All posts by John Huber

04Jun/17

NORA Releases Biodiesel Use Survey

NORA, Research, technology

The National Oilheat Research Alliance has recently released the results of a survey on the usage and potentials benefits and issues associated with the blending of traditional heating oil with renewable biodiesel for home heat use.

Currently, 5% biodiesel blends (B-5) are being used seamlessly across the oilheat market. Some heating oil fuel marketers are delivering B-20 to all of their customers and a few are delivering much higher blends. This blending into the fuel mix in this market leads to concerns about the impact on reliability and service.
 
21Mar/17

Q & A with Dr. Butcher about NORA Research & Education Center

NORA, Research, technology, Uncategorized

In 2016, the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA), in collaboration with the New York Oil Heating Association (NYOHA) and Oil Heat Comfort Corp., opened a research and training facility the—NORA Research & Education Center, in Plainview, NY, under the direction of Dr. Thomas Butcher.

Indoor Comfort Marketing’s publisher, Don Farrell, spoke to Dr. Butcher about the lab, its funding, its staffing, its projects and its goals.

Don Farrell: What is the official name of the research center and what is its mission?

Tom Butcher: The official name is NORA Research & Education Center. The mission of the research part is to support the development of advanced technologies that lead to improved efficiency, increased integration of renewable fuels and enhanced reliability of liquid fuels heating systems. Liquid fuels are traditional petroleum-based fuels and also biofuels such as biodiesel and other wood-derived liquid fuels.

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21Feb/17

DOE Releases New Biodiesel Handling and Use Guide

Uncategorized

The  Department of Energy has released its latest edition of its Biodiesel Handling and Use Guide. This guide is for those who blend, distribute and use biodiesel and biodiesel blends. It provides information on the proper and safe use of biodiesel blends in heating systems and engines.  It is intended to help fleets, individual users, blenders, distributors, and those involved handling biodiesel understand the procedures for handling and using biodiesel fuels.

 

20Jan/17

NORA adds two new online Video Courses

Education, NORA

NORA has added two new online video courses at its education website, Learning.NORAweb.org.

The courses come to NORA through two of the leading manufacturers of heating System components; Taco, Cranston, RI and Honeywell, Golden Valley, MN.

  • The Taco course is titled: How and Why to Use Outdoor Reset
  • The Honeywell course is titled: Universal Oil Burner Primary Control R7284U

The courses each carry 2 continuing education credits (CEUs) that can be used for NORA Oilheat Technician Certification Program re-certification.

01Dec/16

NORA Chairman elect addressed industry conference.

Uncategorized

The incoming Chairman of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA), Tom Santa, Santa Energy, Bridgeport, CT, spoke to the Metropolitan Energy Conference about “Heating Oil-The Renewable Industry” at the group’s luncheon on November 1 in Bridgeport, CT.

Santa began by stating the oilheating industry, responsible for keeping millions of Americans warm and safe each year, is entering a renaissance with a fuel that is cleaner, less expensive and more reliable than ever.  Continue reading →

28Oct/16

Oilheat Technicians Manual now available at no cost.

Education, NORA
Oilheat technicians and students can now access NORA’s entire Oilheat Technicians Manual without payment as part of NORA’s education and training mandate. 
     The manual, originally released in 2008, is the textbook for the NORA Silver Certification program and contains more than 360 pages of detailed descriptions, procedures and trouble shooting on all topics relating to oilheating. The seventeen chapters are clearly illustrated with hundreds of color illustrations, photos, diagrams and charts. 
     The Oilheat Technicians Manual can be downloaded, chapter-by-chapter in .pdf format or opened and browsed in a visually appealing, searchable “page flip” format here. 
     NORA has decided to make the manual available at no cost to students and technicians as part of its mission to, as NORA’s president John Huber says, “get as much good information into as many hands as possible; as easily as possible.” 
     The manual has already sold more than 12,000 copies in its printed form and is the required textbook for many technical schools’ oilheating curriculum. 
     The manual can also be purchased in its printed and bound version at NORAstore.org.
27Sep/16

Fuel Savings Analysis 2.0 Now Available

NORA, Research, technology

The National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) has released the new version of its Fuel Savings Analysis Calculator, which uses test data on oil-fired boilers to demonstrate the value of equipment upgrades with consumer-friendly metrics.

The FSA calculator can help Oilheat salespeople overcome the limitations of the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) metric. AFUE is a measure of how efficient an appliance is in converting the energy in its fuel to heat over the course of a typical year, and the Federal Trade Commission requires all new furnaces or boilers to display their AFUE for the benefit of consumers.

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