Heat Your Home with Biodiesel

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Another biodiesel field trial involving about 100 homes is under way, sponsored by the DOE, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the National Oilheat Research Alliance. It is being conducted by Abbott & Mills, Inc., a fuel-oil dealer in Newburgh, New York.

Now into the third heating season, the tests, with B20, are progressing well, according to Ralph Mills, the company's general manager. "So far, we have no news to report, which is good news," he says. "We've had no service problems associated with the fuel at all. The conclusion that we've come to at this point is that B20 is a viable replacement for traditional fuel oil."

OBSTACLES

Clearly, biodiesel works. But two obstacles to heating your home with biodiesel do exist: price and availability. If you buy it from somebody else, biodiesel generally costs more than No. 2 heating oil. How much more depends on who your supplier is and the quantities you purchase. Nationally, the price of biodiesel ranges from about $1.60 to $2.50 per gallon, depending on the season and supply/demand. A purchased B5 blend, on the other hand, should be only a few cents per gallon more than regular No. 2 heating oil.

Finding a local source of biodiesel to fuel your home heating system can be problematic, too. Even in New England, where 2.2 billion gallons of heating oil are consumed every winter, locating a fuel oil dealer that offers biodiesel home deliveries can be a real challenge. Although more than a dozen major producers (and numerous small producers) of biodiesel are scattered around the country (as well as hundreds of local distributors), the vast majority of the distributors are in the Midwest, where biodiesel feedstocks are grown.

CATCHING ON

But that's beginning to change. In 2002, Frontier Energy, Inc., of South China, Maine, began to offer biodiesel to homeowners in its regular delivery area, between Augusta, Maine, and Waterville, Maine. The company offers and ac tively promotes a B5 "Basic Bioheat" blend as well as a B20 "Premium Bioheat" blend. And for those who want it, B100 also is available, although the company doesn't recommend using it as a heating fuel at that concentration.

"It's going very well so far," says Joel Glatz, vice president for Frontier Energy. "We're probably selling about the same amount for vehicular use as we are for heating use at this point, but I think the heating application is what is really going to catch on in this state. We use about 400 million gallons in Maine for heating oil and about 150 million gallons for transportation annually, so, obviously, there is a much larger market for heating in this state."

Homeowner response has been extremely positive, Glatz says. "Those who have used it, love it. The comment I usually get is, `I can't tell the difference,' which is exactly what you want to hear."

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