Most homeowners who switch from electric heat to oil heat notice a substantial difference in their heating bills each month. Because oil heat systems burn at such a high temperature, they warm a home more quickly and keep it more comfortable than electric heating systems.
Heating and hot water system efficiency is a measure of the amount of usable heat extracted from the potential energy of the fuel. Electric heat is inefficient because nearly two-thirds of the heat value of the fuel is lost in the generation and transmission.
From our family to yours
Although performance and cost are important in a heating system, peace of mind regarding the safety of your family comes first. If a heating oil leak should occur, it is not an explosive hazard. When natural gas or propane leaks, a very dangerous, explosive mixture of air and fuel forms rapidly. Risk of carbon monoxide exposure is lower for fuel oil than for natural gas. When an oil burner goes out of adjustment, fuel oil is safer than gaseous fuels because smoke is generated before carbon monoxide is released, thereby making it easier to detect the leak.
Why haven’t I heard more about oil heat?
The electric and natural gas industries are dominated by large companies with substantial marketing departments. Their lack of local competition allows them to focus their advertising dollars on promoting their company image rather than the product they supply.
The heating oil industry consists of a larger number of small, often family-owned companies. Local competition between these companies helps keep prices down and insures a high level of customer service. Heating oil dealers primarily focus their advertising on promoting their services, rather than creating plastic ‘image ad’s’ designed to look glamorous.