Keep your Renton home warm and cozy with Bioheat
Genesee Energy provides home heating products and services to the greater Seattle Area.
At Genesee Energy, we know many of our Renton customers are looking for climate-friendly home heating solutions. We get a lot of questions about Bioheat and biodiesel fuel. Here are some answers to your most common questions:
What is Bioheat?
Bioheat is a renewable energy source that burns cleaner and greener than regular heating oil or natural gas. Bioheat provides the same warm and cozy heat for your Renton home, while also helping to reduce your family’s carbon footprint.
What is biodiesel?
Biodiesel is an essential ingredient in Bioheat. It’s an alternative fuel that can be made from natural resources, such as soybean oil, palm oil, animal fat, and algae. Biodiesel is safe to use, biodegradable, and nontoxic. When blended with standard heating oil, it is the cleanest-burning fuel option for heating your home.
How is Bioheat made?
The biodiesel in Genesee Bioheat is made from recycled cooking grease. We partner with a local company, Sequential Biodiesel, which collects used cooking oil from Seattle-area restaurants, and converts it into biofuel. Genesee then blends that biodiesel with ultra-low-sulfur heating oil to make Bioheat.
Is Bioheat better than regular fuel oil?
Yes. Our lowest Bioheat blend, B25 (which is 25% biodiesel, 75% petroleum), produces lower greenhouse gas emissions per million BTUs of fuel than regular heating oil or natural gas. We also offer B50 (50% biodiesel) and B99 (99% biodiesel) blends. The higher the blend, the lower your carbon output.
Do I need to change out my furnace or tank to switch to Bioheat?
No. All our Bioheat blends will work with your existing furnace, and will easily blend with the fuel you have in your tank now. No need to buy a new furnace, drain your tank, or do any upgrades. And since biodiesel acts as a natural cleansing agent for your filters, it can even extend your furnace’s life. (We recommend you start with our B25 blend, and work up to B99, so your filters can gradually “get used to biodiesel.”)
Is Bioheat as cost-effective as regular heating oil?
Right now, Bioheat costs a few cents more per gallon than standard heating oil. But since Bioheat is made locally, it won’t see as big of a price fluctuation as heating fuel made from imported oil. At times, the cost of Bioheat could be lower than the standard. In the long run, using Bioheat in your home reduces the potential for furnace problems, thus saving you money on costly repairs, or on having to buy a new furnace.
For more information on Bioheat supply and delivery in Renton, visit our Bioheat services page. For more information on the origin of sustainable fuel sources, visit Sequential Pacific Biodiesel. For more information on the support and expansion of Green Heating, visit National Biodiesel Board. For the latest national news on Bioheat, visit National Oilheat Research Alliance.