Winter is fast approaching and many home heating oil users will need to be prepared for the cold months ahead. Given the current economic situation, many homeowners and tenants are fearful of how they are going to afford the increased cost of heating their homes.
In an effort to aid heating oil users we have put together a few tips on how to save a few extra £££’s on your heating oil bills in 2011.
1. Buy your heating oil early
Probably the most important aspect of cutting your fuel bill this winter is buying as much of your fuel as possible at the right time. Many people ask us when exactly is the right time and this can be an extremely difficult question to answer.
The number of factors contributing to the variation of the price of heating oil across the UK is mind bogglingly complicated to follow, even for the best industry analyst. However, for the vast majority of us an understanding of basic economics can save you a substantial amount on your heating oil bill.
As we all know, as the demand for products increases the price of that product begins to rise. Equally as the demand falls the price decreases. As the weather begins to turn colder and the nights get longer, heating oil use across the UK increases as people spend longer indoors and have the heating on for longer periods.
Increased usage has an impact on the world price of oil and this will be particularly noticeable from mid-autumn until the end of winter. This period is when two thirds of the heating oil in the UK is consumed each year and as weather conditions worsen, the higher the consumption rate and, inevitably, the higher the price.
It is now early autumn and arguably the best time to stock up on your oil as prices tend to be lower right now than later in the year, particularly if supply problems develop nationally or regionally.
It is also important to remember to try and order as much fuel as you can – the larger the order the lower the pence per litre rate as the cost of delivery for the distributor is reduced, saving you more money over a 12 month period.
2. Turn your thermostat down
It is important to ensure that the thermostat in your home is not set too high and that it is accurate. According to OFTEC, the Oil Firing Technical Association and the marketing body for the oil firing industry in the UK:
Accurate system controls can save money by reducing heat wastage. Reducing room temperature by 1ºC, you can save up to 10% off your annual fuel bill.
Many oil fired boilers will also have a thermostatic control located on the appliance itself. Whilst we cannot recommend you adjust these controls yourself without professional guidance, it is definitely worthwhile asking a qualified OFTEC registered engineer to examine the appliance and adjust the thermostat setting if necessary.
Many boilers which have not been serviced or have not been set up correctly will run at temperatures of 80-90 degrees. For most boilers this is totally unnecessary and will use significantly more fuel. If you run the boiler at a lower level of 65-70 degrees and leave the heating on for slightly longer in the winter and around 60 degrees for the rest of the year, this will give the same amount of heat in your home on a more consistent basis at a reduced cost.
3. OFTEC approved Service
To save money on heating oil, the fuel efficiency of the boiler is the key! Like any appliance or engine it is important to have your boiler serviced regularly, at least every 12 months to ensure that it is delivering optimum efficiency as even a small percentage drop in performance will be costly in the winter.
4. Insulation and draft exclusion
Fundamentally if there is not adequate insulation of your home, heat will escape more quickly causing you to use more fuel particularly in the winter. Insulation is an important way of keeping heat in, or out, of buildings and is a vital part of energy saving. Heat escapes from all parts of the building, but as the figures below show, most is lost through the walls and roof.
- Walls – 35%
- Roof – 25%
- Draughts – 15%
- Floor -15%
- Windows – 10%
(Figures supplied by Energy Saving Trust)
The effectiveness of insulation and appropriate draught proofing are very important and there are many different types of insulation that can be used in buildings to help reduce your fuel consumption. There are a number of natural and recycled insulation materials that are as good, if not better, than conventional ones.
5. Avoid Direct Debit
Direct debit schemes can seem like a good way to spread the cost of oil across a 12 month period but they can also be costly and prevent you from shopping around for the best possible deal. Although paying in advance can seem like a burden at the time, it will save you money in the long run.
I thoroughly concur.
I have another tip – don’t buy a ‘dog grate’ style gas fire. For a start, you have to have a massive hole in your wall for ventilation (gas fumes are dangerous obviously), and 99.9% of the heat goes up your chimney (which in turn sucks in large amounts of freezing cold air through the massive hole that you are obliged to have in your wall). The end result is that (in my opinion) you are paying large sums of money to make your room colder in the winter.
I defiantly agree with turning down your thermostat. We used to have the temp set in the house at 22ºC. After turning it down just 2ºC to 20ºC we have seen a massive change in our bills. Thank you for the list…might try some of these to further reduce costs – much appreciated.
I think they are all great but the biggy one or me is turning your thermostat down. You will be amazed how much less heating you use
All good advise.
Get your boiler serviced buy an experienced oil engineer and check the commbustion report that he provides you. Your Co2 level should be ideally between 11 and 12%. If your Co2 is to low your combustion efficiency will suffer and your boiler wont be performing to its best ability.
Hello, I’m a complete newbie to the oil central heating world (just rented), and we seem to go through the kerosene very quickly. Please would anyone be able to tell me if I have to physically switch the boiler on and off as and when I want to heat up, or just re-adjust the remote gauge – temperature and timings to save some costs? I’m constantly seeing the flumes coming from the boiler throughout the day – so not sure exactly what’s going on and what I should do? Thanks.
Hi Christine. We would suggest checking with your landlord to see when the boiler was last serviced – it is recommended to have your boiler serviced once a year by an OFTEC certified engineer. All boilers are different but if you can turn the thermostat down and turn off any radiatiors in rooms you aren’t using this should help with the heating bills. Any other hints and tips on saving on heating bills should be listed in our blogs.
