Did you know, there are around 1.5 million people in Great Britain using oil for home heating?

You may have recently moved to a property where the only way to heat your house is buying heating oil. Whether you’re completely new to this, or have been buying heating oil for years; have a read of our blog to see if there’s anything you didn’t know…

What Is Home Heating Oil?

Home heating oil is a low viscosity, liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for home boilers and furnaces.

What Is Heating Oil Used For?

Heating oil is used to heat your boiler, and is an alternative fuel source to electricity and gas.

Does Heating Oil Have Any Other Names?

Home Heating Oil (often abbreviated to HHO) is also known as kerosene, burning oil, and 28-second burning oil.

What Does Heating Oil Look Like?

Kerosene is the most common heating oil, and is slightly yellow in colour.

Kerosene And Petroleum Explained

While kerosene can be extracted from coal, oil shale and wood, it mainly comes from refined petroleum.

The name ‘kerosene’ comes from the Greek word ‘keros’, meaning wax. Kerosene was invented and registered as a trademark by Canadian geologist and inventor Abraham Pineo Gesner in 1854, before it evolved into a genericized trademark. This new discovery burned more cleanly and was less expensive than competing products at the time, such as whale oil!

Petroleum is a naturally occurring liquid; yellowish-black in colour. It’s found in geological formations beneath the Earth's surface and is commonly refined into various types of fuels.

Heating Oil vs Premium Heating Oil

With a highly specialised additives package, premium heating oil aka premium kerosene is an enhanced heating fuel that will improve the performance of your home heating system; keeping it running efficiently and reliably. These additives will stabilise your fuel, keep your fuel fresher, and your boiler performing better for longer. You can read more about this in our blog, ‘Premium Kerosene Benefits’.

How Do I Get Heating Oil?

Heating oil is usually delivered by tank truck to residential and commercial properties. It’s commonly stored in a tank located in an outdoor space, away from any buildings. Occasionally you may have an underground storage tank.

How Much Does Heating Oil Cost?

You can read our blog, ‘Heating Oil Prices Explained’, where we answer all of your questions about the price of heating oil. You can always get a free instant quote from us too!

Heating Oil Storage Regulations In The United Kingdom

Heating oil storage in the UK is governed by regulations which ensure the safe installation and usage of oil storage tanks. It’s a criminal offence to keep a tank that violates these regulations, and owners can receive fines and penalties as a result of having to clean up oil spills.

Your storage tank should have ‘sufficient strength and structural integrity to ensure that it’s unlikely to burst or leak in its ordinary use’. You can read more about building regulations and how to store heating oil at home or your business on the gov.uk website.

So, whether you’ve recently moved to a property, or you’re a heating oil hotshot; hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two? Whether you need to fill your tank with Kerosene or Premium Kerosene, contact us today!