Bioheat
We just had our oil furnace cleaned and tuned up for the winter. We have only run it a few times, but those couple of time reminded me why I am so glad to not have a heat pump. mmmmmmm warm air. Fuel burning furnaces definitely make a house feel so much more cozy than a heat pump. Unfortunately, fuel burning furnaces tend to use non-renewable fuels, such a natural gas and heating oil.
The thing about heating oil is that is technically #2 fuel oil. And #2 fuel oil is really, really close to diesel fuel. In fact, the heating oil guy told use if we install a diesel generator, we can run a line from our (massive, 550 gallon) heating oil tank. Conversely, if we run out of heating oil, we can dump a couple of 5-gallon tanks of diesel from the gas station to tide us over til the delivery truck can get out. (this is what our heating person told us, if you found this from googling and try it, you do so at your own risk.)
Further extrapolation means that you can run a oil burning furnace on Biodiesel. Biodiesel is a side passion of mine. Not that I have done anything with it (other than make a bundle, then lose the rest on Earth Biofuels). But, for the past couple years I have talked about how I want to buy a diesel car and run it on veggie oil. One day... But I digress. The biodiesel folks have begun to blend biodiesel with heating oil to produce BioHeat home heating oil! (Wiki's bioheat link) This excites me beyond belief! Even better, there is a genuine biodiesel plant here in Maryland.
But alas, my attempts to find someone to deliver bio heating oil have been futile. Everyone I call is not carrying it yet. The company we are using right now says they are discussing it and plan to carry it at some point, but can give me no time frame. I am hoping that as one of the largest companies in the state, they will have the resources to get new storage tanks sooner than others. I will gladly replace my lines and pump to heat my home on waste veggie oil! Hopefully, I will find a source before I get fed up enough to make it myself. I'm too much of a girl to deal with stinky used oil from the local fry-everything joint.
2 comments:
mmm Yeah I know nothing about the real heating costs and fuels and what not. I live in Alabama. We might have to run the heat a month or two otherwise we just bundle up!
That would be Paul's obsession as well. If he could get BioHeat fuel delivered to the house instead of #2 fuel oil, he'd be all over that like stink on a meadow muffin.
As it is, he bought a pellet stove in March and is burning and 80/20 mixture of corn and wood pellets.
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