A Game-Changing Breakthrough: B100 Residential Burner Revolutionizes Home Heating

During a renewable fuels conference in January, Kevin Beckett, the CEO and president of oil burner manufacturer R.W. Beckett Corp., announced an exciting development. After years of research and development, their much-anticipated B100 residential burner was finally entering production.

This new burner, about the size of a home office printer, is a game-changer for the heating oil industry's efforts to reduce carbon emissions. It's fully compatible with 100-percent biofuel and has the potential to help homeowners transition away from fossil fuels. What's remarkable is that this transition can happen at an average cost of $700 per household, without relying on state rebates.

Kevin Beckett emphasized, "We believe we have the fastest solution for reducing carbon emissions in the Northeast, all while providing safe, dependable, and affordable heating."

Competitor Carlin Combustion Technologies is set to unveil its B100 model next year. This means that two out of the three leading burner manufacturers will offer a technology that can deliver greater carbon reductions faster and more affordably than electric heat pumps, even with rebates factored in.

Consider this: for the cost of a single $10,000 heat pump rebate, which often doesn't cover half the expense of a full house conversion, the state could retrofit 14 oil-heated homes. These retrofits would allow homeowners to switch to Biodiesel, or B100 Bioheat® fuel, without adding any extra strain on the power grid. Installation is quick and easy, taking only a matter of hours.

Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning, renewable fuel derived from waste sources like used cooking oil and surplus agricultural byproducts. Over the last decade, heating oil has been blended with biodiesel to create Bioheat® fuel. While most customers currently receive blends ranging from 5 to 20 percent biodiesel (B5 to B20), some forward-thinking fuel retailers are testing higher blends of up to 40 or 50 percent biodiesel. This makes biodiesel less carbon-intensive and more renewable than both natural gas and electricity. In some cases, converting to electric heat pumps could actually increase a household's carbon footprint.

Last winter, more than four million Northeastern households, including one in four in Massachusetts, relied on liquid heating fuel as their primary heat source. This represented 82 percent of total consumption nationwide. Now, with B100 residential burners available, policymakers in Massachusetts and nearby states have a unique opportunity. They can leverage an already mature industry, composed of local, tax-paying businesses, to reduce costs, manage risks, and speed up the decarbonization process in our region.

According to a recent study by the economic consulting firm Bates White, incorporating higher Bioheat® blends in the Northeast could lead to net emissions reductions of about seven million metric tons of CO2 per year. This is equivalent to the emissions reduction achieved by adding 1.6 million heat pumps, effectively tripling the current share of residential heat pumps in the region.

The study concludes, "Decarbonization of fuels used for heating homes and businesses can offer a cost-effective means to meet interim GHG reduction goals." This approach helps ease the challenges of rapid electrification and the necessary expansion of renewable generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.

With billions of dollars already invested in liquid fuels infrastructure, a well-established distribution network, and a skilled workforce, renewable biofuels should be seen as a crucial part of the energy transition. A Clean Heat Standard that encourages their adoption alongside electrification is more likely to make "clean heat" an achievable standard for all.