4 • The Southwest Portland Post
FEATURES
January 2012
Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that gas
furnaces cost less to run and burn
cleaner than their oil counterparts?
If I make the switch, how long
should I expect it to take for me to
pay back my initial investment?
And are there any greener options
I should consider?
– Veronica Austin, Boston, MA
It is true that natural gas has been
a more affordable heat source than
oil for Americans in recent years.
The federal Energy Information Ad-
ministration (EIA) reports that the
average American homeowner will
pay only about $732 to heat their
home with gas this winter season
(October 1 through March 31) ver-
sus a whopping $2,535 for oil heat.
While the price of natural gas has
remained relatively stable in the last
few years, oil prices have been high
and rising thanks in large part to
continued unrest in Middle Eastern
oil producing countries. Just two
years ago the average winter home
oil-heating bill was $1,752.
While oil prices are likely to re-
main high and volatile in the fore-
seeable future, most energy analysts
agree that pricing for natural gas,
much of which is still derived do-
mestically, is not expected to rise or
fluctuate substantially in the U.S.
any time soon.
According to EIA economist and
forecaster Neil Gamson, the U.S.
already has a glut of natural gas
and expects even more domestic
production to come online soon as
drillers are set to open up the Mar-
cellus Shale in Pennsylvania and
New York to more gas development.
Only about eight percent of U.S.
homes are on oil heat today. Most
are in the Northeastern U.S. and
were built back in the day when
oil was the cheapest way to keep
toasty through the long winters.
Many utilities have since put gas
lines into neighborhoods that didn’t
have them in the past, opening the
door for homeowners to switch out
old inefficient oil furnaces for more
efficient gas units.
The federal government’s 30
percent tax credit (capped at $500)
for upgrading to a high efficiency
furnace expires at the end of 2011
but will likely be extended in one
form or another into 2012. In the
meantime, some states, munici-
palities and utilities offer their own
incentives and low-interest loans on
upgraded, high-efficiency furnaces.
Check what’s available in your
area via a zip code or map-based
search online at the website of the
Database of State Incentives for
Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE).
Regardless of incentives, gas fur-
naces tend to cost less than their oil
Only eight percent of U.S. homes use oil heat today. Natural gas is both cheaper
and has lower carbon emissions than oil, though it is still a fossil fuel and its
green-friendliness is overstated. Most eco-advocates would rather see a shift to
truly renewable heating sources like geothermal or solar. (Photo courtesy of
iStock/ThinkStock)
counterparts anyway, but install-
ing one from scratch will incur an
extra thousand dollars or two to
run a gas line to it from the street.
If natural gas continues to be
substantially cheaper than oil, the
fuel cost savings alone would pay
back the up-front equipment and
infrastructure investment within
five years in most cases.
Environmentally speaking,
gas has lower carbon emissions
than oil, but hydraulic fracturing
(“fracking”)—the highly contro-
versial gas extraction method in-
creasingly employed today (drill-
ers inject water, sand and chemi-
cals at high pressure underground
to break through rock and access
the natural gas)—takes a heavy toll
on surrounding ecosystems and
regional water quality.
Most environmental advocates
would rather see people transition
to truly renewable heating sources
like geothermal or solar. If you’re
going to the cost and trouble of
switching out an oil furnace for
something new, a geothermal heat
pump may cost more ($7,500 and
up) than a new gas heating system
but will save big bucks and emis-
sions in the long run.
For those in reliably sunny areas,
a solar heating system will cost
even more up front but can deliver
similar long term economic and
environmental benefits.
CONTACTS: EIA, www.eia.gov;
DSIRE, www.dsireusa.org.
(Continued on Page 5)
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