What is an Oil-Fired Heating System?

If you live in a rural area, outside the range of normal gas mains, it’s likely that your home is one of the 1.5 million in the UK with heating powered by an oil-fired boiler.

Oil has many benefits when compared to other domestic heating methods:

• It is a long standing, proven technology.
• Oil is very reliable and efficient.
• It is among the cheapest heating options.
• If maintained properly, oil systems will last for many years.
• You can control when fuel supplies get replenished and can choose from a wide range of suppliers.

One of the most important features of oil powered home heating is the oil storage tank which houses the oil. There are many kinds of tank available. With this in mind, there are important considerations when choosing your oil tank.

Having a reliable, fully functioning tank is vital to make sure your oil heating system works to its full potential. If your tank is 20-years-old or more, or if you have recently moved into a new house, it’s worth making sure the oil tank is still working as it should. It’s also important to check that it still meets the standards set in current regulations. If your tank isn’t functioning safely and efficiently, buying a new tank should be a priority!

How does an Oil-Fired Heating System work?

Oil-fired heating is an efficient and relatively simple way to heat your home. It works as follows:

• Fuel from the tank (In the UK the fuel used is generally kerosene) is pressurised and pumped into the boiler.
• The pressurised fuel mixes with air and forms a fine spray which is expelled into the combustion chamber.
• An electrode in the chamber ignites the oil to produce a highly efficient burning flame.
• The hot exhaust gases pass through a heat exchanger (usually a copper wire) and the heat is transferred into water, which surrounds the wire.
• The heated water is then distributed around the house into radiators to provide heat and to taps for hot water.
• More modern systems will automatically switch off when the desired thermostat temperature is reached to save fuel and increase efficiency.

What is the cost of Oil-Fired Heating System?

According to which.co.uk, the average annual cost of an oil-fired heating system is £830. But, bear in mind, this is an average for the UK. Your home’s age, size and insulation all affect the cost of providing heat and hot water.

The price of heating fuel may change as oil prices fluctuate. For example, these are the costs per litre of kerosene heating oil over a period of 5 years:

• 32p in January 2016
• 43p in January 2017
• 48p in January 2018
• 50p in January 2019
• 52p in January 2020

The price of oil also changes depending on the season, as higher demand in colder months drives the price up. In addition, winter fuel also contains extra additives to help stop the oil from freezing (or thickening) in cold conditions. Whilst oil in the warmer months is cheaper, remember to always buy oil that has anti-freezing additives for use in the colder months.

Read our blog ‘Oil Storage Tanks’ for more information or browse our range of domestic oil tanks now.

What is the Diesel Bug?

A high percentage of diesel engine failures are caused by fuel contamination. Common forms of contamination are caused by microbial organisms. These can be bacteria, fungi, viruses and types of yeast – collectively known as ‘the diesel bug’. Given the right conditions, the diesel bug population in your fuel can double in size every 20 minutes. It doesn’t take long before this contamination seriously affects the quality of your diesel, causing  performance problems and even complete engine failures.

If you store diesel, it’s vital you know what warning signs to look for and what steps to take to prevent and treat the problem.

What does the Diesel Bug Look Like?

Diesel bugs thrive in the layer between your fuel and any water that has entered your storage tank. Fuel that is left to stand for longer periods is more likely to have problems caused by the diesel bug. This is because condensation can form in poor-quality storage tanks over time.

Accumulations of bugs may look like dark brown or black slime. You may also notice coffee-like sediments in fuel filters and a foul-smelling odour.

What Does the Diesel Bug Do?

Contamination corrodes your fuel storage tanks, clogs filters and may mean engines are difficult to start or fail completely.

Look out for frequently blocked filters and gauges, increased fuel consumption, sluggish performance and black smoke from exhausts. Diesel bug contamination also causes corrosion of other vehicle parts, like elastomers. Infections also lead to increased tank and pipe corrosion and may cause stress cracking.

Preventing the Diesel Bug

The accumulation of diesel bugs is largely prevented by using high-quality fuel storage tanks such as the StoraFUEL and PortaFUEL range. These tanks seal tightly to prevent water and microbial organisms from getting into your diesel.

• Regularly inspect your storage tanks for leaks and any damage.
• Regularly check your diesel for contaminants, such as water and dirt.
• Accurately estimate your fuel needs and store accordingly – bugs accumulate over time. When fuel is used up quickly, they don’t have time to grow.
• Using a tank re-circulation kit keeps the diesel bug from growing. You can also use specialised diesel additives to kill off colonies before they become a serious problem.

Getting Rid of the Bug

It’s important to act quickly if you discover evidence pointing towards contamination. Take these steps to get rid of the diesel bug, maintain the quality of your fuel and prevent engine damage:

• Immediately remove fuel from tanks suspected of contamination. Thoroughly clean any contaminated fuel using a diesel fuel filtration system.
• Clean tanks, fuel lines and filters before considering refilling with fuel.
• If your equipment is seriously damaged, you should replace it.

Keen gardeners often have rainwater butts to collect water to use on their lawns and flower beds. However, until recently it wasn’t considered practical or safe to use this water elsewhere. Now, new technology means a rainwater harvesting system can be plumbed into your home’s pipework. Harvested water can be used to wash clothes and cars, water gardens and flush toilets – a large drain on your mains water supply. Rain can even be treated and used as drinking water.

In fact, by combining a water meter and rainwater harvesting system, householders can benefit from a 50% saving on their water bills.

The Cost of Water

We wash ourselves, clothes, dishes and our other belongings more than ever before. We power wash our patios and cars. We use hose pipes and sprinklers in our gardens. The average home in the UK is using 350 litres of water a day according to the Department of Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Over 50% of that water is used for processes which don’t require potable water (water that is safe for drinking).

Most of us take it for granted that we turn on our taps and there’s plenty of water – but our increasing personal and home hygiene standards mean we’re using more and more of this precious resource. The truth is, collecting water in reservoirs, treating it and pumping it to our homes is a costly process. We’re paying an increasing cost – and so is the environment.

The Environment Pays too…

The process of supplying domestic and commercial water uses a huge amount of energy. Producing this energy creates carbon emissions. Our water use is also a drain on natural water resources: lakes, rivers and underground reserves are plundered.

Rainwater Harvesting – Saving You Money

Rainwater harvesting systems are increasingly effective at reducing your mains water usage. The water is mainly collected from rain falling onto your roof, your existing guttering and downpipes are used to supply a tank where the water is filtered and stored. Water is then pumped directly to points of use in your home, or may be fed into a secondary header tank in your loft to increase the pressure of the supply.

Complete systems are cost-effective, simple to install and require little maintenance.

Turning Rainwater into Drinking Water

New innovations mean that it’s now possible to turn rainwater into drinking water with the use of a potable tank. Dependant on rainfall, it’s entirely possible to replace a large proportion of mains water use.

The installation of a rainwater harvesting system could mean you never complain about wet weather again!

To find out more about how to save money and reduce your home’s impact on the environment, have a look at PuraTANK’s range of complete rainwater harvesting systems.