat their homes in the winter.
There are 3 main terminals to store heating oil in the Northeast: Croton, CT, Revere, MA and Port Reading, NJ (1 hour from our NJ office location)
Home heating oil is a very clean source of fuel with newer systems running on almost zero emissions.
The formula to create heating oil continues to change & advance thanks to bioheat technology.
Burning clean fuel allows homeowners to reduce HVAC system cleaning and maintenance visits per year – although we still recommend an annual inspection!
Heating oil burns 300 degrees hotter than natural gas, which means it warms your house faster.
Thanks to increased efficiency in heating equipment, consumers now use 25% less heating oil year after year since 1989.
Heating oil costs are consistently lower than natural gas and electricity.
In fact, when adjusted for inflation, heating oil is cheaper today than 20 years ago! Oil heating is 2.5 – 5.5 times lower than electric heating and natural gas systems.
Heating oil is non-explosive! Even when mixed with air, heating oil does not become explosive like natural gas. Unlike propane, if you drop a lit match into a pool of heating oil it would simply go out.
Inhaling fumes from heating oil is not fatal and there is a low possibility of the presence of carbon monoxide.
Read More: Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips
Homeowners don’t have to worry about shortages when it comes to heating oil. While natural gas & propane can be hard to find during peak season, heating oil is always readily available. Just don’t opt for automatic delivery services, click here to find out why!
Oil-based heating systems can last 30+ years with proper maintenance and care.
If other types of fuel, such as natural gas, aren’t easily accessible where you live, homeowners who live in rural areas can take advantage of heating oil since it is portable and easy to access.
Heating oil is also referred to as: fuel oil, gas oil, 28 second heating oil, kerosene or paraffin
It was first introduced as a fuel source around 1900, but the exact day isn’t readily available.
Gas prices are notorious for being over-priced and rising unexpectedly. Depending on where you live and the size of your home, heating oil is usually cheaper than gas.
Higher-end industrial heating oil containers several additives which can actually improve the performance of your HVAC equipment.
Not a huge surprise, but heating oil is cheaper in the summer when the demand is lower.
Read More: Spring & Summer Energy Saving Tips
Heating oil can be mixed with low-sulfur biofuels, which are made from oil blended with sunflower oil, soybean oil or vegetable oil, which cuts sulfur emissions by up to 80%.
Oil was first discovered by Edwin Drake in the area around Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859.
The Appalachian Basin was the premier oil-producing region in the United States from first discovery through the early 1900s.
Home heating oil is one of the many distillates of crude oil, as well as gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel and jet fuel.
Still unsure if heating oil is the right choice for your home? Read Home Fuel Oil Myths Debunked. Eagle Petroleum provides delivery of home heating oil to residential and commercial properties throughout NJ and PA.