Common Oilheat Myths Shattered!

Some of your real estate clients might mistakenly believe that Oilheat is inefficient and dirty, and they may even worry about an adequate world supply. Debunking these myths and alleviating concerns will help your customers make educated decisions ... and help you sell more Oilheated properties.

Oilheat Myths Busted

Myth 1: "I'm afraid that Oilheat might explode."

Reality: Oil doesn't explode. If you drop a match into heating oil, it will go out as if dropped into water. The only explosion you'll get with Oilheat is an information explosion on how safe it is!

Myth 2: "There's only so much Oilheat to go around. It's not dependable."

Reality: We will not run out of Oilheat anytime soon. There will always be a plentiful supply, no matter what Old Man Winter or international conflicts bring about. In fact, the United States has a Strategic Petroleum Reserve with a current capacity of 727 million barrels - the world's largest emergency crude oil stockpile - in addition to a two-million-barrel heating oil reserve. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 directs the Secretary of Energy to expand the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its authorized capacity of one billion barrels.

Myth 3: "Oil is expensive."

Reality: Oil is a great value. The cost of energy is up across the board, due to many factors including rapid industrialization in developing nations, economic recovery in the United States, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, hurricane damage in the Gulf Coast region and a "fear factor" among investors regarding supply and production capabilities. Compared to the Consumer Price Index, which represents the average prices consumers pay on a wide range of products, Oilheat has increased by less than half as much since the early '80s! In contrast, medical care has increased in cost by nearly 400% since the early '80s. Of course, competition among local Oilheat companies always helps to ensure a better value.

Myth 4: "Oilheat is old-fashioned and inefficient."

Reality: New advances in Oilheat technology - in both equipment and in the fuels themselves - have raised Oilheat efficiency. Some Oilheat systems now boast efficiency ratings 85% or more! Another efficiency fact: the average annual fuel consumption in 1973 it was 1,294 gallons; today it is only 833 gallons!

Myth 5: "Oilheat is dirty, smoky and sooty."

Reality: Oilheat is very clean! Technological improvements in combustion equipment have reduced total Oilheat emissions to the environment to near-zero levels, and today's Oilheat is 95 percent cleaner than 25 years ago. Indeed, heating oil burns so cleanly its emissions aren't even regulated by the Federal Clean Air Act.

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