Are you used to heating your home with natural gas or electric? Have you moved to a house where the heating oil is used instead of either of those things? If you've never used heating oil before, the process can seem confusing. Fortunately, using heating oil isn't really any more difficult or complicated than heating your home by any other means. In fact, you may find the entire process to be simpler and easier to deal with, in some aspects. Before winter arrives, here are the answers to some questions you may have about your new heating system:

Is heating oil dangerous? 

Heating oil does burn at a higher temperature than other types of fuels but this doesn't make it more dangerous. This is because, unlike natural gas or automobile gasoline, heating oil does not easily evaporate and ignite. This makes heating oil extremely safe to store and to use in your home. Carbon monoxide can be a danger if your furnace's vents become blocked, but the same is true of any other non-electric heating method. If you keep your vents free of snow and purchase a carbon monoxide alarm for your home just in case, you and your family will be safe when using your heating oil furnace.

Does there have to be a delivery every month? 

You only need to pay for a home heating oil delivery when you actually need it. Depending on where you live and your home's setup, you might not need any heating oil at all from late spring to mid-autumn. For colder months when you do have to turn your furnace on, the more efficient your home's insulation is, the less heating oil you'll actually need to use. You won't know for certain until you actually spend an entire winter in the house, but chances are good that you won't need to refill your tank every single month.

What happens if the oil completely runs out? 

If you live in a place where heavy snowstorms and blizzards are commonplace, it's a good idea to schedule a monthly home heating oil delivery even if you haven't actually run out yet. This is to ensure that you'll always have heating oil available even when the roads are blocked. If this isn't possible or if heavy snows are preventing your regular oil delivery, don't worry. Diesel fuel, such as you might have on hand to run an emergency generator, is nearly identical to heating oil. The main difference you should be aware of is that diesel has road tax added while heating oil does not. This means that you can put the more expensive diesel in your heating oil system when necessary, but it's illegal to put heating oil in a diesel-powered car.