It seems like oil heat is out of fashion these days. As developers put gas lines into more and more neighborhoods in the suburbs and rural areas, there’s less reliance on a gas tank and deliveries to keep your home warm and your stove cooking.
But, there are still some significant advantages to keeping — or even converting to — oil heat in Havertown, PA.
In this article, we’ll outline four benefits to oil heat. We’ll call two of them “big picture” and the other two more personalized. By that, we mean advantages when you’re looking at the ecosystem at large, and then ways you’re more comfortable at home.
Meanwhile, if you have any questions about heating or home or HVAC companies in general, call or email us here at John Cipollone, Inc.
Big Picture: Energy Independence and Eco-Friendly Options
You wouldn’t immediately think of oil heat as eco-friendly. After all, it’s a fossil fuel, and you burn it to stay warm. But, when you use it in the right capacity, you can actually decrease your footprint in two ways.
Energy Independence
First of all, there’s energy independence: You’re off the grid, so to speak.
You need the public utility for gas — there’s no other option. And, there’s not always a guarantee that everything’s working great. If there’s a problem with a line, it affects an entire neighborhood — and that neighborhood could be yours.
At most, PECO has given you more options on price by going through a third-party provider. But, choosing one means reading a whole bunch of fine print.
Choosing a new gas provider warrants an article all its own. But, the long and short of it is that usually the people knocking on your door and asking to see your PECO bill are outright scammers or pedaling something that’s also over-priced.
There are good choices out there, but you have to hunt for them.
But, with oil, you’re choosing your provider and, to a degree, your price. The field is competitive, and pricing is more transparent.
Eco-Friendly Options
Combining oil with more “green” energy solutions can be an eco-friendly alternative to gas.
Let’s say you’re using solar power or ductless mini splits in your home. Depending on your setup, these do a great job of keeping your home warm in the winter while saving you money and reducing your energy usage.
But, you may not have been able to afford the top-of-the-line solution. Or, you’re converting little by little. In these cases, sticking with oil means reducing your carbon footprint even further.
As you switch to more energy-efficient options, you need less and less oil for heating. Eventually, you just keep a little in the tank at all times for extreme conditions.
Now, you’re not continually pumping natural gas into the house, using more resources, and creating wear and tear on the grid. And, there’s no truck pumping exhaust fumes as it travels to your home a few times a year. Instead, you’re almost entirely independent — something you can’t quite do with gas.
At-Home Advantages: Safety and Savings
At home and day-to-day, the two significant advantages to oil heat are safety and savings.
Oil Heat and Safety
The big difference is how much safer you are if you have a problem with your oil heat versus making an emergency furnace repair call with gas.
A gas leak can be deadly, and an explosion can wipe out your entire house — maybe even a few more on your block.
It sounds fantastical, but it happens — and maybe more often than you may realize.
With oil, a leak is just an inconvenience, and that emergency furnace repair call is much less dire. Since the oil, a liquid, is much less flammable and less poisonous, you may just smell something odd or notice the leak.
It won’t catch on fire, and you won’t get sick.
Energy Efficiency (And Comfort) With Oil Heat
Oil heat burns much hotter than gas. That means your house warms up faster, and you spend less time with cold spots in the house.
That goes a long way for comfort: No more cold toes at night or walking around with a blanket. Instead, that higher flashpoint gets the job done quicker.
And that also means you’re using less of it. Once your thermostat hits its call, the system shuts off. With oil, that happens faster.
And, if you’re now using the furnace as a supplement to green or more efficient energy sources, that’s less time you’re burning fossil fuels — and less you’re paying for.
HVAC Companies In Havertown, PA
Now, we’re not saying oil heat is the answer to all your problems. For one thing, the prices are more volatile, even if they’ve been pretty low lately. And, you have to remember to schedule fillings, unlike gas that pumps consistently into your home.
But, if you’ve been thinking about converting to gas, ask yourself why that seems attractive to you. If you’re thinking more about safety and energy-efficiency, you could make a different investment that keeps your current oil setup while getting you closer to your goals.
Your best resources are HVAC companies in Havertown, PA that know the area and the best ways to keep you safe and comfortable while saving you money. Here in DelCo, John Cipollone has been doing just that for more than half a century.
Call or email us today for an in-person or virtual consultation. We’ll talk about your needs and the vision you have for home. Then, we’ll work with you to create an individualized strategy that gets you there.