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The news on the climate change front is not exactly great—with an outlook that demonstrates a concerningly bleak outlook. A recent report released by the United Nations warns that climate change is accelerating, with greenhouse gases being a primary cause of that.
The only way to avoid potentially disastrous warming this century, the report says, is to start right away with reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. The question many ask is how exactly do I do that?
For some, the solution—they assume—comes in the form of making all homes utilize electricity for heating, cooking, water heating, and more. This push for electrification is a simplistic, short-sighted effort.
In fact, data will point to propane and heating oil providing better solutions than “electrification” when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Many state and local governments are pushing for electrification, incentivizing the measure with expensive and discriminatory policies or burdening homeowners, landlords and businesses with troublesome regulations.
These efforts however don’t consider the frequent failures of the electric infrastructure. When that fails, it would lead to massive disruptions of lives and businesses, frustration, discomfort, and potential danger if power outages leave homes unheated—especially amid a cold, Southern Maine winter.
Propane
Propane is a non-toxic, non-poisonous fuel that burns cleaner than other fuels and produces environmentally friendly emissions. Additionally, propane will not create an environmental hazard if spilled.
While electricity has “zero” emissions, that doesn’t mean it’s 100% efficient or 100% “green”, either.
In fact, according to The U.S. National Library of Medicine, about 62.7% of electricity generated is from burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), and 30.1% is attributed to coal.
Coal mining in itself accounts for roughly 9% of total U.S. methane emissions and nearly 1% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to EIA. None of that should be considered “environmentally-friendly.”
Propane, additionally, can make sure your home has lights, power and other essentials running smoothly during even some of the worst that Mother Nature throws our way, fueling whole-house backup generators the moment an outage occurs. Whether you just want to keep the lights on and the refrigerator running, or need power for electronics or home medical equipment, a propane whole-house generator provides that when the electricity is out.
Heating Oil
Today’s heating oil is dramatically different than it was as recently as just a decade or two ago. The ultra low sulfur heating oil PitStop Fuels delivers has 99% less sulfur than traditional heating oil, which results in a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Electric-powered heaters are far more expensive than heating with oil or propane. Electric heat takes much longer to reach a comfortable temperature and can struggle to maintain it—driving up your energy usage.
Electric heat pumps become less able to keep your home warm the lower the temperature goes, as they rely on outdoor air. In fact, many homes with electric heat pumps also need to have oil- or gas-fired furnaces or boilers as a backup to keep the home safely warm.
There are a variety of factors to consider when choosing the energy source for your home heating and appliances, from cost, efficiency, dependability and more. And with new industry standards created to help consumers and the environment, choosing the cheapest option is not always recommended. Rest assured however that choosing propane powered appliances will not only create efficiency, will keep your house running and will also help the environment. Contact us today to learn more about how our heating oil and propane help you reduce your carbon footprint.