Switching from one way of heating to another has never been an easy task It always needs to change the burner, furnace or even more equipment, no matter what was your previous choice nor what you switch to. You should also need to adopt new techniques to assess consumption of your new fuel, way of ordering it, and of course, the entire process’ cost.

There is a real natural gas hype and it’s highly likely that some of your friends or workmates tried to convince you to switch Natural gas has deemed to be the “cleanest”, “cheapest and “most convenient” way to heat your home. On the other side, heating oil is sometimes regarded as something obsolete, dirty and complex for use.

You should know that modern refining technologies allow for heating oil which contains no sulfur at all. Once sulfur problem is solved the only remaining poisonous compound from heating oil is carbon dioxide (CO2) Although emissions of CO2 from oil heating is not the lowest among all fuels, you should know that this aerosol is much less dangerous than sulfur and carbon monoxide, as plants are able to process it and turn it into oxygen.  Actual poisonous content is removed from modern heating oil, so environmental concern is not a major issue as it used to be several decades ago.

Natural gas is also known to be a silent killer. Inhaling even  a single breath of  natural gas in a high concentration can suffocate. Any kind of gas leak can pose a safety hazard. In its pure form, natural gas lacks any smell, so gas companies add sulfur-like odorants to make residents aware of possible gas leaks. However, gas leaks can occur when you are sleeping or when someone unfamiliar with gas smells is alone at home.

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Underground gas leaks are particularly dangerous, in such cases odorants become weaker and it’s hard to detect them. Although underground gas leaks can hardly lead to lethal concentrations of gas close to people, it’s almost certain that it would heavily impact your finances.

Natural gas is also highly explosive, which is not the case with heating oil. Although both are flammable, heating oil can be stored underground which puts risk of causing fires or being caught by a fire from another source to zero.

Heating oil also doesn’t have to be inconvenient to use. You can subscribe to automatic oil delivery service which spares you measuring the remaining oil and reviewing your heating system.

Costs of heating oil are also lower most of the time, when compared to natural gas. Have in mind that heating oil prices are relatively stable. Natural gas is a strategic commodity whose price depends on many external factors and can rise abruptly.

And finally, there’s a fact that oil furnaces and burners last much longer than those running on natural gas. Switching from heating oil to natural gas might bring you some savings in the short term but in long-term considering the more expensive natural gas equipment and rising natural gas prices, coupled with falling heating oil prices switching to natural gas might not turn out to be such a great deal after all.

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Heating Oil on Long Island

1. Home heating oil burns cleanly and efficiently, and therefore it’s not a subject to any clean air requirements

2. You have a choice of many local suppliers

3. You can select your own fuel oil supplier who can provide personalized service to you

4. Oil heat is safe –  heating oil is not explosive and inhalation of oil fumes is never fatal, unlike natural gas

5. Your oil system will warn you with smoke, soot or an odor before releasing dangerous and invisible carbon monoxide (CO) whereas heat equipment gives you no warning of CO production.

6. Oil heat consistently emerges as the overall better value for Long Island homeowners according to the Energy Research Center

7. Residential oil burner particulate emissions are now approaching near-zero levels

8. Oil to gas conversion can cost at least $3,500 whereas upgrading to a new oil system costs much less and can save you 25% in heating and hot water costs.

9. Fuel oil is reliable and prices are going down considerably; gas prices are likely to go up in the future.

10. Natural gas heat bills contain unpredictable and difficult to understand costs such as Gas Cost Adjustment (to recover operating costs), and the Weather Adjustment Clause (charges extra during warm weather). Oil bills are always straightforward and simple to understand.