Hi Andrew, that’s great, thanks. At the moment it is down to 7 degrees and on for 4 hours a day max (as per the setting of the remote temperature control), and all of the radiators are at the lower level – but I ‘assumed’ that the landlord would have had to comply for an annual service on the boiler – but I will check with them to make sure! Thanks again, really appreciated.
Talking of getting your boiler serviced… We have a boiler that was installed brand new when our house was built just over 9 years ago.
It hasn’t been looked at since.
I it *really* worth getting it serviced?
How much would a service be and how much might it save you over the course of a year?
Jordan – Just as regular servicing maximises the performance of your car and minimises the risk of breakdown, so it can keep your oil heating system operating at peak performance, reduce fuel bills and save on costly call out fees. Servicing work requires the use of combustion efficiency testing equipment so is best carried out by a skilled OFTEC registered technician. Service is normally required every year. Accurate system controls save money by reducing heat wastage. By reducing room temperature by 1°C, you can save up to 10% off your annual fuel bill? You can check our boiler servicing options at https://www.valueoils.com/Services/
Andrew
Hi , I just had my boiler serviced and it’s still smelling too strong and uses more oil than it should . Could somebody advice where’s the problem ? Thank you
Hi all, I will be moving into a rental property on the 15th of July which I learned runs on oil. As it is a two story, three bedroom home, and it would be just me living in it, would it be wise to limit the oil use to just “knock the chill off” in the winter (maybe for an hour or so) and then use electric fireplaces in whatever room I am in? And if you think thats a good idea, do you recommend me filling the oil tank, just so its oil in there, or should I keep it a little less than half full, as per landlord, it is now?
Thanks Stephanie,
You would be best to limit the radiators in use to those rooms in the property which you will use. Certainly an electric fire is fine to supplement the OFCH system however, electric heating in the UK is a really expensive option. Also, when using the OFCH system you will also benefit from heating the water in you tank which the electric heater will not do.
Generally heating oil becomes a little cheaper to buy over summer so it is not a bad idea to stock up some around now
Hope this is helpful
I just had to comment on this particular post. Energy efficiency has become a huge part of my life over the past ten years or so…. to the point of becoming an obsession, according to my wife!
We moved into our 5 bedroom detached bungalow 12 years ago. The oil tank was empty when we moved in (December), so we had it filled. I fell through the floor when I heard how much it cost to fill (1200 litres, about £330)…. but I’d give anything to pay that again to fill it!!
The worst was yet to come, we used all the oil in under 3 months….. this is when I first declared war on heating oil consumption.
First thing was to install loft insulation. There was only 2 inches, so I installed a 100mm layer. This made a big difference straight away… but I wasn’t done!!
Over time I have laid more loft insulation and now have a minimum of 300mm.
I also fitted foil insulation across the rafters, making sure that there was air flow to the rafters.
All of the pipes in the loft had pipe insulation fitted, then all the hot water pipes had further foil insulation fitted and these pipes are laid underneath the loft insulation.
All of the windows are DG units and I have been slowly replacing any faulty units with Planitherm glass.
The original boiler was a 1980’s Trianco, 70% efficient at best. I replaced this with a non condensing boiler, with a burner efficiency of 95%. A condensing boiler would have required a pump and tricky pipework to get rid of the waste water.
The old Grundfoss pump was replaced with an energy efficient Wilo model, which monitors the load and reduces the power accordingly. It draws 31 watts on full load and 12 watts when the system is up to temperature. I also fitted a filter unit to trap any sludge and air. There was a new 4″ flue system and the chimney was backfilled with vermiculite to increase flue efficiency.
The boiler temperature was set to 70 centigrade. The system was flushed through to clear out sludge and deposits. Protector was added and all of the radiators balanced and the system thoroughly bled of any air.
A new Honeywell room thermostat was fitted, this gives tighter control of temperature and has several energy saving features. I also re-wired the boiler control circuit. This was to stop an annoying habit it had of firing to heat the water in the heat exchanger, without the room thermostat calling for heat.
Anyway, apologies for the long winded explanation of work done. The outcome of this work is having a central heating system that runs for 7 hours a day, is set to 21 degrees C and uses 900 litres of oil a year.
I would mention here that we have 2 wood burning stoves but only use the larger 7.5KW one in the lounge.
I have an extraction fan in the loft that draws off heat from the top of the brick built fire place. This warm air comes out at the north end of the bungalow. A sensor monitors the air temperature and turns on the fan at slow speed at 40C and kicks into high speed at 48C.
I’ve done all of the work myself, the boiler work was inspected by an OFTEC registered engineer. There is always a cost involved in undertaking work like this, but the more you can safely do yourself the better. This makes the payback period a damn site shorter.
I have an oil fired system which has three adjustable thermostats. One fixed in the lounge, one on the burner, and one that appears to be a strap on device fitted to the pipe work between the burner and the circulation pump. This last thermostat confuses me. Does it stop the pump from operating when the water temp falls below its setting or start the pump when the water temp’ reaches its setting? Also what is the optimum setting for this particular item?
Is it best to keep the hot water on 24hours as I have a big water tank the oil goes down quick I burn 100litres in just under 2weeks
our babys room is freezing only one single radiator in large room and hes only a newborn only way i can heat room at nite is by keeping central heating on in the room which will be costly iff i turn all the other radiators off at nite will i save oil
Hi Helena, yes, if you turn off all the radiators you will definitely save on oil. You can also turn down the thermostat at the boiler to save on oil costs.