Written on: August 22, 2022
Heating oil has been keeping families warm through tough winters for almost a century. That’s a testament to its impressive ability to provide consistent, efficient heat for as long as needed. That’s a lot to feel good about it, but it gets better when you consider the safety benefits of using oil to heat your home.
Let’s start with the fuel itself. Heating oil cannot burn in its liquid state. It takes an advanced high-tech burner to ignite the oil. Before combustion can occur, heating oil must first be vaporized by your oil burner at temperatures above 140°. Heating oil also cannot explode. That’s why the fuel stored in your tank is very safe. In fact, if you drop a lit match into a bucket of heating oil, the flame would go out just as if you dropped the match into water.
Heating oil is easily transported and handled by highly trained professionals using equipment and techniques that keep safety at the forefront.
Contrast that to natural gas delivery. If an underground natural gas pipeline gets damaged, customers may lose their supply until repairs get done. And if a serious problem occurs with a gas pipeline, such as excessive pressure, explosions can occur.
Unlike natural gas or propane gas, an oil heating system poses a very low risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. If an oil burner malfunctions (most often due to a lack of maintenance), the safety devices in the unit will typically shut the furnace or boiler off.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that heating oil consumers shouldn’t have working carbon monoxide detectors inside their homes, especially near all bedrooms. Besides a malfunctioning boiler or furnace, there are many other sources of carbon monoxide leaks, including:
Make sure you check your carbon monoxide (and smoke) detectors regularly to confirm they operate properly!
You will be able to enhance heating oil safety even further by getting system maintenance done as required. This will ensure that your oil boiler or oil furnace operates with optimum safety and efficiency. Please reach out to us if you have questions about system maintenance.
A secure supply, ultra clean-burning B20 Bioheat® fuel, and a superior service department are among the attributes that make Westmore Fuel stand out. We provide B20 Bioheat fuel and service to Darien, Greenwich, Stamford, and nearby communities in Connecticut. We also deliver our B20 Bioheat® fuel and service to New York communities, including Port Chester, Mount Kisco, New Rochelle, and White Plains.
Feel free to contact us to learn more about Westmore Fuel, a company built around its customers.