Should Long Island Homeowners Switch From Oil to Natural Gas?

From the Alcus family · Alcus Fuel Oil & Sons, Amityville · Updated October 31, 2026

Thinking about switching your Long Island home from heating oil to natural gas? It can be the right move for some houses and not for others. Here are the steps, the costs we could find public sources for, what happens to your oil tank, and what you'd give up and gain, so you can decide with real numbers.

We deliver heating oil, and we also install gas boilers, so we'd rather you make the call that fits your house. Every cost on this page links to its source. Where we couldn't find a reliable number, we left it out.

Short answer

• Worth a close look if a gas main already runs on your street, your oil boiler is old and due for replacement anyway, and your oil tank is easy to remove.
• Harder to justify if the nearest main is far away, your oil boiler or furnace is fairly new, or you have a buried tank that could be costly to remove.
• Either way, compare the cost of heat, not the cost of a gallon. Our oil vs. gas vs. heat pump cost guide shows the math with government data. This season, natural gas costs less per unit of heat than oil at New York average prices. Whether that pays back the conversion depends on your house.

Step 1: Is gas available on your street?

This is a big factor in the cost. National Grid, the gas utility on Long Island, says in its Long Island gas conversion guide:

• Call National Grid (the guide lists 1-877-MyNGrid, 877-696-4743) to check how far your home is from a gas main.
• If you're converting your heat to gas, National Grid provides up to 100 feet of gas main and up to 100 feet of service line (street to meter) at no charge. If you need more, they send a free quote for the extra.
• Timing listed in the guide: 12–14 weeks for a service line when gas is on your road, 14–16 weeks when a main is also needed, and 4–6 more weeks on a state or county road.
• The application asks whether there's a buried oil tank on the property. The service agreement also says the applicant is responsible for the cost of any environmental contamination National Grid runs into during the installation. If you have, or might have, a buried tank, sort that out early.

Plan ahead: a conversion started in the fall may not have gas flowing until well into winter, so you'll still need oil in the meantime. We're happy to keep you filled until the switch (order online, no contract).

Step 2: The heating equipment

• New gas boiler or furnace. A conversion usually means replacing the oil boiler or furnace with gas equipment. ENERGY STAR gas boilers are rated 90% AFUE or higher (ENERGY STAR).
• Venting and chimney. Gas equipment vents differently than oil. Depending on the equipment, you may need a chimney liner or a different venting setup. National Grid's guide lists this as a question to ask your installer.
• Hot water. If your oil boiler also makes your hot water, plan a replacement for that too.
• Inside gas piping, permits and inspection. Your plumber runs gas piping from the meter, and the town inspects the work before National Grid sets the meter.

Step 3: Your oil tank: removal or abandonment

Once you stop using oil, the tank can't just sit there. New York's building code (19 NYCRR 1220.3) says, for removing or abandoning a home heating oil tank:

• The tank and lines must be emptied, cleaned and purged of vapor, and the oil disposed of properly.
• The fill pipe must be removed or filled with concrete. Other lines must be disconnected and capped.
• A buried tank abandoned in place must be completely filled with an approved inert material. The owner keeps a record of the tank size, location and date.
• The work must be inspected by the building official or an approved inspector.
• Before the new heat starts, the homeowner must tell their heating oil supplier in writing to stop deliveries. If you're on automatic delivery with us, please do this so a truck doesn't show up.

Nassau County: home heating oil tank closures (tanks up to 1,100 gallons) are scheduled with the Nassau County Department of Health, at least 7 days ahead: $70 per tank abandoned, $90 per tank removed (Nassau County). Villages may require their own permit too.

Suffolk County: the county's storage-tank rules exempt most residential heating oil tanks under 1,100 gallons from most of their requirements (Suffolk County Health Services). Check with your town or village building department about the inspection the state code requires before work starts.

Cost: Angi's 2026 cost guide puts oil tank removal at $593 to $2,153 for most homeowners, about $400–$1,000 for an aboveground tank and $1,500–$3,000 for an underground tank, with soil testing extra if contamination is suspected (Angi). These are national figures, not Long Island quotes.

What it costs, all in

Sources checked October 31, 2026. Ranges are other organizations' published figures, not Alcus quotes. Your cost depends on your house, the distance to the gas main, your tank and your equipment. Rebates change, so ask National Grid what's available before you sign.

Will it pay back? Do the math with your own numbers

1. Add up last year's oil gallons from your delivery receipts.
2. Figure what that heat would cost on gas using your expected gas rate. Our cost comparison shows the formula.
3. The yearly difference is your estimated savings. Divide your all-in conversion quote by it: that's the rough number of years to pay back.
4. Then compare that with simply replacing your old oil boiler, which you might need to do anyway.

Fuel prices move. Oil changes with the wholesale market, and gas and electric rates change through the utility rate process, so a payback estimate is a guess, not a promise.

Staying with oil: what's changed

• Bioheat. New York law requires heating oil to contain biodiesel: at least 10% (B10) since July 1, 2025, rising to 20% (B20) in 2030 (N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law §19-0327). It burns in standard oil burners and tanks. See our Bioheat and ultra-low sulfur heating oil guide.
• Modern oil boilers. ENERGY STAR oil boilers are rated 87% AFUE or higher (ENERGY STAR). If your boiler is old, replacing it with a new oil boiler avoids the gas line, tank and venting work. Ask us for a free boiler replacement estimate.
• An old tank isn't a reason to switch by itself. If your tank is rusty or weeping, a new one may cost less than a full conversion. See oil tank replacement.
• A yearly tune-up keeps an oil burner running clean and efficiently. See oil burner service and tune-ups and when to schedule one.

The control you have with no-contract oil

With gas, you're connected to one utility and billed monthly at the rates it charges. With heating oil from a no-contract (COD) supplier, you decide more of it yourself:

• You choose when to buy and how much, and you can check the posted price before you order. Our live heating oil prices page shows today's price by ZIP and order size, and our price history shows the prices we've posted.
• You choose who you buy from. No contract means you can compare and switch suppliers any time.
• You choose how to pay. Pay the driver cash for the cash price, or pay by card online or over the phone. No checks. See COD heating oil and cash vs. card.
• You can still smooth the bills with a budget plan, or let us handle timing with automatic delivery.

The trade-off: with oil you watch your tank (or let us), and you store fuel at home. Some homeowners prefer that control. Others prefer a utility bill. Both are reasonable.

Talk it through

Staying with oil? Order heating oil online or check today's price. Thinking about gas? Call National Grid first to check availability, then ask us for a free gas boiler estimate or an oil boiler estimate so you can compare. Call 631-264-8800.

Questions