Pennsylvania winters are not to be taken lightly, and homeowners know this best. The average homeowner in PA spends around $300 per month on energy costs. It’s no wonder why Pennsylvania residents are constantly looking for ways to reduce energy bills and save on heating costs. If you’re buying a new home or preparing to replace your HVAC system, you might be weighing the pros and cons of switching to an entirely different form of heat. What are the benefits of electric or oil heat? What suits your home best? Find out now.
Safety
What makes oil heat a safe option for your home? Heating oil only burns at 140º. So if you chose to drop a lit match into a pool of room temp heating oil, it would extinguish it as if you dropped it in water. If you’re worried about creating a fire hazard in your home, stay away from natural gas, not heating oil.
Today, heating oil actually burns 95% clearer than it did back in the 1970s. So much advancement has been made that the federal clean air act doesn’t even bother to regulate heating oil emissions. So if your home runs on oil, you can rest easy knowing you’re making an environmentally responsible choice. So much of what attracts consumers to electric heat is its environmental friendliness. Electric heat does not create emissions, making it a good option for the environment. But where it lacks in creating pollution, it makes up for in costs.
Efficiency
The average cost of heat for 100,000 BTU comes in at $2.93 for electric and $2.50 for heating oil. Why? Electric heat is slower to handle temperature changes. As we mentioned, heating oil burns hot. Not only does this make it a safe option for your home, but it heats your home faster. With heating oil, prices do fluctuate due to the varying cost of crude oil. This causes many homeowners to shy away from heating oil, from the fear of not being able to predict exactly what their heating bills will be. While oil costs may fluctuate, an oil-powered HVAC system lasts nearly twice as long as its gas-powered counterpart. So when you equip your home with oil heat, you do accept the unpredictable aspect of oil prices. But you also invest in an HVAC system that could last you a lifetime.
Maintenance
Electric heat is easy to clean and maintain. With electric heating, you don’t deal with potential gas leaks or build-up of oil sludge. But every HVAC system requires annual maintenance, that part is simply unavoidable. With heating oil, maintenance is simple, but you do have to schedule oil deliveries. We recommend never letting your tank drop below 25% so your home never runs cold. An oil furnace is extremely reliable, offers easy upkeep, and gets the most value for your dollar. By putting in regular maintenance and cleaning, you create a valuable asset in your home that could last you decades.
Heating Oil in Pennsylvania
Many oil providers offer maintenance and oil delivery schedules so you don’t have to think about it. Ready to start saving with oil heat? Bucks County Fuel provides reliable oil deliveries and heating repair services in Southeastern PA at affordable rates. Striving to save our customers money year after year, our goal is to be the best HVAC company in Bucks County. Contact us today!
