BioHeat Basics
From insight on the heating oil industry to the advantages of a greener fuel option
Bioheat is a blend of ultra-low sulfur heating oil with biodiesel, a domestic, sustainable heating oil replacement. And, it's the fuel that has been heating your home for years. We are proud to deliver Bioheat to the Gault family of customers.
FAQs
Maintenance & Repair
Pricing & Payments
About Bioheat
Delivery Area
The Heating Oil Industry: What Homeowners Need To Know
Why Are Heating Oil Prices So High?
If you heat your home with oil, then you’ve noticed that fuel prices can change significantly from one season to the next.
As a result of the conflicts in Russia and Iran, the price of fuel can fluctuate almost daily. Why? Because heating oil is a petroleum-based fuel, its price is influenced by the global oil market. Events around the world can affect crude oil supplies, refinery production, fuel exports and ultimately the price you pay to heat your home.
Heating oil is also part of the larger market for distillate fuels, which includes diesel and other petroleum products. When demand for these fuels increases or supplies become tighter, heating oil prices can rise as well.
For homeowners in New England, changes in the global market can have a more significant impact because our region depends on a complex network of domestic production, imports, refineries, terminals and transportation to keep heating fuel moving and supplied where needed.
What does that mean for you?
It means heating oil prices aren't determined locally. Your local heating oil company purchases fuel in a market affected by supply, demand, transportation costs and events happening around the world.
While no homeowner can control the global market, you can control how efficiently you use fuel and how you manage your heating costs.
The best way to lower your heating oil costs? use Less Fuel.
Five Ways to Reduce Your Heating Oil Use Without Sacrificing Comfort
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Your boiler or furnace works hard all winter. Regular professional maintenance helps make sure it's operating safely and efficiently. That means you’ll get the most heat possible from every gallon of heating oil you purchase.
If your heating equipment is older, ask one of our Comfort Specialists whether upgrading to a newer, high-efficiency system makes sense for your home. Today's equipment can deliver improved efficiency, comfort and reliability compared with many older systems. Learn more about High Efficiency Heating equipment and our fall savings here.
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Insulation, windows, doors, and attics can affect how efficiently your home holds onto heat. And the less heat your home loses, the less fuel your heating system needs to replace it.
An energy assessment can help identify where your home is losing heat and where improvements may provide the greatest savings. Visit Energize CT or your town’s municipal website for valuable resources and rebate information for home energy assessments.
A more efficient home means:
Less heat escaping
Less fuel needed to maintain your temperature
More consistent indoor comfort
Lower heating costs
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Small temperature adjustments can add up over the course of a heating season. When you're sleeping or away from home, lowering your thermostat can reduce the amount of fuel your heating system needs.
A programmable or smart thermostat can make this easier by automatically adjusting the temperature based on your schedule. Swapping your thermostat is an easy upgrade to help keep your home more efficient.
Just remember: New England winters can bring sudden cold snaps, so it's important to maintain the appropriate temperature to protect your home and plumbing.
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Running out of heating oil is every homeowner’s nightmare!
With automatic delivery, we monitor your estimated fuel usage and schedule a delivery before your tank gets too low. Automatic delivery schedules can take factors such as weather, your home's heating history and seasonal demand into account.
The Benefits of Automatic Delivery:
More convenience. You don't have to constantly monitor your tank.
Greater peace of mind. Our team is here to help you stay ahead of your heating needs.
Better planning. Deliveries can be scheduled in advance rather than waiting until you urgently need fuel. During periods of extreme cold or high demand, planning ahead can be especially important.
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Heating your home can be one of the largest expenses many homeowners face during the winter. A fuel budget plan can make that expense easier to manage.
Instead of paying for large fuel deliveries as they occur, we take your average fuel usage from the last two years, determine your estimated annual cost, and divide it into equal monthly payments. Each month, you’ll receive a statement showing your monthly payment amount as well as your actual account balance. Learn more about our Gault Advantage Payment program here.
We also offer a variety of Price Protection programs. One option which performs better in the current market conditions is the Cap Price Plan. This plan can put a ceiling on the price you pay per gallon while allowing you to benefit if market prices fall, depending on the specific terms of the program. Learn more about what price place is right for you here.
Read More About BioHeat
Bioheat®: A Renewable Fuel
If you heat your home with oil, you don't need to replace your heating system to start using a more renewable fuel.
