Oil Heating Tips To Improve Energy Efficiency

Heating Your Home With Oil

If you do not have access to mains gas then you have a choice to make in terms of heating your home:

• Electric Heating
• Stored Gas (LPG – Liquid Propane Gas)
• Wood fired and Solid Fuel Systems
• Oil Fired Central Heating

If oil central heating is the choice that have made then it makes sense to be looking at topping up your oil supply now – prices fluctuate throughout the year and summer prices are usually cheaper than winter ones, as demand in the winter moths tends to drive up the prices.

Making your oil fired central heating system as fuels efficient as possible is similar to the measures you would take in saving energy on any other system – see our blog on energy saving tips.

You will also find more information on our Project about Oil Central Heating where we answer the question ‘Is Oil Fired Central Heating energy efficient?’

Here are some ways we suggest you improve energy efficiency for your oil fired system:

Use room Thermostats, zone control and thermostatic radiator valves (TVR’s) to give you ultimate control over your system, especially in the living room.

The thermostats and boiler should be wired in an interlock to stop any short cycling when either hot water or room heating are not needed.

The hot water tank should have a cylinder thermostat

Hot water and heating should be programmed separately on a 7 day timer

Oil Boilers as Efficient as Gas Boilers

A condensing Oil Fired Boiler can have an energy rating of 98% this is just as energy efficient as a gas equivalent.

Oil Burns as Clean as Gas

Kerosene or 28sec oil burns very cleanly leaving minimal deposits and the C02 emissions for oil fired boiler are no greater than gas (using equivalent energy rated boilers).

Oil Heating System Maintenance

• Oil fired boilers should only be fitted by a competent tradesman to ensure it is working safely and efficiently. You can find out more from OFTEC (the Oil Firing Technical Association) who are committed to ensuring safe practices for consumers using oil fired heating.
• Have your boiler serviced regularly – regular servicing Using combustion efficiency testing equipment maximises the performance of your boiler and minimises the risk of breakdown, usually annual servicing is sufficient but your service engineer can advise you. (Servicing is best carried out by a skilled OFTEC registered technician).
• Service your tank regularly – this ensures there are no leaks or damage to the tank that could cause loss of oil, and this should form part of the regular service.
• Make sure your system controls are up to date – heating system controls need to be regularly checked and this should form part of your regular service
• When it comes time to replace your oil boiler – chose a condensing model. OFTEC has calculated that this could save you around £200 a year depending on the size of your home.

Oil Tanks:

Modern oil tanks are made of plastic; they should be sited outside the house and will have an automatic cut-off valve for safety.

Click on the picture below to be taken to our Oil Central Heating project to find out more about fitting and maintaining oil boiler and tanks.