According to the US Energy Information Administration, oil heat has been 30% to 50% more expensive than gas since 2002. This means that if you have been using oil in your heating, you have been paying more for your comfort than you should.

If you have been thinking about converting your oil heating system to gas but have been on the fence, you must be asking: Is it worth converting from oil to gas, right?

To help you out, here are the perks you get when you undertake oil-to-gas conversions:

You have a cleaner, healthier home

Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel currently available. As concerns about indoor air quality have grown, it’s no wonder most homeowners are switching from oil to gas.

Cleaner air leads to better health for you and your family. By removing the oil heat, you also tend to reduce the soot and black particles that can accumulate from a poorly functioning oil furnace.

You save money on heating your home.

You will pay substantially less to heat your home with natural gas than with oil. While prices fluctuate over time, fuel oil is still about twice as expensive as natural gas. Even with the cost of switching your home to natural gas, you will break even in a few years. And this is what you want, right?

Furthermore, natural gas furnaces and boilers are less expensive and more energy efficient than oil-fired equipment. That saves you much more money in the long run.

Most oil-burning heaters have an efficiency rating of around 70%; however, others can reach up to 87%. Natural gas heating systems can achieve maximum efficiency of up to 98%.

It goes without saying that high-efficiency furnaces will help you get more heat from your gas while saving you money.

You get to reduce the carbon footprint.

Converting to natural gas also helps you protect the environment. Oil-burning appliances emit byproducts that hurt the environment and contribute to global warming. Natural gas is a fossil fuel, although it has significantly fewer negative consequences than oil.

Burning natural gas does not emit sulfur dioxide. While it does emit carbon, its emissions are less than 60% of those from heating oil.

On the other hand, burning oil emits both sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide, both of which are greenhouse gases. Heating oils, particularly the heavier grades 4 and 6, have such a significant impact on air quality that legislation has been proposed to phase them out.

What do you need to convert your system?

For you to convert your system from oil to gas, you need to do several things, including:

Decide on the type of gas source that you need

For many homeowners, changing from oil to natural gas is simple. Many utility companies offer natural gas service, piped straight into your home. This is by far the most preferred and popular choice.

If switching to natural gas is impractical, you can choose to convert from oil to propane.

As a homeowner, you should switch to natural gas if possible, rather than propane. Here’s why propane isn’t a good choice:

• It usually takes more effort in the long run.
• It produces less heat but more harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide.
• Shortages can cause dramatic price increases, raising the cost of heating your house.

Confirm that you have gas in your home.

Natural gas is typically piped into your home, much like other utilities.

Gas lines are classified into two types: primary and service lines. A central line transports natural gas throughout a block or neighborhood. In contrast, a service line links your home to the main line.

If you already have a natural gas service line in your home, simply call the utility company to get it turned on.

If not, contact the relevant company to connect your residence to the main gas line.

You could find yourself in one of two scenarios:

• There’s a main gas line, but no service connection to your house.
• There’s no main or service line.

Your street probably already has a main gas line. This is good news because trenching and installing a service line is faster and less expensive than building a central line.

If you live in a community without a primary gas connection, the conversion process may take longer.

If you are in this situation, you should band together with the other neighbors. Utility providers frequently split costs among the homes that will receive gas service. This will most likely reduce the cost of transitioning to natural gas.

Best practices when converting from oil to gas

When you are undertaking the conversion, you need to do several things:

Get the relevant permits and approvals

To operate with gas and install piping and equipment in your home, you must obtain licenses from your town or municipality.

Fortunately, you do not need to do everything by yourself. Your HVAC installation firm should handle this for you.

Install high-quality pipes.

If you’ve never used natural gas before, you might need to install gas lines. These lines are usually short and connect your gas meter straight to the natural gas-powered equipment. This equipment usually includes a heater, a laundry dryer, a water heater, and a stove.

Natural gas pipelines are often built with either rigid iron or flexible steel pipes. However, installing this piping is not a DIY project. Because of the dangers posed by an unsafe gas line, you should use high-quality piping units and ensure you hire a trained technician to install any gas pipes you require.

With proper planning, you can extend your gas pipes in the future. This means that you can complete the conversion process in phases. If your oil equipment is relatively recent and cannot be converted, you can wait until it needs to be replaced before converting it.

If you intend to convert your oil-burning appliances to natural gas gradually, make sure your HVAC companies Huntington are aware of it. They can either lengthen gas pipelines during the original installation or create gas pipelines that can be simply expanded when you’re ready to convert other equipment.