Residential Heating Oil Furnaces

State of the art technologies bring heating oil systems into the 21st Century.

Furnaces no longer just blow hot air through the house. Whether you are looking at upgrading your present heating oil system or installing a new one, one fact remains constant: heating oil systems are better and smarter today than they have ever been before!

They are designed as the focal point of a comprehensive, efficient, clean and safe system to heat your home. But it?s not all about heat. The same ductwork that connects the furnace to the rest of the residence can be used as the conduit for other forms of conditioned air as well. For example:

? Cooling with central air.

? Moisture control with a humidifier

? Eliminate dusts and pollens with a central air cleaning system.

Innovative technologies are producing heating oil furnaces with efficiencies in fuel-to-heat conversion ranging from 81% to 95%. The use of low-mass combustion chambers and improvements in the design of heat exchangers, coupled with high-pressure flame retention burners and innovative microprocessor-based controls are just several reasons for this leap in efficiency.

Modern furnaces can save you money, too, as an effective way to cut energy costs! Efficiency in the use of your heating oil pays for itself while providing an increase in comfort, peace of mind through confidence in the equipment and low exhaust emissions promote a cleaner environment as well. Several of these innovations are highlighted below:

? ?Smart? controls: The latest in micro-processing technologies allows the system to automatically adjust itself to changing environmental requirements resulting in fewer ?on/off? cycles. This reduces fuel consumption, wear on equipment, exhaust emissions and electrical usage by the system.

? High-pressure flame retention burners: Hotter flames with less air and fuel required are evidence of improvements in the high-flow atomization and vaporizing technologies used in the newer burners today.

? It?s safe: Fuel oil, in its natural liquid state, won?t burn. It must be vaporized to ignite. It will not burn if a lit match is thrown into a puddle of it. By virtue of this quality, it cannot explode when exposed to a spark or flame. Also, heating oil fumes are not poison like natural gas.

? Clean Burning: The average oil burning system emits 6 ounces of particulate emissions (soot) per year or roughly 1/8th of a pound of soot for every ton of fuel oil burned. That marks a 95% improvement over the last 25 years or so. There are no federal regulations on heating oil emissions.

If you heat with another source of energy or are building new, then you should be aware that heating oil is a viable option to meet your family?s heating needs.

Heating oil technology has kept pace with the competition from other heating options and in some cases surpassed it. If you currently heat with oil, then it is a safe bet that it will continue to serve you well into the new century before us.

For more information on Home Heating Oil Prices and energy solutions, visit Home Heating Oil Prices Do your research,save yourself some money. John Bogdanski a renegade Oil Heat marketing executive, rips open the curtain,exposing the industry.

Add On Wood Furnace - Are You Adding Heat or Headaches?

On the face of it, the addition of an Add On Wood Furnace to your existing furnace sounds like a great idea. If you cut, split and season your own firewood, you already know how much money you're saving over your propane poor neighbor.

Installing a wood furnace also tames the unavoidable messiness of burning wood by moving it to the basement.

Best of all, you can purchase a basic add on wood furnace for less than an inexpensive pellet stove.

However, the complex installation of an add on wood furnace goes a long way towards canceling out the benefits. When you install an add on furnace you not only have two furnaces; you now have two thermostats, two blowers, two plenums and two chimneys. Not to mention the connecting ductwork and dampers.

You don't have to be a home heating expert to imagine all the possible scenarios for failure.

As with any other type of furnace, the warranty and building codes requires installation by a licensed HVAC professional.

But this requirement alone doesn't necessarily guarantee your add on furnace will be installed for maximum efficiency. Simply because someone's been installing gas furnaces for 30 years doesn't mean their first attempt at installing an add on wood furnace will be a complete success.

Another problem that wood furnace manufacturers never address is a convenient way to store and transport a winter's worth of firewood without making hundreds of trips up and down the basement stairs.

Finding the least expensive way to heat your home will always involve trade-offs. As with an add on wood furnace, buying the cheapest appliance to burn the cheapest fuel is not without its drawbacks.

Improve your home with Alternative Heating

What are the Benifits to Installing a Furnace Humidifier

One of the most common health issues that plague our society is dehydration. Most of the tissue in the body is composed of water. If it loses the water, the tissue dries up. It's elasticity goes, and with it function declines. Besides dry skin, the symptoms of dehydration include chronic joint and muscle pain, raspy throat, sore eyes and lack of mental concentration.

