Should I Buy A Home That Uses Heating Oil?

As a homeowner, you want to ensure you can have a comfortable living environment. You also want to keep costs manageable since home ownership certainly doesn’t come cheap. One of the considerations when it comes to your future house is your utilities. And you might wonder if you should buy a home that uses heating oil.

Heating oil is a safe and effective way to heat your home. But overall, heating oil adds up to much more expensive energy bills. You also need to consider things like oil delivery, furnace maintenance, and having space for a storage tank. If your future home uses heating oil, it shouldn’t be a dealbreaker, but it’s something worth factoring into your final decision.

Before you opt for a home with heating oil, make sure you understand this fuel source a bit better. Familiarize yourself with the pros and cons and the extra considerations that using heating oil entails.

If you’re house hunting and the home of your dreams has oil heat, it’s certainly not a dealbreaker. Heating oil is safe, effective, and efficient. However, oil can get more expensive than natural gas, depending on supply and demand.

It’s also one of the most expensive ways to heat your home when you look at the big picture. So it’s certainly something worth considering when you’re making your final decision on your future home.

Basically, you likely don’t necessarily want to seek out a house with oil heat. But you don’t have to forget about it if it has it either. Instead, familiarize yourself with the pros and cons of buying a home that uses heating oil.

Perhaps the biggest drawback of a house that uses heating oil is the cost. Overall, it’s more expensive to heat a home with oil than most other heating sources. A large part of this is due to the volatility of oil prices, which can fluctuate dramatically.

The price of heating oil hinges greatly on oil prices and global supply and demand. In the most recent Winter Fuels Outlook from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the forecast estimated higher prices.

Here is the breakdown from the recent outlook for winter 2021-2022 spending:

Another downside of using heating oil is you need to worry more about maintenance. Of course, it’s always important to maintain your furnace, but oil furnaces require extra care.

Residue from burning oil can leave behind a residue in your chimney. It’s essential to clean the chimney frequently and replace the oil filters to avoid issues.

You can take care of this easily enough by having a maintenance or service contract with your oil delivery company. But you need to factor in these additional costs on top of the already higher heating costs.

Switching from an oil furnace to natural gas could be worth it in the long run if you have the budget for it. You’ll likely increase your home’s value and overall appeal to a larger pool of buyers. You also won’t have to worry about oil delivery, checking the gauge on your fuel tank, or need room for a storage tank.

Your heating costs will go down dramatically, and you’ll end up with a more efficient furnace. However, the upfront costs to make the switch can be anywhere from $4,700 to over $12,000, depending on your situation. It isn’t just about switching your furnace but installing the necessary gas lines, pipe s, etc.

If you’re ready to buy a house, the heating source can be a determining factor in your final decision. Buying a home that uses heating oil will end up costing you more in energy bills than natural gas or electricity. However, if your dream home uses heating oil, it shouldn’t be an instant dealbreaker for you.

Heating oil is an effective, relatively efficient, and safe way to heat your house. But, it requires regular maintenance, oil delivery, and leaving enough room for a storage tank. Not many homes in the US use heating oil (roughly 4% compared to 50% that use natural gas).

So, the odds of coming across one in your house hunt aren’t common. But if you do, carefully consider the pros and cons and weigh them against how much you love the house. You can always convert your heating oil system to a natural gas one down the road.