Heating oil, which is known as #2 heating oil, is a low viscosity liquid petroleum-derived hydrocarbon product. It is commonly used to heat homes and commercial areas. Heating oil works in boilers and furnaces.
If you consider using oil heating method to heat your business, here are a few facts about the heating oil.
The Origin of Heating Oil
Heating oil originates from crude oil. To make the crude oil burn efficiently, some heating oil-producing companies mix their fuel with cleaner products, to improve air quality. Some of those products are animal fats and vegetable oils.
The Process of Heating Oil Production
Heating oil is not the only fuel type that is derived from crude oil. Jet fuels, diesel, gasoline, and kerosene, are other types of fuel that are derived from the same source. Heating oil is distilled in the process of making petroleum products. Therefore, the amount of available heating oil depends on the levels of petroleum production. Most often, heating oil is extracted during the summer and stored to use in winter. Ask Howard Energy about storage tank options.
How Does Heating Oil Work? Types of Heating Systems
As mentioned above, heating oil can be used in both furnaces and boilers. However, there are some essential differences in each of these types of heating systems.
- Furnaces are older, less efficient systems of heating that change the temperature of the area by heating the air. Furnaces need to maintain high enough temperatures to vent the gas produced and may lose almost 30% of fuel energy in doing so.
- Boilers. While furnaces heat air, boilers warm up the water. The hot liquid moves inside the house through types of equipment such as baseboards and radiators.
In both furnaces and boilers, the heat begins in a combustion chamber. First, the oil ignites and, depending on the system, the resulting heat warms either gases or water.
In a furnace, heated air travels through warm air tubes and circulates throughout the house. On the other hand, Boilers pump boiled water through pipelines to radiators.
Benefits of Oil Heaters
Compared to other methods of heating, oil heating is more cost-effective. Oil heaters provide more heat per BTU than other sources of energy, such as natural gas, electric, solar, propane, or geothermal sources.
In the end, if you’re considering heating with oil, you should know a few necessary facts. For example, you will need an on-site tank to store the heating oil. You can contact us, a local gas supplier, and discuss the size of the container you might need. Also, make sure you calculate your estimated monthly usage of heating oil – or let Howard Energy help – so we can arrange future oil deliveries to your organization.