Slashing Our Heating Oil Imports With Bioheat
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Winter will soon be upon us, bringing with it the most dreaded of arrivals… those winter heating bills. Here in the northeast, oil is one of the most popular forms of heating. But the cost of heating oil is at a perilous level for many homeowners. The prospects of a winter with $3 per gallon heating oil sends a chill up the spine. Because the vast majority of heating oil is imported, America is sending its hard earned heating dollars overseas.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
In some parts of the country, an innovative blended heating oil is available that mixes domestically produced biodiesel fuel with conventional heating oil. In some areas, the “bioheat” is available from a range of heating oil services. But in other places, sadly, it can be extremely hard to find.
Bioheat fuel uses a percentage of soybean-based oil, most often from 5 to 20 percent, and can require little or no modification to an existing heating system. While bio heating oil may cost a bit more than conventional heating oil, we’re already paying an insane cost to heat our homes… it’s just a few more drops in the bucket.
Yours truly lives in a state where bioheat is rare… even though there’s a new plant that cranks out the stuff. I’ve made it my mission to find and test bioheat in my home heating system, by hook or by crook.
List of Companies Offering Bioheat
Tags: heating oil
3 Comments
M Donegan
October 3rd, 2007
at 8:45pm
Biofuels are the solution.. to all the US problems?
Please do some more research!
Most Biofuels are based on food products, eg corn and soy. Which require high levels of fuel (oil based) and fertilizer to cultivate. And have very heavy Government subsidies. If you look at these costs Biofuels are not ‘green’ products, they are just farmer subsidies! The prices are great because the prices are artificial!
At least make the fuel from straw and cellulose, which are byproducts of food farming.
The other side effect is that these food products will end up with major price increases, and they are used as basic ingredients in many manufactured food products, so expect a +10 to 20% increase in these food products! Bread, pasta, pizza and breakfast cereals to name a few.
MikeD
Dan Gray
October 4th, 2007
at 7:20am
Hi M -
I’ve done more research on the topic than you’ve given me credit. I don’t believe in federal subsidies to huge corporate farms. I’m not a fan of corn-based ethanol. Soy-based biodiesel is quite different and can serve a number of needs, not to all the problems in America, but to many specific areas. Heating oil is a prime example.
Don’t believe what you read in the main stream media. :)
“Trust none of what you hear
And less of what you see”
We are now at a point where the small family farm can make more sense, and dollars and cents, then ever. With the investment in the right technology and mix of crops, small family farms can be net energy producers.
Imagine a farm that produced all its own fuel to run the tractors, heat the house, and the greenhouse. Imagine a farm with enough windmills and solar array to sell electricity back to the grid.
It’s not science fiction anymore.
Cheers,
Dan
Edgar
July 8th, 2008
at 10:27pm
Bioheat? Wouldn’t that be two people keeping each other warm? I think “bio” is attached as a prefix to far too many words nowadays in order to make them sound impressive.