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I think the drawback as far as my family is concerned with is: explosions with natural gas.
Do these really happen? What are the maintenance costs involved yearly with both . Thanks
Answer
There is no such thing as 100% safe. Yes, you could minimize the risk by buying a good brand of furnance, getting a professional installation done, follow building codes, get an inspection done by a third party and follow recommended maint procedures. You could relate this to buying a car.
Here are some facts based on my own experience of home ownership in the New England Area.
Oil is stored in a tank inside or outside your house. Natural gas is supplied by your gas company and is distributed by pipes. Natural gas is not stored in a tank. Based on industry standards & build regulations, Any professionally installed system,
(1) will have an emergency shutdown away from the furnance.
(2) Will have cut-off valves to oil/gas supply to the furnace.
Oil supply companies sell a maintenance contract for about $300 a year. This covers a major cleanup & maint of your furnance & oil supply lines & your chimney once a year. This also covers replacement of major components of the furnance. It's pretty comprehensive.
Your gas company will be able to provide you a quote for maint. I don't know the pricing on that one. Remember, the gas furnace does not require as much maint as the oil does.
Oil furnaces requires professional cleaning once a year. The tank also requires maintenance additives to be put in and filters changed at least once a year. An oil spill requires a environmental cleanup to prevent ground from getting contaminated. The chimney also requires a cleanup and the remains of the burnt oil(black sediment) have to be removed from the chimney outlet once a year.
Oil heat is used in two forms, (1) to provide forced air (2) to heat water - steam through baseboards is used to supply heat through the house.
Downside of forced air, if things go wrong in the oil furnace, instead of air, you will get black soot through the vents that will eventually sit on walls, carpet, beds, clothes, It will be like someone spray painted your house black from the inside. I have seen that happen to a friend of mine.
Gas furnance maintenance is quite low as compared to oil furnances.
Here are some proactive and preventive actions you can take.
(1) Besides having a carbon monoxide detector, the biggest thing you need to do in either cases is make sure you have a good chimney/vents for letting out Carbon Monoxide.
(2) Get electronic monitoring of your oil or gas furnance from your home alarm company.
(3) Install electronic fire monitoring connected to your home alarm system.
(4) Spend money on maint.
Couple of other things to consider,
Oil burns at 2000 BTU (British Thermal Units) and natural gas at 1000 BTUs. These are approximate figures. So technically you would need twice the amount of natural gas and nearly twice the amount of time required to get to the required temperature level. That is one reason why natural gas is cheaper than oil. However, both follow similar pricing trends when they go up or come down seasonally.
I replaced my oil furnace two summers ago. It gives me 25% savings in oil consumption. I use a combination of oil and propane. I have a propane fired fireplace made by JOTUL that acts as a heater. It is fully vented through the chimney so I do not have to worry about carbon monoxide. I use this in my living room for spot heating to reduce the consumption of oil. Propane burns at 1350 BTU and I have buried a tank in my backyard. I also converted my cooking range from electric to propane. Five years ago the cost of heating oil was $1.10. I received a quote for 2007/08 contract at $2.75. My anual consumption for a single family home with oil & propane is about $3500.00 that includes maint & delivery. The systems I have in place are the most modern money can buy. It will be a few years before I will be able to recover my investment.
I have stopped short of installing an instant fired water heater because I'm yet to find a good professional installer. I have looked at solar based alternatives, but the cost far outways the benefits it can provide today.
My point is, apart from safety look at how much it will cost you in the long run to put in either one of the system and calculate your ROI (return on investment).
All the best.
There is no such thing as 100% safe. Yes, you could minimize the risk by buying a good brand of furnance, getting a professional installation done, follow building codes, get an inspection done by a third party and follow recommended maint procedures. You could relate this to buying a car.
Here are some facts based on my own experience of home ownership in the New England Area.
Oil is stored in a tank inside or outside your house. Natural gas is supplied by your gas company and is distributed by pipes. Natural gas is not stored in a tank. Based on industry standards & build regulations, Any professionally installed system,
(1) will have an emergency shutdown away from the furnance.
(2) Will have cut-off valves to oil/gas supply to the furnace.
