Is domestic oil efficient?

Many people believe that heating oil is an inefficient way to heat your home. This is also not true.

One of the ways we can gauge the efficiency of a heating system is by comparing the Annual Fuel Utilisation Efficiencies (AFUEs). These ratings show the amount of usable heat than can be obtained from the potential energy of the fuel. According to the AFUEs heating oil is an excellent heating fuel scoring on average between 83 and 89%. When you compare this to wood burning (45-55%), natural gas (78-84%) and propane (79-85%) you can see that heating oil is the more efficient fuel. This means that you will need to burn less oil to generate the same amount of heat and less of this heat and emissions will be lost, making it more environmentally friendly.

Modern heat systems are actually very efficient devices. There are now condensing oil boilers which operate up to the 90% efficiency mark according to lowcarboneconomy.com which means you are getting more heat from each litre of fuel that you burn.

Want to be even more efficient with your heating oil?

If you do use heating oil there are a number of ways you can reduce your impact on the environment and also save money in the process. Check out our ‘What can you do?' page to find out how.