For many years, heating oil has been a very popular choice for the 4.4 million off-grid households throughout the UK.
With approximately 1.5 million of those households relying on heating oil and increasing pressure on us all to reduce energy consumption and limit climate change, this energy source can often come under the spotlight. Here we’re going to look at some of the common myths associated with this popular off-grid fuel.
Heating oil is dangerous
If used and stored correctly and treated with care and respect, heating oil is one of the safest fuels available for off-grid households.
Heating oil is not flammable, and is not combustible when stored as a liquid. It does not ignite at room temperature, so is a very safe fuel source - in fact, if you drop a lit match into a pool of heating oil, it will go out in much the same way as if you dropped it into a pool of water. Heating oil has to be heated to over 50 degrees Celsius and vaporised before it will ignite. However, it is still important to keep it away from open flames or other sources of ignition.
Heating oil leaks and fumes can give off strong, pungent odours that can cause headaches, sore throats, nausea and dizziness, and irritation to your eyes - the good news is that the fumes are non-toxic, and pose little immediate risk to you and your family. However, direct contact with the skin or eyes should be avoided and if symptoms are severe, consult a doctor.
if you do experience a strong smell of heating oil it could be that you have a leak in your heating oil tank or pipework and this would need investigating immediately. You should seek professional help from a heating oil professional.
Whilst heating oil is an extremely safe way to heat your home, your boiler does need regular servicing to keep it running safely and to optimise performance and efficiency. We would always recommend you have your boiler serviced by an OFTEC-registered heating oil engineer, who will check for carbon monoxide poisoning as part of your annual boiler service. Carbon monoxide is an extremely poisonous colourless and odourless gas that can be produced through the incomplete combustion of oil, i.e. when there’s not enough oxygen to burn. You should always have a carbon monoxide alarm installed which should be located near to your boiler at head height.
Heating oil is bad for the environment
We’re all becoming more aware of our carbon footprint and the need to reduce our carbon emissions, and whilst there is no escaping the fact that heating oil is a fossil fuel and releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the environment, advances in technology have led to more efficient modern boilers with improved combustion processes which can achieve efficiency ratings of 85-95% or higher, and use less fuel and produce fewer emissions for the same amount of heat.
In addition, over the past 20 years, the sulphur content of heating oil has been reduced from over 1% to as low as 0.5%
Upgrading to Premium Heating Oil, standard kerosene with an additive to make it cleaner burning and more efficient, is one way to reduce your carbon footprint. As well as increasing your boiler’s efficiency by up to 15% and saving you money, this environmentally friendly fuel which produces less carbon emissions when burned, will also reduce the likelihood of operating problems and boiler breakdowns as it prevents rust building up inside your boiler, and reduces the build-up of sludge in your heating oil tank which can lead to boiler lockout.
The good news is that renewable fuels are coming soon. Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is a greener choice for homes and businesses that already use traditional heating oil - check out our recent blog to learn why HVO is so important. Made from fossil-free, certified sustainable waste materials, it reduces carbon emissions by almost 90% when compared to traditional kerosene heating oil. Plus HVO runs in existing systems with just a simple, cost-effective conversion.
Heating oil is inefficient
Heating oil burns at over 70 degrees Celsius and has a high energy content, meaning it can generate a lot of heat from a relatively small amount of fuel. This is hotter than electricity or natural gas and means that your home will heat up faster while using less fuel, minimising the environmental impact.
Of course, how efficiently your fuel is burned very much depends on the age and condition of your boiler. Modern, well-maintained boilers, are highly efficient, whereas older heating oil systems or those that are poorly maintained will be much less efficient. So if you’re using heating oil, ensuring your system is modern and well-maintained is key to maximising efficiency.
Heating oil is expensive compared to other heat sources
Whilst there is no disputing the fact that the price of heating oil is volatile and prices fluctuate, and it can be difficult to know when’s the best time to buy your fuel, heating oil is a cost-effective way to heat your home.
Independent fuel analysts, The Sutherland Tables, publishes a comparison chart which shows the annual average cost of a range of heating options for a typical pre-1980 three-bedroomed, semi-detached home with a heat requirement of approximately 16,000 kWh. OFTEC published a graph from June 2023 which shows that oil-condensing heating systems were the least expensive to run, with an average annual cost below £1,500 – which compares with electricity at over £3,000 and gas at over £2,000. These figures are a guidance only as there are many factors which affect how much heat is used in your home, such as the number of occupants, how much insulation has been installed, and your individual heating requirements.
You can run out of heating oil without warning
Whilst this is not strictly a myth as whilst rare, domestic heating oil can be stolen or your tank can split or leak, when you rely on manually checking your tank level, when this does happen it is often down to user error. It can be easy to forget to do so or to miscalculate how much you might have used, especially in a cold snap when your heating oil boiler has to work harder and your fuel will burn faster. Or if you have a gauge, it might become faulty and not accurately reflect the amount of oil in your tank.
You may want to consider preventative measures such as an automatic refilling service which will provide you with the peace of mind that you’ll never run out of heating oil, as well as taking away the hassle of having to remember to check your tank level. With the Northern Energy Premium Package*, you get just that, along with other valuable benefits such as a 2 pence per litre discount on every delivery and an upgrade to our Premium Heating Oil.
We hope you've found this information useful but if you're considering switching from heating oil to another more environmentally friendly fuel source, why not consider LPG? Whilst heat pumps have been greatly championed by the out-going Conservative Government, they are not suitable for all and can require energy efficiency home improvements which can add up into thousands of pounds - plus they require electricity to run them!
If you think LPG might be the ideal choice for you, give us a call on 01423 772 789 or learn more about switching to LPG from oil.
*Terms and Conditions apply