In our previous blog, we put the focus on how clean, efficient oilheat continues to keep many homes in Wisconsin warm and safe, regardless of the weather. Besides knowing you can always depend on oilheat as a clean, efficient and safe energy source for your Wisconsin home, you can take further comfort in knowing that supply is not an issue. Historic levels of domestic production have resulted in an abundant supply, ensuring there is plenty of heating oil to go around.
In this blog, we will wrap up our case for oil heat by looking at two other great benefits that people in the Badger State really appreciate: Safety and Efficiency.
Safe Oilheat
Oilheat has a lot going for it, and many people put safety at the top of the list. While there are many reasons why people feel safe at home with oil heat, here are just three points to remember.
Heating oil cannot burn in its liquid state. It takes an advanced high-tech burner to ignite the oil. Before combustion can occur, heating oil must first be vaporized by your oil burner at temperatures above 140°.
Heating oil cannot explode. The fuel that is stored in your tank is very safe. If you drop a lit match into a bucket of heating oil, the flame would go out just as if you dropped the match into water.
Oilheat poses a very low risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. If an oil burner malfunctions (most often due to a lack of maintenance), the safety devices in the unit will typically shut the furnace or boiler off.
Efficient Oil Heat
The latest oil heating systems are small, smart and super-efficient and can save you, on average, about 30% on your annual heating costs. There are many different equipment options to fit your budget.
- New oilheat systems have efficiency ratings as high as 95%; this provides oil-heated homes with more warmth for less fuel.
- Fuel savings have reached as high as 48% when outdated boilers have been replaced with new, high-efficiency oil boilers.
- Many new oil boilers use energy-saving controls that greatly reduce fuel usage during mildly cold weather and provide a more even heat with fewer temperature swings.
- High-efficiency oil furnaces feature variable speed motors that use about 80% less electricity than older motors and provide more consistent airflow and temperatures.
- Most heating oil is now considered an ultra-low sulfur fuel. This makes it cleaner burning, much more environmentally friendly and significantly more energy efficient. This has paved the way for the next generation of compact, super-efficient boilers and furnaces.
- New oil heat systems are so reliable that most manufacturers offer long-term warranties; if something ever fails, it’s easy to get replacement parts.
- New oilheating systems are much smaller than older ones. The average boilers and furnaces today are compact yet powerful, and similar in size to a three-drawer filing cabinet.
- Oil packs a wallop of heating energy, providing efficiency and comfort. For every gallon of oil burned, nearly 140,000 Btu’s of heat are produced. That’s the equivalent of about 70,000 60-watt lightbulbs.
Oil heat – the more you know, the happier you’ll be using it! Contact your local heating oil dealer in Wisconsin to learn how you can use this clean, abundant, safe and efficient fuel to your best advantage!
Sources: National Oilheat Research Alliance, U.S. Energy Information Administration, NYSERDA, US Census Bureau.