Green Oil Pros

How green is an electric oil radiator heater in the home?

May 31st, 2009 by Discuss this article »

Life in the slow lane asked:


Is it any better for the environment than natural gas, propane or electric heat?

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Posted in Green Oil

Tags: Electric Heat

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2 Responses Add your own

1. Nickel Johann says:

   June 1, 2009 at 7:52 pm

   Its energy is electric, meaning it comes from an electric power plant.

   To produce electricity, coal is used in most countries. The energy conversion from coal to electricity has an efficiency of roughly under 40%.
   This means that to produce one unit of electrical energy, you need almost 3 units of coal.

   Coal might be slightly better for the environment as if it is burned directly, it has an efficiency of 80% (when used for heating). Nevertheless the combustion of coal is polluting (NOx, SOx, etc.)

   Natural gas is by far the best of all 3 since it can be turned into heat with an efficiency of 90%, is low in sulfur, has low NOx emissions. Moreover, it emitts roughly 50% less CO2 than coal.
2. Bob says:

   June 3, 2009 at 9:38 pm

   It’s complicated. If you use it to get heat exactly where you need it, and turn the heating system for the rest of the house down, it’s very green.

   Otherwise, unless it’s powered by a nuclear, solar , or wind powered power plant, not very.

   The most efficient way to get heat from fossil fuels is to burn them on site.