Green Building Library
Space Heating and Cooling

Bioheat Furnace Fuel

By Chris Brooks

If you heat your home with oil, you may be worried about the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels. You may be concerned about the United States' dependence on imported oil, or you may simply be anxious about rising oil prices. Now more home heating oil suppliers are offering an exciting alternative that will not ease your budget but may ease your conscience.

Bioheat fuel is traditional heating oil combined with biodiesel, which is usually made from vegetable and soybean oils. Currently, the most common mixture is 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent heating oil, known as B5. Oil-burning home furnaces can burn Bioheat fuel mixtures with up to 20 percent biodiesel without modifications.

There are many benefits to using Bioheat fuel. Bioheat can help reduce harmful emissions and decrease your carbon footprint. It can help clean sediment out of oil furnaces. If it's properly developed, the biodiesel industry could strengthen American industry and support American farmers, while reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

But Bioheat fuel is still hard to come by. The website of the National Biodiesel Board, an industry group, lists only 18 states where Bioheat is currently available, and coverage in those states is patchy. Dave Weinar, member services associate at the Energy Cooperative in Philadelphia, says that his organization has 6500 members who buy heating oil through the Co-op, but only 314 are buying Bioheat fuel. This is because not many suppliers offer this alternative, so B5 is only available in a few of the city's neighborhoods.

However, more heating oil companies will offer Bioheat as consumer demand grows. Bioheat still costs a few cents more per gallon than straight heating oil, but prices may come down when there is greater competition among suppliers.

In the meantime, insiders like Paul Nazzaro of the NBB are working to help Bioheat gain market share. Mr. Nazzaro is confident that the industry standard for home heating oil will be redefined to include up to 5 percent biodiesel by June 2008. He sees Bioheat as an important common ground where biofuel proponents and the fossil-fuel industry can work together.

But some environmentalists wonder if biodiesel is the best long-term solution to our energy needs. They worry that if demand for biodiesel crops is satisfied through unsustainable farming methods, it may result in increased tropical deforestation. Others are concerned that it may drive up the price of food crops.   

No matter what kind of fuel you use to heat your home, the easiest way to save money and have a positive effect on the environment is to make your home more energy-efficient. Installing proper insulation and double-paned windows, as well as keeping the thermostat low, will reduce the amount of fuel required to keep you warm.

"Bioheat is not a panacea," says Mr. Weinar. "It's just a very positive step in the right direction."

This article provided by FurnaceCompare.com, which helps homeowners compare furnaces, central air conditioners and heating contractors.