If you’re trying to save on energy costs, one of the hottest things on the market is a waste oil furnace. A waste oil furnace can really help you save energy costs and helps the environment, too, because it does just what it says it does: It burns waste oil to heat your home or place of business so that you don’t have to use other energy sources for heat, such as natural gas, wood, or other nonrenewable sources.

Waste oil does have to be free of contaminants, and it does have to meet certain guidelines as established by the Environmental Protection Agency to be burned. That said, though, it’s relatively easy to filter waste oil, and there is a lot of information out there that you can use to help you do that.

Should you have a waste oil furnace?

That depends; most often, these types of furnaces are used by businesses that generate a lot of used motor oil, like mechanics shops and so on. It’s also technically conceivable that you could install a waste oil furnace in your home if you had access to 500 gallons or so of waste oil a year readily available to you. In most cases, this is very cost-effective, since even people who sell waste oil do so very cheaply as it is a “waste” product and not “new” oil. In addition, you can also buy oil and burn it in the furnace, but of course the most cost effective thing you can do is to buy waste oil for burning.

Build it yourself?

There are conversion kits and instructions on how to make your own waste oil furnace if you so choose, but be careful with this, since many of these kits or conversions will not meet EPA guidelines and may even be dangerous. There are many companies out there who specialize in manufacturing wastrel furnaces, such that you could have them install a waste oil furnace for you and be assured of quality and safety.

What should you expect to save if you decide to go with a waste oil furnace as your heating source?

Estimates vary, but some have said that it will take about two years to recoup the cost of the furnace purchase and installation (assuming you get a good quality one), after which you are basically getting “free” heat beyond the nominal cost you may pay for used oil. If you have a business that produces its own used oil, of course, that fuel source is completely free. And, again, it gives you the added benefit of not having to dispose of your used motor oil and instead being able to use it as a fuel source.

Are there those who should not use a waste oil furnace?

More conventional heating sources are probably better for you if you do not have a ready supply of waste oil available for burning. You can burn number two oil if you can’t get used oil, but this may be more expensive in the end than other more conventional fuel sources.