Anyone who has ever lived in a home with an oil boiler will be aware how difficult it can be to keep on top of how much it’s costing and finding the cheapest suppliers for replacement oil. Like petrol, the cost of boiler oil varies all the time and without careful planning it’s easy to get caught out if your tank starts getting empty when prices are high. Here are a few tips to help make sure you’re getting the best prices for your heating oil:
Buy your oil in bulk
Like most things, the more oil you buy at once, the cheaper it will be. For this reason it’s best to plan ahead and buy enough to fill the tank at once instead of waiting until the tank is almost empty then buying a little bit at a time. Joining forces with friends and neighbours to order heating oil as a group is a good way to get costs down even further, as you can get some great discounts for bulk orders and delivery costs will be much less too.
Buy your oil in the summer
There are many factors that affect the cost of oil, most of which we can’t do anything about. What we can do is to make sure we buy the majority of our oil during the summer, when the cost is at its lowest. It goes without saying that heating oil is a far more valuable commodity during winter months when people use their heating more, so fill your tank during the summer and just top up if you need to in winter.
Make sure your boiler is looked after
The same as any other boiler, oil boilers should be serviced regularly. Boiler oil servicing should be carried out once a year to make sure it is running as efficiently as possible and that there are no potentially dangerous problems. Getting your boiler serviced could also save you heaps in emergency repair costs as there’s less chance of a surprise breakdown during the winter when it’s most needed.
Security
Strange though it may seem, theft of heater oil is on the rise. A large outdoor tank could contain anything up to £1000 of oil after a delivery, and for the opportunist thief it’s just too easy. The majority of oil tanks have space to attach locks and there are locking systems you can get for the fill points as well, so make sure your tank is secure and you could save loads of money and stress!
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