Oil central heating worries

swadlet

We have just moved to a rented 1940s 3 bedroom red brick semi in a rural village. It has oil central heating and an open fire. The boiler is a modern condensor, about 3 years old, and has just been serviced. The radiators have thermostatic valves, and there's a thermostat (annoyingly) in the hall. I'm v nervous about how much oil central heating is going to cost me - any tips for the most efficient way of running the central heating? Radiators up higher so it hits the desired temp and switches off, or on at a lower temperature for a longer time??

Insulation may be an issue - investigating whether the house has cavity wall insulation. Do any of these 'free' insualtion offers apply to people who aren't on benefits? The EDF one appears to be - but I am sceptical.

Please help me with your thoughts, I'm v worried.

Oh. And the Oil Watchman isn't working - just shows r and a flashing light. Could the battery be flat?? Agent says they're rubbish and dipping the tank is the answer. I think I'd feel better if I could see what we're using.

macman

You don't even have to be an EDF customer to get the free insulation. Nothing to do with benefits.
As for heating, the longer you run it, the more it will cost you-see the other hundreds of threads on this topic.
Oil CH will of course be much more expensive than mains gas.

Sobraon

Oil is currently about 60% dearer per KWh (after boiler efficiency).

swadlet

Sobraon wrote: »

Oil is currently about 60% dearer per KWh (after boiler efficiency).

If only we had the choice - no mains gas.

bernithebiker

Oil boilers tend to be more efficient if you run them at lower temperatures. So turn the TRV's down and leave it on longer. If it was your house I would advise getting a woodburner into the open fireplace.

Mummyrice

We are in the same situation - moving next week into a house with an oil boiler... No gas in the village. The boiler is so old and several people have told us it would be worth replacing it. Does anyone have any advice about how to get a new oil boiler cheaply, or the best kind to get?

Good tip about running the heating on lower for longer, thank you burnithebiker!

gamston

i've had a bluebird oil boiler from nth ireland for about 14yrs been as good as gold
had a trianco before that, trianco was ok as well
don't know how cheap to run, but never had a proelm with these

Ben84

bernithebiker wrote: »

Oil boilers tend to be more efficient if you run them at lower temperatures. So turn the TRV's down and leave it on longer. If it was your house I would advise getting a woodburner into the open fireplace.

TRVs don't control the temperature of the boiler or the water in the heating system, they just turn radiators on and off based on room temperature.

Turning down TRVs will save oil as it will cause radiators to switch off more often so that the water returns to the boiler hotter and the boiler thermostat will switch the boiler off more often in response to this, but you would be saving oil by heating the house less, not by getting more heat from each litre of oil. I don't believe it makes any difference to the efficiency of the boiler to turn radiators down or off.

G_M

Unrelated to your question - when you moved in did you have to buy oil? Or was the tank full? Half full?

What is the arrangement (if any!) on your tenancy agreement for when you leave? If you've just filled the tank and then get given notice, will you be re-imbused? Was a record taken of the oil level when you moved in?