Pursuant to Public Law 113-79 (the Agricultural Act of 2014), Congress required NORA to prepare a report on the utilization rate and analysis of the use of biofuels in Oilheating equipment.

The report titled, “Developing a Renewable Biofuel Option for the Home Heating Sector“ was released on May 13, 2015 and is most comprehensive report of its kind.

Get the complete report here.

Some of the key components of the report:

• One of the biggest transitions in heating oil has been the move to ultra-low sulfur heating oil (ULSHO). This fuel lowers maintenance, improves efficiency and reduces pollution from heating systems.
• Biodiesel blends at 20% (B-20) with ultra-low sulfur heating oil (ULSHO) are lower in Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) than natural gas when evaluated over 100 years, while blends of 2% (B-2) or more are lower in GHG than natural gas when evaluated over twenty years.
• Biodiesel blended at 5 percent would require approximately 300 million gallons of biodiesel produced per year. Assuming the biodiesel industry average of 50 million gallons per year per plant. Bioheat® would be responsible for 6 plants built and continuously operated. Thus, nearly 270 full time jobs can be directly attributed to Bioheat®.
• Studies on the operation of Bioheat® on the basic burner operation with biodiesel blends at B-20 (at least) is the same as with unblended heating oil.
• NORA (the Alliance) and the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) have communicated the value of using biodiesel and selling Bioheat®. The Alliance features information about Bioheat® on its consumer website, OilheatAmerica.com. The NBB has a webpage, Bioheatonline.com that describes the advantages of Bioheat®. Further, the Alliance and its affiliated state associations have worked to provide education on this product to consumers and retail oil companies through the use of mass media and informational brochures.
• State and local governments have utilized a number of strategies to encourage the use of biofuels in their communities. It is often necessary to encourage its use with incentives or mandates to develop the infrastructure and overall market acceptance for a new fuel.

[ezcol_1half]The National Oilheat Research issued its first Project Opportunity Notice (PON) since its reauthorization on October 31, 2014 with a deadline for submissions of December 12, 2014. NORA’s President, John Huber, categorized the PON a success as the number and quality of proposals met or exceeded expectations.

The PON (No. 2014-001) sought proposals to support the development, demonstration and commercialization of Oilheat technologies and made available two million dollars in funding.

At the deadline close, twelve proposals had been received totaling more than 4.5 million dollars for research on a cost shared basis with NORA. Under the proposals, NORA would contribute significant  funding for the projects.

“It is exciting that this many companies, including manufacturers, consultants and laboratories, are so interested in adding to the already high-quality products and services offered to the American consumer by the Oilheating industry,” said Huber. [/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end] “The quality of the concerns making the proposals is quite high and the topics are right on target with NORA’s long term plans.”

Although none of the proposals have gone through the entire process and been formally accepted, some of the topics proposed include: improving condensing appliances, low firing and modulating burners, delivery efficiency improvements and biodiesel/Bioheat® improvements.

All of the proposals are now under review by NORA’s technical experts. The next step is for NORA’s technical experts to make recommendations to the NORA technical committee for final approval.

NORA will continue to release PONs in the months and years ahead. They will be distributed to the industry through press releases and  posted here on the NORAweb.org site.[/ezcol_1half_end]

[ezcol_1half]Many states in the Northeast have instituted requirements to move heating oil to a low-sulfur blend and some have included biodiesel blends in their mandates.

Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont all have phase-in periods that require a dramatic reduction in the amount of sulfur present in heating oil.

Other than Maryland and Pennsylvania, both of which have mandated a reduction to 500 PPM sulfur, each of the above states will require no more than 15 PPM. Each state has set its own time table for the transition, the latest date is July 2018.

The cities of New York and Philadelphia have set their own standards with more aggressive transitions.

The District of Columbia, not yet having low-sulfur requirement, has proposed 15 PPM sulfur by July 1, 2018.

Reducing the amount of sulfur in heating oil results in a reduction of emissions and[/ezcol_1half][ezcol_1half_end]fewer deposits on heat exchangers, providing a cleaner burn and better heating system efficiency.

Additionally, some of the states and New York City have either instituted a biodiesel blend requirement or have proposals in place. The inclusion of biodeisel (a renewable fuel made from agricultural products) in blends up to 5% makes what it known as Bioheat®. Blending amounts above 5% is also becoming widespread and the oilheating industry is currently working to have the higher blends included in ASTM’s specification for heatiing oil or in a new specification for Bioheat®.

The introduction of renewable biodiesel in heating oil offers American consumers a fuel with a renewable component that is actually lowers the carbon impact of heating with oil while bolstering U.S. farming and production.

Click here to view detailed chart of the states positions.

Thank you to Jim Collura, New England Fuel Institute, for assembling this information.[/ezcol_1half_end]

The complete library of NORA service technician training videos are available on the National Oilheat Research Alliance channel on YouTube.

