[UC] Oil vs. Gas Heat

[Naomi]

Title: Oil vs. Gas Heat

I am in the process of purchasing a UC house that needs the 50 year-old gas heater replaced. We are considering switching to oil - or some other way to heat that does not rely on a monopoly like PGW - and wanted to solicit opinions. (Has anyone done this recently? Any success or horror stories?)

We have a few factors that we are basing our decision on:

The Environment
– Which has more of an impact? (Our initial thought was that gas was cleaner but I’m guessing that gas and oil come from the same base ingredient and I have no idea what is involved on the back end to turn it into gas.) Are there any other realistic alternatives?

Cost
– We’re not wealthy. And the house needs a lot of additional work right away. Both the conversion/upgrade and the long term use need to be competitively priced.

Convenience & Ease of use
– Is it relatively easy to maintain? When there is a problem, will people actually come to fix it?
 

Any and all opinions appreciated. (And if I missed any big factors, feel free to let me know what I haven’t considered yet.)

Thanks.

Naomi



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