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Still on oil? Here are the honest options
Repair it, replace it like for like, or change fuel. Which one makes sense depends on the age of the equipment, the tank, what distribution the house has, and how long you plan to stay.
The planner
Four questions, one recommendation and the reasoning behind it. It runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere. It is a starting point for a conversation, not a quote — and it deliberately gives no savings figure, because that depends on your bills, not on a web page.
Where this points
Nothing here argues for a big project yet. A system with life left in it, in a house you may not be in for long, is worth servicing properly rather than replacing.
- Have the burner serviced and the combustion set up correctly each year — it is the difference between a reliable system and a temperamental one.
- Keep a note of what the service finds. It is the evidence that tells you when the picture has changed.
- Plan the replacement conversation before the equipment forces it, not during a cold snap.
At this age and with this much time ahead of you, replacement is the realistic answer. Like-for-like oil is a legitimate choice, but it is worth pricing against a heat pump before deciding.
- Get both prices in writing, including what happens to the tank in each case.
- Ask what the electrical panel can support — it is often the deciding practicality.
- The right answer varies by house. We will tell you which way yours points and why.
You already have the expensive part: a distribution system. With ducts in reasonable order, a ducted heat pump can replace the oil furnace directly and provide cooling as well.
- The ducts get measured first — airflow and static pressure decide whether this works as it stands.
- Backup heat is configured as a safety net, not as the thing doing the daily work.
- Decommissioning the tank is part of the project, and should be in the quote rather than discovered later.
Without usable ducts, the practical route is ductless heads sized for the rooms that matter, usually staged rather than done all at once.
- Start with the rooms you actually live in; the rest can follow.
- If the house has hot water radiators, they can often stay as backup while the heads take the daily load.
- Heads are visible on the wall. Worth seeing one before committing.
The buried tank comes first. A tank in the ground is a liability whatever you decide about the heating. Decommissioning is a specialist job with its own rules in Washington, and it should be quoted and scheduled in its own right — we will tell you plainly that this is not our trade rather than bury it in a heating price.
The tank needs looking at. An old above-ground tank can outlast the equipment attached to it or fail before it — have it inspected before spending money on the furnace, because its condition changes the arithmetic.
Find out about the tank. Where it is, how old it is and whether it is single-skinned all change what should be done next. A service visit can answer it.
Four things people are surprised by
The electrical panel decides a lot
Converting from oil to a heat pump can need capacity the panel does not have. It is worth checking early, because it changes the price rather than the plan.
Ducts are the asset
A house with sound ductwork has most of the cost of a conversion already paid for. A house whose ducts are in pieces has a bigger project than the equipment price suggests.
Oil equipment can last a long time
Well-serviced oil furnaces and boilers often run for decades. Age alone is not a reason to replace something that is working.
Nobody can promise you a saving
Fuel prices move, houses differ and habits matter. We will show you the figures for your house and let you decide; we will not print a percentage.
