<b>Domestic Heating Oil</b>
In the UK around 1.5 million homes are heated with Domestic Heating Oil. The majority of these homes are in rural areas away from the mains gas network. Domestic Heating Oil provides a cost effective alternative to using Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and is far more convenient than solid fuel alternatives.
<b>Supplying Kerosene Heating Oil</b>
Kerosene (heating oil) is produced from the distillation of crude oil and is part of the “middle distillate” range of products. As well as providing heating oil, another common use of Kerosene is for aviation fuel for the airline industry.
When Kerosene is refined it contains a small amount of sulphur (as does diesel and petrol). As part of the European Union’s commitment to protecting the environment there has been a gradual reduction in the amount of sulphur allowed in both road fuels and heating oils. On the 1st January 2008 the permitted sulphur content in kerosene was reduced from 0.2% to 0.1%. This has created difficulties in the United Kingdom because the same restrictions do not apply to Kerosene used by the Aviation Industry. Reducing the sulphur content has meant that Kerosene is more expensive to refine and has meant that certain major oil suppliers are no longer interested in supplying the home heating oil market.
It is interesting that this was not seen as a problem on mainland Europe where most heating oil used is Gasoil and not Kerosene. Some Kerosene is imported into the UK from foreign refineries and there have occasionally been issues with product quality. Kerosene is often used to fuel Aga cookers and unless the Kerosene is clean and well within the proper specification problems may occur.
<b>Home Heating Oil Customers</b>
The reduction in the number of suppliers of heating oil and the importance of maintaining product quality means that it is more important than ever for customers to ensure they have a reliable supplier.
As energy costs for all types of energy rise, including home heating oil, then consumers need to find an effective source of competitively priced cheap heating oil sourced from reliable suppliers. This has led to the growth of various price comparison websites. These sites are of variable quality with some offering protracted delivery times of up to 10 days.