Seventeen videos, each one covering a specific topic of interest to oilheat service technicians and HVAC contractors, can be viewed anywhere/anytime on any internet connected device through the popular video sharing website YouTube.

Video topics include

[ezcol_1half]Action Response to a No Heat Call
Tune Up
Fuel Delivery 
Heating Oil & Our Environment
Primary Controls Part 1: Thermo-Mechanical
Primary Controls Part 2: Cad Cell Relays
Primary Controls: Microprocessor and Riello 
Steel Above-Ground Tank Installations
Polyethylene/Steel Above-Ground Tank Installation[/ezcol_1half]

[ezcol_1half_end]Tank Inspection Procedures
Residential Underground Storage Static Tank Process
Above-Ground Fiberglass-Reinforced Plastic Tanks
Combustion Efficiency Testing
FSA Calculator
Customer Service
Outdoor Reset
Carbon Monoxide and How to Respond to an Alarm[/ezcol_1half_end]

NORA silver and gold certified technicians can earn CUEs by viewing the videos  and taking the online exam. Learn more here. The video library can also be found at https://noraweb.org/videos/

[ezcol_1half]Research conducted by the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) blending up to 20% biodiesel (D6751), with both standard and low sulfur heating oil, showed no issues attributable to the use of biodiesel in heating equipment. This research includes both lab testing and field results.

Field experience with Bioheat® fuel (blended heating oil and biodiesel) has been overwhelmingly positive. A recent service organization survey conducted by NORA and Brookhaven National Laboratory observed that some 35,000 buildings are currently using Bioheat® containing more than 5% biodiesel without incident.

It is important to note that biodiesel is a specific product that meets American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D6751 specifications and has well-established product characteristics designed to ensure that it can be safely and efficiently blended into heating oil and diesel. Biodiesel meets detailed fuel property specifications within ASTM D6751. ASTM consists of experts from petroleum companies, equipment manufacturers and research organizations. In-spec biodiesel has undergone rigorous material compatibility, combustion, lubricity, field testing, and stability studies as part of the long ASTM approval process. Continue reading →

NORA R&D funding contributes to the new ultra-high efficiency appliance.

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Thermo Products has developed a 95% AFUE oil condensing furnace that is Energy Star qualified and can match the AFUE ratings of gas furnaces.

Thermo Products Research and Development Department, headed by Chief Engineer, Everett James, have designed and developed this new ultra-high efficient oil furnace with funding assistance from the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA). “With efficiencies equal to many gas furnaces, we are excited to offer this energy efficient product to our customers”, according to Linda Keene, Marketing Coordinator of Thermo Products.

The OHC95 has a firing rate of 75,000 Btuh with up to 4 tons of A/C capacity.  This furnace uses industry standard components such as the Riello BF3 Burner. Standard ECM blower motor offers additional energy savings.

When designing this new oil furnace, Thermo Products asked themselves “How can we make this unit easier to service than our competitors?”.  Well, they have designed easy access to the primary and secondary heat exchangers by mounting them on a roller system to be pulled out. This makes servicing the primary and secondary heat exchangers quick and easy for routine maintenance. They have also designed the secondary heat exchanger with larger tubes allowing less restricted airflow minimizing buildup.

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According to Rob Paquette, National Sales Manager for Thermo Products, They have had units in beta testing for some time now and even with the cold weather we have been experiencing lately, we have had no issues at all with this furnace.  One beta test site has seen fuel savings of approximately 25%.The OHC95 is offered in direct vent only using 3” PVC pipe.  The cabinet is 24W x 37.5D x 48 H with heavy 22 gauge cabinet steel with rounded door corners.  The powder-coated cabinet is black with silver front panels, which differs from the classic Thermo Pride furnace colors. Venting can be either left, up or right with an air supply opening of standard 20” x 20”.

Each unit comes with a ventor assembly. This is similar to an inducer fan on a gas furnace but it is in-line with the PVC pipe. This ventor is a sealed system venting flue gases when the furnace is running while at the same time bringing in combustion air.

The OHC95 Condensing Oil Furnace is currently available for sale. Thermo Products will initially offer the OHC95 to contractors who have gone through their online training class. They are offering the technical training to make sure the system is installed to their specifications for maximum performance and efficiency.

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From PoliticoPro, By Amy R. Sisk,  The calendar may say August, but several Northeastern states are already making big decisions about how residents will heat their homes this winter.

As of July 1, heating oil suppliers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont must comply with new state rules to reduce the amount of sulfur in their product. Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, New York state and Pennsylvania are implementing similar rules.

For millions of homeowners and businesses, the change means their heating systems will emit less sulfur dioxide, which contributes to acid rain and haze. They will also burn through less fuel, and their furnaces will be able to go longer between maintenance visits, according to industry experts, who say any increase in costs should be negligible.

But the switch could prove to be a boon to the heating oil industry, which has lost market share as cleaner fuels like natural gas gain popularity. Continue reading →