Oilheat Boiler FAQs

Written on: September 16,

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Answers for issues involving your heating oil system.

While you can find boiler systems powered by heating oil throughout the U.S., they are most often found in our part of the country. The overwhelming majority of American heating oil consumption happens in the Northeast, and boilers are less common outside the Northeast.

If you’ve recently moved into a home with an oilheat boiler, you may have some questions about how your heating system works. At OSI Comfort Specialists, we are happy to answer them. Here are some frequently asked questions we hear about boiler heating systems.

How can you tell if you have a boiler?

Boilers don’t use ductwork to heat your home like furnaces do. Instead, they heat a tank of water and distribute either hot water or steam through your plumbing to radiators, baseboards or radiant floor systems. So, if your main heating equipment has water pipes going in and out of it instead of ductwork, you likely have a boiler.

How do heating oil boilers work?

Heating oil enters the burner in your boiler’s combustion chamber through a fuel line from your tank. The oil must be vaporized and heated over 140°F to combust. Your heat exchanger then heats the tank of cool water, and the steam or hot water circulates throughout your home. When it cools and condenses, the water returns to the boiler. The cycle continues until your home is at the desired temperature.

Is a boiler a good way to heat your home?

There are some considerable benefits to using a boiler for home heating. Many people find the slightly humid heat from a boiler to be more comfortable than the drier heat a furnace generates. Boilers tend to be quieter than furnaces, and since there is no circulated air, you won’t have as much dust, debris, mold or other airborne pollutants cycling into your rooms.

There are some cons to boiler systems, though. They typically take a bit longer to heat up a room than furnaces. Boiler installations can also be more complex, but don’t worry — the technicians at OSI Comfort Specialists are highly trained and experienced.

Why is your oil-fired boiler not heating your house?

If your boiler system is getting your house warmer, there are a few troubleshooting tips you can try:

1. Confirm that the thermostat is set to “heat” and its temperature is at least 5 degrees higher than your current room temperature.
2. Check the power switches to your boiler and make sure they’re set to “on.”
3. Make sure no circuit breakers have tripped, and no fuses are blown.
4. Ensure that your heating oil tank is at least 1/8 full. If not, you’ll need to arrange a heating oil delivery.
5. Look at the radiators in your home. Make sure the knobs are turned all the way to the open position.

If none of these steps works, please reach out to us, and our HVAC team will help resolve any heating problem you’re facing.

Trust OSI Comfort Specialists for all your boiler needs

Whatever issues or concerns you’re facing with your old-fired boiler, OSI Comfort Specialists can help. Households in Queens, Nassau County and western Suffolk County trust us with dependable heating oil delivery and equipment services. We install, service and repair a range of oil-fired boilers.

Oil Heat Boiler FAQs

The Basics

As someone living in the Greater Boston area, you know how harsh winters can get. You hopefully also realize how hard your boiler works to keep you and your family comfortably warm. And you’ve probably noticed your need for heating oil has increased. Thankfully, you’ve got a dependable heating oil provider. You can always count on Scott Williams for heating oil service, heating oil delivery, and great heating oil pricing. We also provide expert boiler installation, boiler repair, and boiler maintenance in Boston’s South Shore.

You depend on heating oil and on your boiler to keep your household warm, but how much do you know about heating oil and boilers? Keep reading to find out.

What Is Heating Oil?

Heating oil is made from crude oil that has gone through a refining process called distillation. Through the process of distillation, hydrocarbons are removed from the crude oil and become a substance that can be further purified and blended to make the heating oil that works in your home’s furnace or boiler.

Are you interested in learning more about Hot Oil Boiler? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

However, Scott Williams doesn’t just deliver conventional heating oil. As part of our commitment to fuel efficiency and energy conservation, we deliver B10 Bioheat® fuel, a blend of ultra-low-sulfur heating oil and 10% biofuel that’s made from renewable sources. This is just one of the ways we strive to provide our customers with the best value possible.

Furnace vs Boiler

Some people use the words furnace and boiler interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing. It is true that both appliances heat your home, but each goes about it in a slightly different way.

What is the difference? A boiler heats water while a furnace heats air. A boiler’s circulator pumps the hot water through a system of pipes, distributing the water to radiators, baseboards, or air handlers throughout the home. Some older boilers are designed to create steam. The pipes are connected to steam radiators throughout the home.

The easiest way to tell if a home has a boiler or a furnace is to check for radiators and vents. A home that has radiators (or baseboards) also has a boiler. A home with vents has a furnace.

How Do Boilers Work?

Boilers use hot water or steam to heat your home. For this reason, a boiler is called a hydronic heating system. A boiler can either be a hot water boiler or a steam boiler.

If you have a hot water boiler, your boiler burns fuel to heat water. That hot water is then pumped through pipes to baseboards, radiators, in-floor radiant tubing, or other sealed hydronic devices throughout your South Shore home. Then the water returns to the unit and the cycle repeats.

If you have a steam boiler, the process is very similar to that of a hot water boiler. However, in the case of a steam boiler, the water is converted to steam before being circulated throughout your home.

Boilers run quietly and generate comfortable warmth. They don’t rely on fans or blowers, so they don’t contribute to the blowing of dust, dirt, or allergens in the air.

Is My Boiler Efficient?

How do you determine the efficiency of your boiler? You look for its Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating. The higher the AFUE, the more energy-efficient the unit is.

Here are the ranges:

• 56 – 70 AFUE: low efficiency
• 80 – 85 AFUE: medium efficiency
• 90 – 98.5 AFUE: high-efficiency

According to the US Department of Energy, older furnaces and boilers have efficiencies in the 56% to 70% range. However, modern heating systems can have an AFUE as high as 98.5%.

A Provider You Can Trust

For all of our customers living in Boston’s South Shore, Scott Williams is a heating oil provider you can trust. We’re committed to delivering for our customers and selling our heating oil at a fair price. Whether you live in Suffolk, Norfolk, or Plymouth County, you can trust us to deliver for you.

The company is the world’s best Steam Generator supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.