Heating Oil
What You Need to Know
Heating Oil (also known as Fuel Oil) is one of the safest, most efficient, and dependable heating sources. Over 30 million Americans depend on oil-powered heat to keep their homes and businesses comfortable.
How Your Oil-Fired Heating System Works
Oil-fired heating systems distribute heat in one of three ways: warm air through vents, hot water through baseboards, or steam through radiators. When your thermostat senses that the room temperature has fallen below your desired temperature it sends a signal to your heating system to provide heat for your home.
Once your oil burner is engaged, heating oil travels from the tank to the burner by way of a pump where it becomes a fine mist mixed with air. The fuel/air mixture is then injected into the burner where it is ignited in the combustion chamber. The resulting heat warms your home.
The Top 5 Things You Should Know About Oil Heat:
1. Oil Heat Is Safe!
Home heating oil can only be ignited by an advanced burning system, found in an oil-burner or furnace. If you drop a match into the oil that heats your home it will go out - as if dropped into water! The possibility of carbon monoxide entering the home from an oil burner is extremely low. If you have a system malfunction, an oil-heating system provides clear signs such as smoke, odors, or even soot.
2. Oil Supplies Can Meet Demand
With over 36 oil-producing countries, we are not dependent on any one nation or region for our oil supplies. The U.S. is the world’s third-largest oil producing country, with almost half of our petroleum coming from domestic resources. Our largest supplier of crude oil outside the U.S. is Canada. Advances in industry technology ensure that oil supplies will remain strong far into the foreseeable future.
3. Oil Heat Is Dependable
Today’s oil heat is 95% cleaner than in 1970, with new oil heating systems producing no soot, dirt, or odor. With heating oil, you always have the supply you need stored on your own property, and you choose how to use and conserve your supply as you need it. With DMO, you can enjoy automatic delivery plus great client care and support to ensure that you’ll never run out of oil.
4. Oil Heat Is Energy-Efficient
On average, heating oil burns about 16% more efficiently than natural gas. Efficiency ratings of new oil heat appliances range from 83% to 95% and can have an average life expectancy of 30 or more years if they are properly maintained. Upgrading your heating oil equipment to a more energy-efficient system pays for itself in a very short time and adds value to your home. The hot water recovery rate of an oil-fueled water heater is three times as fast as an electric water heater. Also, heating oil creates 140,000 BTUs of heat per gallon while a gallon equivalent of natural gas produces 100,000 BTUs. One would need to burn approximately 40% more natural gas to receive the same heating equivalent as heating oil.
5. Oil Heat Is Increasingly Environmentally Friendly
Over the past 20 years the sulfur content of heating oil has been reduced from over 1% to as low as 0.5%, a reduction of over 93%. Clearburn Science has reduced oil burner emissions to near zero levels, reducing emissions by 95%. New advances are being made every year and we constantly strive to bring you the best fuel available on the market.
Different Types of Heating Systems
Depending on the type of system you have (water-based or warm air) the system works differently to disperse heat throughout your home.
There are two main types of water-based systems: hot water systems and steam systems. Both began with water being heated in either a cast iron or steel boiler before it is dispersed throughout your home. In a hot water system, the heated water is circulated through radiators or baseboards. In a steam system, the water turns to steam and rises through pipes to the radiators.
In a warm air system, your furnace heats air. A blower then sends the heated air up through the ducts and out of vents in your floors or walls. The air gets drawn back to the furnace through a return duct and the cycle repeats. Finally, the emissions from the combustion of fuel and air exits the system through a flue pipe that runs out of your home through the chimney.