Oil supply companies sell a maintenance contract for about $300 a year. This covers a major cleanup & maint of your furnance & oil supply lines & your chimney once a year. This also covers replacement of major components of the furnance. It's pretty comprehensive.
Your gas company will be able to provide you a quote for maint. I don't know the pricing on that one. Remember, the gas furnace does not require as much maint as the oil does.
Oil furnaces requires professional cleaning once a year. The tank also requires maintenance additives to be put in and filters changed at least once a year. An oil spill requires a environmental cleanup to prevent ground from getting contaminated. The chimney also requires a cleanup and the remains of the burnt oil(black sediment) have to be removed from the chimney outlet once a year.
Oil heat is used in two forms, (1) to provide forced air (2) to heat water - steam through baseboards is used to supply heat through the house.
Downside of forced air, if things go wrong in the oil furnace, instead of air, you will get black soot through the vents that will eventually sit on walls, carpet, beds, clothes, It will be like someone spray painted your house black from the inside. I have seen that happen to a friend of mine.
Gas furnance maintenance is quite low as compared to oil furnances.
Here are some proactive and preventive actions you can take.
(1) Besides having a carbon monoxide detector, the biggest thing you need to do in either cases is make sure you have a good chimney/vents for letting out Carbon Monoxide.
(2) Get electronic monitoring of your oil or gas furnance from your home alarm company.
(3) Install electronic fire monitoring connected to your home alarm system.
(4) Spend money on maint.
Couple of other things to consider,
Oil burns at 2000 BTU (British Thermal Units) and natural gas at 1000 BTUs. These are approximate figures. So technically you would need twice the amount of natural gas and nearly twice the amount of time required to get to the required temperature level. That is one reason why natural gas is cheaper than oil. However, both follow similar pricing trends when they go up or come down seasonally.
I replaced my oil furnace two summers ago. It gives me 25% savings in oil consumption. I use a combination of oil and propane. I have a propane fired fireplace made by JOTUL that acts as a heater. It is fully vented through the chimney so I do not have to worry about carbon monoxide. I use this in my living room for spot heating to reduce the consumption of oil. Propane burns at 1350 BTU and I have buried a tank in my backyard. I also converted my cooking range from electric to propane. Five years ago the cost of heating oil was $1.10. I received a quote for 2007/08 contract at $2.75. My anual consumption for a single family home with oil & propane is about $3500.00 that includes maint & delivery. The systems I have in place are the most modern money can buy. It will be a few years before I will be able to recover my investment.
I have stopped short of installing an instant fired water heater because I'm yet to find a good professional installer. I have looked at solar based alternatives, but the cost far outways the benefits it can provide today.
My point is, apart from safety look at how much it will cost you in the long run to put in either one of the system and calculate your ROI (return on investment).
All the best.
Is my landlord required to legally provide a carbon monoxide detector?
Christophe
I have recently moved into a one bedroom flat. I have noticed that we do have a hard wired fire alarm system and a battery operated smoke alarm too, however we don't have a carbon monoxide detector. I thought, tell me if I'm wrong, that it was also a legal requirement for rented properties to be fitted with a carbon monoxide detector.
I have tried looking on the internet for information, some places say it is required and some say it isn't required.
Please help...
I live in the United Kingdom.
Answer
In UK the landlord in not legally required to supply a Carbon Monoxide Detector, the landlord is only "advised" to do so.
But for £20-£30 you can get a good Carbon Monoxide Detector that complies with British Standard EN 50291 and carries a British or European approval mark.
What the landlord is required to do by law are yearly inspections of gas pipes and any gas appliances owned by him/herself (you are responsible for the yearly inspections of appliances that belong to you.) The landlord is required to keep record of the inspections.
In case of doubt contact:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
http://www.hse.gov.uk
In UK the landlord in not legally required to supply a Carbon Monoxide Detector, the landlord is only "advised" to do so.
But for £20-£30 you can get a good Carbon Monoxide Detector that complies with British Standard EN 50291 and carries a British or European approval mark.
What the landlord is required to do by law are yearly inspections of gas pipes and any gas appliances owned by him/herself (you are responsible for the yearly inspections of appliances that belong to you.) The landlord is required to keep record of the inspections.
In case of doubt contact:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
http://www.hse.gov.uk
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