Home heating oil—getting the most out of your fuel

Insulate your home

• One way of making your home heating oil go further is to insulate your walls. Adding cavity or external wall insulation can save you hundreds of pounds a year.
• You can also insulate timber floors with wool insulation, or add silicone sealant to stop draughts. As long as you leave adequate ventilation for the floorboards, you'll find your home heating oil costs coming down.
• Because much of the heat generated by home heating oil drifts up through the house, it's a good idea to insulate your loft.
• Your home heating oil will go further if you double-glaze your windows—a tried-and-tested method of saving energy.

Check your boiler

• Home heating oil-fired boilers are highly efficient, but a good way of saving energy around the home is to turn the thermostat down a degree.
• Whether it's run on home heating oil or another fuel, get your boiler serviced by an engineer before the cold weather closes in—it will make it more efficient.
• Showers use much less water than baths, so to reduce your home heating oil costs further, fit a low-flow shower nozzle, which mixes air into the water spray. Have fewer baths, and shorter showers!

Save energy in the kitchen

• Fridges use a lot of energy because they're working round the clock. If you have an old fridge, think about replacing it with an energy-saving new one.
• Turn the temperature down from 40º to 30º on your washing machine—you'll find it will clean your clothes just as efficiently.

Save energy at the flick of a switch

• Turning the lights off when you're not in a room will save money and energy.
• Change all your light bulbs to energy-saving Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs). Modern fluorescent bulbs don't have the harsh light effect of old, and they last much longer.
• Switch off appliances on standby when not in use—many appliances waste a lot of energy on standby.

Make the most of your home heating oil

• Arrange to fill your home heating oil tank in the summer or autumn when prices are lower, not in the winter, when home heating oil costs can be high. And make sure your home heating oil tank is electronically monitored so you can time your refill just right.
• There are now even more environmentally-friendly and efficient home heating oils available. Biofuels, which have fewer harmful emissions, are becoming increasingly popular with home heating oil customers in the UK.