Your Energy Choices Matter More Than Ever
Electricity Is Not the Greenest Choice Available
There’s a lot of talk about energy these days. Right now, news about the cost of fuel—whether it’s to run your car or heat your home—is drowning out a lot of other conversations. But cutting greenhouse gasses remains important. And proponents of a drive to make homes and businesses in New Jersey to convert their homes to electric-powered heating systems to achieve this are hoping to hide behind the skyrocketing cost of fuel.
But if you follow the headlines, you know that electric bills are going up just as much as other sources of energy. Electric prices went up more than 10% in January compared to last year.
What’s more, electricity isn’t as clean as it’s made out to be. One of the selling points of electricity is that it has “zero” emissions. Did you know that the generation of electricity is the second-largest creator of greenhouse gases in the United States? That’s because most of our electricity supply is generated by coal-fired power plants. Only the transportation sector creates more greenhouse gases.
In fact, more than 63% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas. Hence the soaring electric rates.
Electricity Always Costs More
Even without geopolitics driving energy costs up, electricity costs you more. Electricity is far less efficient at heating, so it will cost you more to keep your family comfortable, especially on the coldest nights.
Heating oil, however, generates a far higher number of BTUs of heat energy per gallon, so it will warm your home reliably—and more evenly. Modern, efficient heating-oil systems in well-insulated homes can help homeowners achieve the same amount of warmth while using much less fuel!
So What Are Some Cleaner, Greener Options?
Heating oil traditionally gets a bad connotation. But thanks to advancements in recent years, the heating oil we deliver is a much cleaner product than in the past. One of the biggest changes has been the development of ultra-low sulfur heating oil that’s blended with biofuels. The result is a cleaner-burning heating fuel that emits up to 80% less sulfur dioxide as well as 20% less carbon dioxide than traditional heating oils. Fewer greenhouse gases mean cleaner air and a more sustainable future for everyone.
The Green Line
We’re all in favor of combatting climate change. New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050 is laudable. But we question the method and the cost to New Jersey homeowners and businesses. The plan will require whole-house conversions to electric heat that will cost most families $20,000 or more. Making the switch to all-electric will put serious strain on New Jersey’s already strained electric grid. Increased demand during extreme cold will lead to higher prices and more outages.
Don’t confuse the short-term high cost of energy with the long-term cost of converting to electricity. Bolkema is committed to delivering of cleaner-burning, efficient heating oil, with plenty of ways to help you save and manage fuel costs.
Become a Bolkema customer today and experience the difference we can make for your northern New Jersey or lower New York state home or business.