Oil
vs. Gas. talk about a battle of the titans.
Okay,
to put in an oil heater you are going to have to also have a storage tank.
That isn't an insignifigant cost, but the tank will probably last the rest of
your life so at least it won't have to be done twice. The tank will also
have to be vented (I think outside) and have a filler to the outside.
You're going to want to put that tank in the front of your basement so that the
oil filler truck can reach the filler neck with its hose.
Oil is
the same thing as diesel fuel. it stinks. everything that comes in
contact with it stinks. I drove a diesel car for years and got used to the
stink but there's no denying it. If your heater is working
properly, you will only smell the fuel when your tank is being filled or if
someone is working on your furnace. just something to
consider.
As far
as the environment goes, I'd say it is about even. Gas burns very cleanly
but so does heating oil when the burners are properly adjusted. The
problem is that traditionally, oil burners go out of adjustment quite often and
start burning rich. This means that too much fuel is being introduced to
the fuel/air mixture and you are loosing efficiency because not all the fuel is
being consumed in combustion. The excess winds up as deposits in your
furnace and exhaust. In my oppinion, this is a good reason not to switch
to oil. I should point out that oil burners have gotten much better in
recent years and are supposedly less prone to clogging. I personally
believe that the quality of the fuel oil goes a long way to keeping a oil burner
at peak efficiency but it is hard to tell the quality of the oil that you are
buying.
as a
FYI, gas (as in natural gas, the fuel that we're discussing here) isn't the same
thing as gasoline. Gasoline is refined oil, but natural gas is a mix of
Methane (90%) and Propane, Butane and Ethane (along with a few other trace
gasses). Natural gas is not refined from oil, although it is a fossil fuel
and there is a finite supply in the world. Natural gas is odorless and
lighter than air. Natural gas providers add an oderant so that we can
quickly detect a leak and not flip on a lightswitch and blow our house to
bits. One amusing fact is that methane is the same gas that comes out of
our backsides after certain meals. One could solve the worlds energy needs
if they could develop a way of harvesting this inexhaustable source of
fuel!
Maintanance: There are a lot of oil and a lot of
gas burning furnaces in the area. I'd say that there is no difference in
the maintainability of either.
Don't
knock PGW too hard. While it certainly has it's problems, it is run (in
theory) for the benefit of the citizens of the city of Philadelphia, not to make
a profit. The main problems that PGW has are that it can only sell gas
inside the city of Philadelphia and many of it's customers cannot afford to pay
their heating bills. This is an expense that the city winds up having to
absorb one way or another. PGW is also loosing almost all of its
industrial customers to the suburbs and those folks pay a higher rate for their
gas bills than we do. This hurts PGW even more than the loss of
residential customers.
PGW
needs to improve, but my main complaints about them are administrative.
They need to update their records, billing and payment systems, they need to
improve customer service and they need to cut back on the number of employees
they have to get these administrative functions done. In this they can
learn from the private sector but I don't believe in privitizing PGW any more
than I believe in privatizing the water works. The city is fortunate to
own both of these utilities (some cities don't own their utilities to the
detriment of their citizens) but, as with most city government there is too much
fat in PGW and what could be a benifit is seen by many as a
detriment.
As far
as those of us right here in the west philly go, I believe that we pay
lower rates than the folks who have to buy their natural gas from PECO out in
the 'burbs.
And
that's the end of my oil vs. gas essay for the day. I will advise you
to buy the most efficient furnace you can; the labour to put it in will be
the same for both and the more efficient furnace will save you money over it's
useful life (30+ years) and pay for the difference in only a few years
time. I put in a 95+% efficient multistage Trane furnace and would
reccomend the same to anyone.
-----Original Message-----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?)
From: Naomi [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 7:09 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [UC] Oil vs. Gas Heat
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
White Dog Cafe
3420 Sansom St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
http://www.whitedog.com
(215) 386-9224 x105
The Black Cat Gift Shop
3426 Sansom St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
http://www.blackcatshop.com
