On 21 May 2008 10:06:07 -0700, Banty wrote:
In article , Paul M. Eldridge
says...
On 20 May 2008 05:22:18 -0700, Banty wrote:
In article , Paul M. Eldridge
says...
On 19 May 2008 17:27:23 -0700, Banty wrote:
In article , Paul M. Eldridge
says...
Why are there no oil-fired direct heaters?
Banty
Hi Banty,
I don't know of any myself. I'm familiar with direct-fired natural
gas and propane units such as this:
http://www.bradfordwhite.com/images/...heets/557B.pdf
but none made for oil. Perhaps the market is deemed too small for a
low-volume product like this (and with home heating oil selling at
$4.25+ a gallon, it's likely to contract a whole lot further).
I don't know about that - there's a huge installed base of oil-fired furnaces
and boilers, especially here in the northeast US, many (like mine) in places
without gas service. Plus, gas and oil have a history of see-sawing as far as
prices. There's lots of people around to tell woes of converting one way or the
other based on then-current prices, only to be burned.
Since these are reputed to be so efficiant, the oil prices should have customers
lining up.
Banty
Hi Banty,
Looking at the latest DOE figures for Y2005, nationally, 7.7 million
out of a total of 111.1 million households use oil; that's less than 7
per cent. New England is the notable exception, where 6.2 million of
the 20.6 million homes in this region are heated with oil (30 per
cent).
In 2001, there were 8.7 million homes in the U.S. that were oil
heated, of which 6.6 million were located in the northeast. That
means one million U.S. homes converted to some other fuel in the span
of that four year period alone -- 400,000 in the New England area.
Sources:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/rec...ables2005.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/byf.../byfuel_fo.pdf
Given the rapid run up in fuel oil prices since 2005, I'd expect that
trend to accelerate further. The residential fuel oil market is
imploding as we speak.
I haven't seen that. But, I'd like to know, as an owner of an 18 year old
Burnham oil burner in an area with no gas service anywhere near, what my best
ocnversion option would be.
Banty
Hi Banty,
Do you have to replace your boiler at this time? At 18 years, a good
quality boiler should still have plenty of life left in it.
I've talked about ductless heat pumps throughout this thread. You
might consider one as a secondary heat source, especially if the a/c
benefits enhance the overall picture (the Fujitsu 12RLQ has a SEER
rating of 21, btw).
OK. But you have no ideas on a primary heat source instead of oil, where there
is no gas service....?
Banty
Hi Banty,
There are other options such as electric or propane but I can't see
either being more cost effective and even if they were somewhat
cheaper per BTU, it would hardly justify the cost of swapping out what
you have now if your current heating system is relatively efficient
and in good working order.
My recommendation, if your primary objective is to reduce your home
heating costs is to keep what you have now and add one or more
ductless heat pumps as a secondary heat source. As noted, the
operating costs are considerably less than that of oil and you gain
the benefits of a/c.
Cheers,
Paul