Common Myths About Heating Oil And Heating Systems
People often turn up their noses at homes with oil-based heating systems. It is true that heating oil often costs more than natural gas. However, a lot of the other negative things you've heard about heating oil may not be entirely true. Heating oil is a convenient heating fuel in areas where natural gas lines are not available — and the following myths about it are not the truth.
Myth #1: Heating oil is prone to spontaneous combustion.
You may have heard that heating oil has a tendency to randomly start on fire, or that if you have an oil spill, you may have a house fire. The risk of this happening is often exaggerated. Heating oil simply does not catch on fire very easily when it is a liquid. It really has to be heated to the point of becoming a gas before it catches fire. (That's how oil heating systems work; they turn the oil into a gas first, and then they ignite it.) While you do need to have any oil spills cleaned up to minimize environmental damage, you don't have to worry about an oil spill or your whole fuel tank catching fire.
Myth #2: Heating oil is in short supply and will be hard to get soon.
It is true that there is a limited amount of fossil fuels in the earth's crust. Eventually, humans will use this all up. But to suggest that heating oil is so limited that you won't be able to obtain it during the life of your heating system is inaccurate. Oil companies are getting better at drilling deeper and accessing oil from less-accessible places within the earth, and they are far from running out of oil. Scarcity may be a pressing issue eventually, but not yet.
Myth #3: Heating oil burns dirty and will make your home dirty.
There was something to this myth many years ago. Old-generation oil heaters were not that clean-burning or efficient. However, newer units are made to be efficient and clean-burning. You should not have to worry about soot accumulation or oil residue in your home if you have an oil heating system made in the last couple of decades.
With these myths cleared up, hopefully, you are in a better position to decide whether an oil heating system is for you. Oil heating may not be as common as it once was, but it remains a viable option for many homeowners.
For more information about heating oil, contact a local company like Countryside.