There are two ways to combat dehydration, and both are essential; drink a lot of water, and maintain the relative humidity in the home and office at comfortable levels with the use of a furnace humidifier.

How does humidity AFFECT our health?

Conditioning the amount of moisture in the air with a furnace humidifier is necessary for your family's health. Dry air in your home can make your throat feel dry, and cause or aggravate respiratory ailments.

Inadequate humidification during cold weather is one of the major causes of respiratory infections. The heating seasons causes people to begin having repeated attacks of winter colds. Winter is blamed for these problems, but the actual cause is dryness, which develops in the membranes of the nose, throat and bronchial tubes. Relative humidity also has a significant effect on controlling the occurrence of airborne infections.

The one thing we can do about alleviating some of the discomfort of colds, dry noses and dehydrated skin is to install a humdifier in the home, where we spend most of our time. Actually, for many, dry air is an air-quality issue. Dry air promotes the growth of some bacteria, viruses and respiratory irritants that in sensitive individuals cause conditions worse than dry skin. Adequate moisture enables the body's immune system to defend better against indoor respiratory pollutants and irritants.

How will a furnace humidifier affect your comfort?

Humidity in the home will affect your comfort. Since the air in your home is always trying to reach its saturation point, it will absorb water wherever it's found, that means it is stealing moisture from the bodies of you and your children, your pets, your furniture and even your house plants. By giving up moisture to the air, your skin, throat and nasal passages dry out and crack leading to various physical discomfort. That's why many doctors recommend furnace humidifiers for allergy and asthma sufferers.

How does humidity AFFECT my house?

Virtually everything in your home made from wood contains some moisture. As dry air sucks that moisture out, the wood shrinks and cracks. Hardwood floors separate at the seams, furniture shrinks and cracks, and doors warp and no longer fit their frames as the moisture is drawn off.

Also, perhaps the most annoying effect of dry indoor air is static shock. How many times have you shuffled across the carpet, only to be rudely surprised by the crackle of static as you reach for the light switch! It's no fun when it happens to you, and even less so when you reach out and "zap" a loved one. With the capacity to hold a static charge up to 20,000 volts, your body can also wreak havoc on home computers and other sensitive electronic devices. By maintaining indoor relative humidity at 35 percent or higher with the use of a humidifier, static shocks are greatly reduced.

Are there any other BENEFITS to installimg a furnace humidifier in the home?

Yes! Proper relative humidity helps you save energy costs. Warm, humid summer air feels hotter than it actually is because of the moisture it contains. That same principle applies to your home in the winter. By keeping the relative humidity inside your home at an ideal level, you can turn your thermostat down a few degrees and still feel comfortable. Dialing down your thermostat just three degrees can reduce your heating bill by as much as 5%.

Pat Johnson - President of Enviro-Pure Air Care Duct Cleaning and Furnace Humidifier installations, located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Visit their furnace hmidifier page at Furnace humidifiers Ottawa

Heating Your Home - Why You Need A Furnace Tune Up

Fall is here and winter is not far behind. It's time to think about how you're going to keep warm this winter without breaking the bank.

The main thing is to have your furnace checked and tuned. Whether electric, propane, gas or a heat pump.

Do this early before the cold spells hit. If you wait until your area's first arctic blast you may have to wait several weeks, yes weeks until there is a technician able come out to your home.

Your heating equipment has been sitting dormant for several months and by having your equipment tuned up before you actually need it you can save hundreds (yes hundreds) in unnecessary repair calls.

Many people that wait until the cold hits find that their equipment fails at the most crucial time. A tune up can prevent the failure of your equipment and catch many other problems which can result in expensive repairs.

Also having your furnace tuned up and checked before you use it could prevent things like a crack developing in your heat exchanger in a gas or propane furnace which results in carbon monoxide being pumped into your home. A dangerous occurrence that happens much too frequently due to furnace neglect.

A break in your electrical elements in your electrical furnace could cause a fire.

A leak in your heat pump could lead to a break down in your compressor and reversing valve which could destroy the most important and expensive parts of your unit.

Check Angie's list for reputable HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) companies in your area if you don't already have an HVAC company you're working with and trust.

