Finances - Choosing Between Oil And Gas Furnaces

The average household uses $690 worth of gas during the 2013 winter season. Oil usage added up to $2558 per household for the same period. This is the main reason gas usage far surpasses that of oil.

Oil BTU

One of the reasons oil was ever used to heat homes was because it offers more warmth per BTU than gas.  The other reason is because gas is not available to be piped into every home.  About 6% of U.S. homes use oil furnaces to heat their homes.

Oil Prices

The main reasons oil is not a great fuel for home heating are the cost, the maintenance of the furnace and pollutants released into the air.  Oil production is slated to remain close to present day levels for the next years with some increase around 2030 and it's expected to slow down by the year 2060. Limited supply along with a greater demand to drive prices to extremely high levels.  The homeowner doesn't just have to worry about rising prices; they also have to make sure their oil furnace and chimney are cleaned regularly to remove excess soot and sulphur. Owners of oil furnaces should have their combustion chamber, the heat exchanger and chimney cleaned and the oil spray nozzle replaced annually. In the meantime running your oil furnace releases soot and sulphur into the environment every time they use it.

Gas Furnace

A gas furnace is more efficient equipment and burning the fuel is a cleaner and quieter process. Natural gas is becoming more available as liquefied natural gas formerly a waste product is being introduced as a heating fuel and shale deposits are being tapped for their natural gas content. As the demand increases, the new resources coupled with the existing supply of natural gas appear to be more than ample. Yet another benefit of owning and operating a gas furnace is the simplified maintenance needed to keep it working at its optimum.  Simply change the filters regularly and have occasional maintenance and it should run well for years to come, which is why more than 50% of households use gas furnaces.

There appears to be no contest between oil furnaces and gas furnaces. Gas has long since won the price war with oil being 3 1/2 times less expensive.  With gas availability increasing, it's only a matter of time for the gas furnace to cease an even larger part of the heating market.

Needing A Heating Repair In Fairfield? Or Even More Advice About Furnaces From The Experts, Call Solano: