The recent increase in the prices of natural gas and oil has remarkably placed the alternative fuels to be used in heating homes in the limelight. Years ago, these alternative fuels were just tagged for rural communities. But things have changed. Now, they are catching so much attention from all over the US.
Many, many years ago, wood is the primary source of fuel in heating the homes of the rural folks of the US. But in the advent of centralized heating system, it was substituted by means of gas and oil furnaces. This had been going on for the past 50 years or more. But, recently, wood stoves have been revived. As a result, many wood stove manufacturers began to emerge including the well-known wood stove maker, Jotul. There are many wood burning stoves available in the market today. Some have sophisticated designs using advanced technology. The recent models have the ability to fuel the furnace for continuous and long hours of heating before it needs to be refueled. The good thing about wood fuel is that if you are residing in a rural area, there is abundance of wood supply. If you have wood lot, you can earn additional income by selling to your neighbors.
Other types of furnace are those that are specially made for plant-based fuels like corn pellets and wood pellets. In addition, another source of fuel came up – biodiesel. This type of fuel is made from oily plants such as soybean and vegetable oils. Then later on, B20 was developed. It’s a combination of twenty percent of biodiesel and eighty percent of heating oil. Then B100 came along. It is made purely from vegetable oils. Some furnace owners made some adjustments on their furnace just to use B100. Though biodiesel produces clean burning than regular heating oil, there is a downside. It can erode the rubber gaskets. So if you own a furnace and you are planning to go for B100, ask the service staff or the maker if it supports B100.
If you are going to use B100, and you have confirmed that your furnace is able to support it, there are two options available for you. Since B100 supply is increasing all over the country, there would be no problem in getting it. First, do a search on the net to find information on local suppliers of B11 near your area. You might want to check your local restaurants for waste oil. Some furnaces are built to be used for waste oil burning. Second, ask directly your furnace service personnel again if your furnace can burn vegetable oil. The bottom line is that you have to do your research first before using it.
Today, we are experiencing a lot of challenges not just in the US, but the rest of the world as well. To save cost on fuel, we have to look other means to heat our homes. Fortunately, thanks to science and extensive research, there are advanced technologies being implemented like biodiesel and wood gasification that are available in the market. This way, we no longer depend on fossil fuels alone.