Re: xkcd: Neighbor-Source Heat Pump

On Mon, 09 Jun 2025 14:57:55 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
wrote:

Thomas Koenig <tkoenig@netcologne.de> writes:

Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> schrieb:
>

Oil for heating is the worst thing ever.  Expensive and dirty.

>
What qualities of oil are used in the US for heating?
>
Here in Germany, it is a light fuel oil, pretty much identical to
Diesel (they add dye to it to make sure it isn't used in vehicles
because the two are taxed differentiy).  It is also low on sulphur,
if that is what you were referring to.  Plus, emission limits are
pretty strict and checked anually.

>
https://store.astm.org/d0396-21.html

Thanks to a tax passed some years back by our City Council, we are
using "Bioheat<R>" fuel, as this avoids the tax for us and the bother
of collecting/paying it for the company.

https://www.petro.com/oil-propane/bioheat-fuel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel

may be helpful.

The tax was basically intended to "encourage" the use of diesel mixed
with a mininum percentage (20%?) of renewable stuff.

All I can say is that I have noticed no sudden jump in the price of
the oil I buy (it does track the cost of gasoline in terms of moving
up and down) or in the performance of the furnace.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"