When You Compare Oil Heat and Gas Heat, the Choice is Clear

Many New Yorkers have a choice of heating by oil or utility gas. When it comes to safety, satisfaction and cost, Oilheat is the clear winner. Her are five reasons why.

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1. Oilheat is safer than gas. There is a vast difference between Oilheat and utility gas when it comes to safety. Gas is highly explosive when it is concentrated in a small space, which is exactly what can happen when a pipeline leak causes gas to enter a home or building. The National Safety Transportation Board recommends the use of "excess flow valves" to protect lives and property from gas leaks, but they are required only for new gas connections, and many gas-heated homes and buildings lack this recommended protection. Oilheat, on the other hand, is non-explosive and does not even ignite at room temperature - it must be heated to 140° F to burn. Natural gas heating systems also can emit deadly carbon monoxide without warning, unlike Oilheat systems, which will emit smoke and other warning signs.

2. Oilheat has a better record on price. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration for the State of New York shows that between 1992 and 2009, Oilheat had a lower average price than natural gas for 12 of the 18 years.

3. With Oilheat, you get emergency coverage and more. A full-service Oilheat provider like Schildwachter protects its customers with expert preventive maintenance and an assurance of prompt response in a heat emergency. Gas utilities, on the other hand, generally provide neither preventive maintenance nor emergency service. A lack of preventive maintenance can lead to premature failure of a heating system, costing thousands of dollars in needless repairs. A gas customer may also find it difficult to get emergency service at a reasonable cost, particularly if they lose heat during a time of extreme cold - when demand for emergency service is greatest.

4. Oilheat has a better future. The Oilheat industry has listened to consumers' desires for a cleaner environment and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, and we have moved aggressively to implement excellent solutions. Oilheat in New York will soon move to an ultra low sulfur formulation that will produce cleaner emissions with reduced particulates. Also, Oilheat is increasingly blended with biofuel made from natural, renewable sources like vegetable oil. As biofuel blending increases, Oilheat customers help the United States become less dependent on petroleum. Biofuel blends also burn cleaner, with lower greenhouse gas emissions. Utility gas, meanwhile, is a fossil fuel that does not offers a clear migration path towards alternative energy.

5. Oilheat is kinder to the environment. The utility gas industry is embroiled in controversy over a widely used technique for extracting underground gas deposits. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking", injects millions of gallons of water laced with chemicals into rock formations at extremely high pressure to free the gas. The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a study to determine whether this practice endangers human health and water supplies. Fracking is the subject of the acclaimed documentary film "Gasland", which examines problems that residents have experienced near gas wells, such as fouled water wells and flammable gases that enter homes through water faucets. The gas industry is also responsible for countless pipeline leaks that pollute the atmosphere with methane - a greenhouse gas with 72 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.

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