Comparison of Fuel Oil Vs. Electric Residential HVAC

Fuel Oil

• Fuel oil used for residential purposes is called #2 fuel oil and has very similar properties to the diesel fuel used for trucks and other vehicles. Owners purchase fuel oil from local suppliers. Fuel oil became a popular heating choice for homes during the 1960s and replaced coal heating. Homes with a central HVAC system use oil for heating in the winter and electricity for cooling in the summer. Prices for fuel oil are market-driven and based on the price of crude oil.

Electric

• A home that has an all-electric HVAC system uses an electric furnace, versus a gas or oil-fueled furnace. Electricity comes to the home through local electric power companies. An electric furnace uses heating elements to warm cool air, as opposed to gas burners doing the job. As a result, an electric heating system is not attached to the chimney and does not require flues to ventilate exhaust gases. All of the components of the cooling system operate by electricity.

Similarities

• Both electric and fuel oil HVAC systems connect to the furnace to provide heating and cooling. If the home is set up for central heating and cooling, the home must have an interior ductwork to create a forced air HVAC system. The ductwork system converts cool air to warm air in the winter, and does the reverse in the summer. The air conditioning components, which include the outdoor condenser and compressor unit, are connected to the furnace of the home for both electric and oil systems. You can also use supplementary systems for heating and cooling, such as room air conditioners and portable heaters, to reduce use of the HVAC system.

Differences

• An electric system runs on electricity exclusively, while a fuel oil system cannot run on fuel oil alone. The air conditioning unit requires electricity, and fuel oil is only used for heating.
  Electricity gives homeowners the option to install new technology devices with the highest energy efficiencies, such as a heat pump for air conditioning and for heating water. Major differences in energy efficiency exist between the two. Electric heating efficiencies range from 97 percent and up, while the heating efficiency of fuel oil averages around 80 percent. The 80 percent efficiency is largely due to pressures by the EPA since 1990 to make fuel oil furnaces more efficient. A fuel-oil furnace built before then may have an efficiency rating of only 50 percent, meaning the other 50 percent of the energy is unusable and goes up the chimney and out into the atmosphere as smoke.