The Competitive Edge: Homestead Engineering Inc.

Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity?

Great underutilization of local biofuel, waste vegetable oil from local restaurants. As the commodity yellow grease, no prior retail use has been developed. Wholesale prices are very low, averaging only 10% of the retail of equivalent conventional heating fuel. USA currently exports 300,000,000 gallons per year of yellow grease since there is not enough domestic market. Patented new technology uses commodity yellow grease without pre-processing or pre-heating requirements. Replaces #2 heating oil nearly volume for volume. Reduces emissions and is rated non-toxic and fire safe. Generates EPA green credits at highest allowable level. Appliance may be fitted to majority of conventional oil burning appliances. In production at this time, available for purchase.

Q: Tell us about your organization. What do you do?

Homestead Engineering Inc., d.b.a. Homestead Inc. Has been in the biofuel business for over 20 years. Consultant for multiple biodiesel factories. Manufacturing biofuel burner for over 10 years.

Q: What stage of development are you?  Choose one:

Commercial stage – have mature products or services on the market.

Q: What do your technologies, products or services do and accomplish – how does it (they) work, who is it (they) aimed for?

Yellow Heat biofuel burner operates on locally available yellow grease biofuel. World’s only central heating option that is proven carbon neutral. Zero net carbon footprint. Most existing customers are enjoying fuel savings up to 90% of earlier heating oil costs. We engineer each heating system to the user’s needs. We do installations within our service territory. We maintain our systems. We can make arrangements for biofuel delivery in most municipalities, nationwide. Although we do not currently mark up these deliveries, Homestead Inc. Gains title to the volume delivered and generates valuable green credits (RINs) with each gallon burned. All customers are monitored through an app for their convenience and for tabulation.

Q: Competitively, what gives your technology, product or service set an edge in cost or performance, sustainability, or any other aspect, that makes it stand out from the crowd, In short, what makes it transformative?

There are no other small combustion systems on the market designed to operate on yellow grease. There are no other retail uses for yellow grease. Yellow Heat burners generate the green credits at the highest rate allowed by law. Retail cost of our Yellow Heat system is substantially below other manufacturer’s equipment prices. We can do this because we use 80% recycled materials. Yellow Heat operates at industry standard efficiency, so there is no disadvantage to operating on conventional heating oil fuel. Yellow Heat also can operate on all other waste oils in the residential market, such as waste motor oil.

Q: What are the 3 top milestones you have accomplished in the past 3 years?

1. Generated EPA approval for the production of green credits, RINs.
2. Completed a manufacturing system to access and assemble all components.
3. Introduced the technology successfully to multiple users through internet sales.

Q: What are the 3 top milestones you will accomplish in the next 3 years?

1. Larger scale demonstration projects in the greenhouse industry.
2. Presentations in trade shows for the oil heating and the rendering company industries.
3. Growth to qualify for threshold values under the EPA RFS2 program.

Q. Where can I learn more about Homestead Engineering?

Click here to visit Homestead Engineering’s website.