Today’s high-efficiency heating oil boilers and heating oil furnaces increase your home comfort while also decreasing energy usage and, with that, your annual heating costs.
The latest clean-burning oilheating equipment can also be installed with controls to use only as much fuel as needed to heat your Hudson Valley home, or a specific part of your home.
While a furnace or a boiler will both keep your home warm, it’s important to understand the difference. This will help you to make smart choices if you’re considering replacing your old heating system with a new high-efficiency model.
When you have a boiler system, water goes through the combustion chamber. Thanks to a circulator, the hot water gets pumped through the pipes to heat either baseboards or radiators throughout the home. The water then makes it back to the boiler and the process begins again.
Older steam boiler systems work similarly except they generate steam, which rises up to radiators (no circulators are needed). A low water cut-off shuts down the boiler if water levels drop too low, preventing boiler damage.
A great advantage of having a boiler is that you can connect it to an indirect-fired oil water heater.
An indirect-fired water heater uses the water heated by your oil boiler to heat the water in your water heater’s storage tank. (The boiler-heated water never comes in contact with the water in the tank.) An indirect-fired water heater heats water super-fast and it saves you money!
Also known as warm-air or forced-air systems, furnaces produce heated air in the combustion chamber. This is sent into your home with the help of a blower fan. The fan blows the heated air through a network of air ducts before the warm air reaches you through registers or vents throughout your home.
Modern-day furnaces can operate at a range of speeds and feature other efficiency-enhancing features, including microprocessor-based controls, high-pressure flame-retention burners and durable heat exchangers.
Besides heat, the ductwork that connects with your furnace can provide other kinds of conditioned air, including through:
If you want to take advantage of today’s energy-efficient oilheating systems, your local heating oil company will work with you to design a new heating system that fits your home and your budget.
Contact your local company to get an estimate on the cost to replace your boiler or furnace. You may also qualify for a rebate for replacing your old heating system with a new one!