Bioheat® home heating oil is a blend of traditional heating oil and biodiesel, a renewable fuel made from sources such as vegetable oils, recycled cooking oils and other renewable feedstocks. It can be used in many existing oil-heating systems, allowing homeowners to incorporate renewable fuel without replacing their boiler or furnace.
Bioheat® is available in different blend levels, with a higher percentage of biodiesel meaning a greater renewable component. Common blends include B5, containing up to 5% biodiesel, and B20, containing 20% biodiesel. Gault Energy currently delivers B10, containing 10% biodiesel, as mandated by the state of Connecticut.
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Unlike conventional heating oil, biodiesel is produced from renewable biological materials. Blending it with heating oil gives homeowners a practical way to incorporate renewable fuel into their home heating.
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Bioheat® fuel can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared with petroleum-only heating fuel. The potential reduction depends on the blend percentage and the renewable feedstock used to produce the biodiesel.
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One of the biggest advantages of Bioheat® fuel is that homeowners can often continue using their existing heating system. Depending on the blend, Bioheat® can be used in conventional oil-heating equipment without replacing the boiler, furnace or fuel-delivery infrastructure. U.S. Department of Energy – Biodiesel Handling and Use Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
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Bioheat Heating Oil is a cleaner, greener alternative to traditional heating oil, made by blending ultra-low sulfur heating oil with renewable biodiesel. It produces fewer emissions and reduces your home’s environmental impact without sacrificing comfort or performance. Bioheat oil is just as efficient as regular heating oil, but it burns cleaner and helps to reduce your carbon footprint.
In fact Gault has been delivering Bioheat for almost a decade. In fact, almost every gallon of heating fuel delivered in Connecticut is Bioheat with more than 600 companies delivering it locally in the state.
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Biodiesel is a heating oil replacement that is produced from a variety of renewable resources, such as plant oils, animal fats, recycled grease, and even algae, making it one of the most sustainable fuels on the planet. As an industry, biodiesel supports approximately 64,000 jobs and $11.42 billion in economic impact.*.
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Bioheat Heating Oil offers several advantages:
Lower emissions: It reduces harmful pollutants like carbon dioxide and sulfur, helping to improve air quality.
Renewable energy source: The biodiesel used in Bioheat is produced from renewable sources such as vegetable oils and animal fats.
Energy efficiency: It burns hotter and more efficiently than traditional heating oil, delivering better heating performance and lowering your energy bills.
Sustainable choice: By switching to Bioheat, you are supporting a more sustainable energy future and reducing your overall environmental impact.
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Regular maintenance is essential to keep your Bioheat Heating Oil system running efficiently and to avoid unexpected breakdowns. We offer Heating Protection Plans that include annual tune-ups, inspections, and priority service to ensure your system operates at peak performance.
By signing up for one of our protection plans, you can also save money on potential repairs, extend the lifespan of your equipment, and minimize the risk of costly emergency repairs. We also offer similar protection plans for air conditioning systems and generators to keep your entire home running smoothly.
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While Bioheat Heating Oil is a renewable fuel, it works just like traditional heating oil in terms of energy output. Because it burns hotter and more efficiently, it can help reduce the amount of fuel needed to heat your home, potentially lowering your overall heating costs. Additionally, using Bioheat contributes to long-term savings by reducing wear and tear on your heating system and improving its efficiency.
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We make it easy to switch to Bioheat Heating Oil with convenient delivery options. You can sign up for automatic delivery or schedule on-demand deliveries based on your home’s heating needs. If you’re looking for heating oil delivery near you, simply contact us at (203) 227-5181 or visit our website to learn more about delivery services and pricing, and we'll ensure you never run out of fuel.
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Yes! Bioheat is cleaner than natural gas. In a 20 year atmospheric life cycle analysis conducted by Brookhaven National Laboratories, emissions of greenhouse gases from Bioheat blends as low as 1.8% have been proven to be lower than those from natural gas.
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The industry is committed to continually improving the product that we deliver; in fact, today’s heating oil burns 95% cleaner than it did 50 years ago and with drastically reduced sulfur content as well as alternative solutions like biodiesel blends, the product will continue to burn cleaner thus cutting greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, if the U.S. followed Connecticut’s lead and switched to a 5% Bioheat blend, the country would burn approximately 187 million gallons less of regular heating oil. If that were a 20% blend, that number quadruples!