Alternatives to Heating Your Home with Oil or Natural Gas
The recent spikes in oil and natural gas prices have put the
topic of alternative fuels for home heating at the forefront of
discussions around the country. Alternative fuels that in the
past were seen as marginal, odd, or strictly for rural use are
getting a second look.
Wood heat has been used for generations in the rural U.S., but
has been replaced in the past fifty years or so by central
heating provided by oil- or gas-fired furnaces. However, in
recent years, wood stoves have been making a comeback.
Attractive stoves by Jotul and other manufacturers have taken
their place in communal living areas like kitchens and living
rooms to supplement heating while providing a cozy ambiance to
the rooms. Wood furnaces, both internal and external and in many
new designs based on the latest technology, provide the ability
to load the furnace so as to provide hours of central heating
before needing re-stoking. An advantage of burning wood, at
least in rural areas, is that it can be locally obtained; people
with a wood lot can get it with "sweat equity", and can
supplement their income by supplying their neighbors as well.
New plant-based fuels like wood pellets and corn pellets can
also provide heat when used in specially designed, clean-burning
furnaces and stoves. In addition, more and more people are
taking a new look at biodiesel, a fuel manufactured from
vegetable oils, primarily soybean oil. Most furnaces can use
B20, a fuel made of 80 percent traditional heating oil and 20
percent biodiesel, without any adjustments; some people are
getting their furnaces adapted to be able to burn B100, a fuel
made entirely of vegetable oils. The biodiesel burns much
cleaner than traditional heating oil, but has its own problems
(for one thing, biodiesel tends to cause rubber gaskets to
erode), so be sure to check with your furnace servicer or
manufacturer before you opt for B100.
If you choose to use B100, and your furnace will handle it, you
have a couple of options. B100 is becoming more available around
the country; check on the Internet to find a supplier near you.
Also, waste oil - that is, used vegetable oil discarded by
restaurants - can be filtered and used in some furnaces. Several
furnaces on the market are designed to burn waste oil.
Commercially manufactured B100 has an additive that keeps it
liquid at low temperatures, which recycled vegetable doesn't
contain, so do your research - and check again with your furnace
servicer - before you attempt burning used vegetable oil.
We're facing a new world with lots of challenges in terms of how
to heat our homes, especially in colder winter climates. Luckily
there are technologies like wood
gasification and biodeisel, available today which can help
us move away from our decades-old dependence on fossil fuels.