New House Oil Advice

[wcavanagh]

Hi All,
Not been here in a while. I have since moved to Scotland, and managed to get a new house. Now as it is very remote it has oil central heating. Having always lived on the grid so to speak, I always had gas heating. So this is new to me. The house was built in 2005 and is well insulated, etc.

Each rad seems to have thermostatic valves on, so this is good. I was wondering what is the best way to run oil heating for best return for money. I plan to get a multi fuel fire installed at some point. Would I best best to have a central stat that only puts the heating on at defined times in the day? As I work out all day, no one will be home during the day. Now it is a rather large house.

Any advice on getting the best from an oil system will be great?

Do you get a gauge on the oil tank? etc?

 

[Bosswhite]

Unfortunately Oil Central Heating is very expensive, like you we have no alternative other than Propane Gas,
First, enquire with the council if there is a bulk buying system in your area, its where you put in an order with an organisation they the get a number of people together on the order and negotiate the best price for the oil, the savings can be very good.

We have a central stat plus thermo valves, it depends on your circumstances as to whether you leave the heating on "tick over" during the day or not, cant advise you on that one.
The tank should have sight valve for contents, or if you want to go "Teccy" get a radio controlled version, its a unit you have inside your house, press a button and it tells you the contents of your tank.
Plastic tanks these days have to have a double skin, "Bund" for protection.

 

[wcavanagh]

Thank you, yeah understand it is expensive, guess it is the price we pay for the rural living, so no issues with that. I'm just keen to use it wisely. I have an Eco Bee smart thermostat that I will properly install and see how it goes. Being a tech gadget guy I will have a look at what remote monitors are available.

The tank is bunded and plastic for sure, not sure of the size yet. I know the house is well insulated, so hopefully that will help.

Maybe I will have a chat with the neighbours when I move in to see about the buying situation in the area.

Thanks

 

[Tipper]

Just run the system like you would if it was gas!

Being a recent system it will have good controls anyway. The most important thing is to get your oil when it is the cheapest, i.e. before the weather gets cold, so around Sept/Oct. After then the price rises dramatically!

Oh and make sure you never run out especially over Christmas and New Year...the price is always huge then.

 

[wcavanagh]

Thank you for the information.

We shall see how it goes.

Been reading some reviews of remote monitors, some seem to be good others seem really bad according to the reviews

 

[leakydave]

Oil heating is slightly more expensive than mains gas if you buy it at the right time, as Tipper said.

Any one running on mains gas will have noticed that their supplier isn't exactly giving it away.

Two years ago, for a six or nine month period, oil heating was cheaper than mains gas.

 

[Boilerman2]

If Mains gas is not available Oil is the next cheapest option, PROVIDED you manage your system wisely as has been said try and get into a oil buying club if you google "The Oil Club" it should take you to a local co-operative for bulk buying fuel saving typically 6p per litre!

try and refuel during the summer months as it it usually a bit cheaper - like all things it is down to supply and demand!

Oil boilers are more efficient than Gas equivelants, which helps offset the higher price per Kw/h for oil.

 

[danielw]

Oil is your cheapest option - Have a look at this http://www.oftec.org/news_and_press...show-the-gap-between-oil-and-gas-is-shrinking

Always shop around when you want to order your fuel and ring 3 or 4 different companies to compare costs - try the independent companies but take care as many are actually owned by the same company GB Oil/DCC/Shell.