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Home Heating - Furnaces to Space Heaters, Inspections are Important

The thought of snow, cold and blowing winds lead to thoughts of warm blankets, furnaces and glowing fires. Home heating is a very important subject in most parts of the country, everything from furnaces to space heaters are used to keep the house toasty warm for our return from the "frozen tundra."

The heating sources that are used can lead to dire consequences if used improperly. Space heaters, for example are responsible for numerous house fires every year. The use of these devises for home heating requires responsibility and constant awareness of the safety issues they present. However, the use of space heaters can be a way to lower heating costs when the price of heating fuel rises by allowing you to use electricity instead.

When shopping for a space heater look for a model that stays cool to the touch and that has a wide base. These two options will make the heater safer to operate. Never use a space heater around a child, even if that child is asleep, the effect of a burn from the unit can be devastating. The chance of a child waking up and stumbling into the heater causing it to tip over and catch on fire is too great to risk.

When preparing your home heating plan for the winter season, it is not enough just to turn the furnace on and hope for the best, it needs to be serviced on a yearly basis to ensure its safety and reliability. Without this inspection, you could, literally be playing with fire.

The furnace inspection will consist of a visual inspection, cleaning of the furnace, detection of carbon monoxide (CO) as well as the checking the burner, ducts and pilot light. This is a short list of what an inspection consists of, but is a good indicator of what to expect when the licensed professional knocks on your door.

The visual portion of the inspection will help to detect any cracks that may exist in the heat exchanger. These cracks may result in the leakage of carbon monoxide fumes into the home. The flue will also be tested for the reason of detecting carbon monoxide (CO) gasses that may leak from the furnace. To be on the safe side, it is best to install a carbon monoxide (CO) detector in the main sleeping areas of the home to warn of a possible danger.

The inspectors will also be cleaning the furnace ducts of dust that has accumulated throughout the summer. Dust can be combustible therefore, it is necessary to remove it before starting the furnace. The burner and pilot light will also be inspected to ensure that they are working properly.

Follow these tips when heating your home this winter and sleep peacefully at night knowing that you have done you duty to protect your family, when they are snuggled in their beds as well.

Linda Moore writes on a variety of subjects including home ownership, family matters, travel, personal enrichment, lowering your heating bills and home air purifiers

What You Should Look For When Buying an Outdoor Wood and Coal Furnace

Each day there are hundreds of individuals who consider purchasing an outdoor wood and coal furnace. Many times these individuals are looking to find ways to save money when heating their home. Purchasing an outdoor wood and coal furnace is a great way to do just that; however, there are number of factors that should be taken into consideration when buying one.

There are millions of Americans who are termed as impulse buyers. An impulse buyer is an individual who tends to buy things right on the spot. It is possible to get a great deal when buying on impulse; however, it is often considered a bad method of shopping. When a large item, such as an outdoor wood and coal furnace, is being purchased buying on impulse could be costly. For this reason, individuals who are interested in buying an outdoor wood and coal furnace are encouraged to research products and seriously think about their decision before making a purchase.

An outdoor wood and coal furnace is one of best outdoor home heating methods because it allows wood or coal to be used. When looking to buy an outdoor furnace there are many individuals who assume that they would want to use wood and wood alone to heat their home. The cost of an outdoor wood and coal furnace is not that much different from a traditional outdoor wood furnace. The price will be higher, but many individuals love the fact that they have a choice.

Once a specific type of outdoor furnace has been selected you will next need to find a model. There are a large number of individuals and companies who sell outdoor wood and coal furnaces. This means that you are likely to come across a wide product selection. The best way to select the best outdoor wood and coal furnace model is by knowing what each has to offer. Many online websites or printed catalogs should provide detailed information on the specific furnace models. You should use this information and apply it to what you will need in an outdoor furnace.

When buying an outdoor wood and coal furnace it is also likely that you will take the price into consideration. The price of an item is important; however, your purchase should not be solely based on it. Lower priced items do not always mean the better deal. It is important to remember that if you want a high-quality product you will have to pay for it.

By researching outdoor furnaces online you should be able to compare the quality of a product and the price at the same time.

The purchase of an outdoor wood and coal furnace is one that should not be taken lightly.

By not taking the time to research and understand outdoor wood and coal furnaces you could be putting yourself at risk for paying too much money for a poor quality furnace.

Knowing what you need in a furnace is the best way to ensure that you are getting a great value for your money.

Get a great deal on a outdoor wood and coal furnace