usage of home heating oil

darstricko

Hello
Now I know we can never be accurate as everyone is different but on average how long should 500 litres of kerocene last. If say I was to calculate by how many litres an hour should the boiler burn? The reason I ask is because I am getting roughly 6 weeks for 500 litres which seems a lot. Whats the best way to burn less ie. have it on constant at low temperature or as i have been doing 15 minutes every hour at high temperature. Any help appreciated as oil is costing a lot

Hotwheels

For a start I'd have it serviced (if it hasn't been done lately) if the oil is only lasting a few weeks...
How well is your home insulated? extra insulation in the attic can make the world of a difference...Keep room doors closed, seal any draughts, normally having the temp set halfway is ok to heat a house...and 500 ltrs should last about 3 months...


My cure for the oil prices was to fit a Range, heating,cooking hot water...:)

Eurorunner

darstricko wrote: »

The reason I ask is because I am getting roughly 6 weeks for 500 litres

:eek:
Scary stuff. So whats your annual heating bill then? For the purpose of getting more accurate feedback, I think you should post some more details eg. house size, useage pattern, etc.
I have a 4 bed semi (built 2005) - and 1000 ltrs. last year got me through 22 weeks of winter/early spring. Thats based on running boiler approx. 7 hours/day on average...

Triangle

2,600Sq Ft detached , 4 years old.

500lts does us about 6 weeks in the middle of winter.

Wife's at home during the day so uses the heating quite a bit.

Eurorunner

Triangle wrote: »

Wife's at home during the day so uses the heating quite a bit.

Tell her to try moving about a bit. Its not siberia we're in!

Guvnor

I would switch over to diesel instead of kerosense burns 30% hotter and therefore you should use less of it.

On all the time is a sure fire way of fuel running out quick! What I have done and I felt it was the only way to go was to install three 24 segment clock timers.

One for water, one for downstairs and one for upstairs. Now technically our boiler can burn a max of 3 litres per hour if on all the time which it never is. I have the heat on for 6 hours a day downstairs, 1.5 hours on the water and upstairs is on for 3 hours.

In theory the max I can burn in a day is 18 litres which means at this level 1000litres will last 8 weeks. Will it? Wait and see.

We put 2000 litres into the tank in January 11th and refilled it with a 1000 litres on November 12th so technically we got 10 months out of 2000 litres. However the heat was not used during the summer at all due to a tripped fuse from a pump in septic tank so it was off for a good 3 months. Now during the summer we would expect to use it only for an hour a day to heat the water.

I would say summer is June-September or maybe even May - any sun heats the house up very well.

The house is 4200 sq ft and I'd be happy if 2500-3000 litres was our average annual usage.

People in the country tend to say the use fcuk all oil which is either a lie or they don't count the 15-20 euro a week the throw on the fire etcetera!:D

I also feel that this year is a lot colder than this time last year imo!

I think there are other factors affecting consumption - heat loss from boiler to house - our boiler is in the garage which is 12-14m away - I assume it's insulated but not going to dig up the tarmac to check. I will be getting my boiler serviced before xmas.

I use the heat in an odd manner -

On a 24 hour cycle for downstairs it is as follows:

On 07-08.00am
On 09-09.30am
On 10.30-11am
On 12.30-13pm
On 14.30-15pm
On 17-17.30pm
On 18.30-19pm
On 20-20.30pm
On 21-22.30pm

Total 6 hours and works out pretty well, if there was sunshine and higher temps this would be adjusted down to maybe 4 hours total.

Buy some cheap thermometers to see actual temp and humidity levels in the house as thermostats are imo not always accurate!

JamesM

You cannot just switch over to diesel !
If you have a flue going above the roof level, you can use diesel, once you have the burner re-adjusted. If the vent just goes out through the wall, you must use kerosene.

Avns1s

Guvnor wrote: »

I would switch over to diesel instead of kerosense burns 30% hotter and therefore you should use less of it.

I'm nearly certain you have that the wrong way round!

And, Diesel burns dirtier than kero and as a result is less efficient.

Guvnor

Avns1s wrote: »

I'm nearly certain you have that the wrong way round!

And, Diesel burns dirtier than kero and as a result is less efficient.

Well a lot of plumbers use diesel afaik and they use it because it is more efficient. I've ran the boiler on both and yes the flue is through the roof and the diesel lasts a lot longer for same results.

As for dirtier - maybe but a good plumber adjusted the boiler when we first started using diesel and we get it serviced once a year.

If I was building from scratch I might consider wood pellets but storage and moisture is an issue so would probably opt for a heavy duty cast iron boiler!

darstricko

Eurorunner wrote: »

:eek:
Scary stuff. So whats your annual heating bill then? For the purpose of getting more accurate feedback, I think you should post some more details eg. house size, useage pattern, etc.
I have a 4 bed semi (built 2005) - and 1000 ltrs. last year got me through 22 weeks of winter/early spring. Thats based on running boiler approx. 7 hours/day on average...

Dont know exact house size but average 4 bed semi. I was having it come on for 15 minutes every hour on timer but last year i turned it on when needed and got roughly the same length of time (6 weeks).so about 6 hours total per day.I have 2 thermostats, one upstairs and one downstairs though they dont seem to work properly. at the moment i have the downstairs one set at 10 degrees and is like an oven.upstairs one is also at 10 and all radiators are off. I put radiator heat reflectors on today so we'll see how that goes. attic seems to be well insulated but that said the house loses heat quickly in the winter

justin_lucas

I am currently on my third month after only putting in about 200ltrs living in a large 6 bed house. The heating is on about 3 1/2 hrs each day. Mostly at night.
Thing I have always done to save heat is turn the radiators off in the in the rooms which I do not use (esp if they are exposed to sun at some stage), turn off the radiator in the halls and leave the doors closed between rooms.

However here is the biggest change I tried out, and is working. (this might depend on the boiler) I used to have the boiler temp set to max, this would use about 300-500 ltrs in 3/4 months, and yes the house would be roasting.
Now it is set about half way, the radiators are never roasting, however they are warm enough to heat the house. Lastly the duration which my heating is on is never more than 40mins but is on more often, that way just as the house is cooling down it gets another boost (sort of like a burco, takes loads of energy to get it to boil but a lot less to keep it warm)

So my advice would be, lower the temp on the boiler. Put the duration of your heating less but more often (30-40mins every 2 hrs) And turn the radiators which you do not use down if not off completely (over winter you will need to turn them on every now and then just to stop the damp)

Hope this helps

Villaines

Avns1s wrote: »

I'm nearly certain you have that the wrong way round!

And, Diesel burns dirtier than kero and as a result is less efficient.

yes, higher carbon tax on diesel as it is lower grade oil. Good for your tractor though!

gozunda

Secure and lock your oil tank!

We were going thru 3-4 fills a year until we realised there was no way that we were using that amount of oil. Secured the tank and down to 1-2 fills a year. Have a fair idea who was taking it but no proof...