Although the majority of households have access to the gas grid and so therefore have a gas powered boiler, there are roughly four million households in the UK, mainly in rural areas, which rely on oil powered boilers.

These boilers work in roughly the same way as traditional gas boilers, but run on oil, which will need to be delivered to your home.

Choice of boilers

Although there are perhaps fewer boiler models and suppliers to choose from when it comes to oil powered boilers, there is still a fair amount of choice. For example, if you live in rural Gloucester boilers from a variety of manufacturers will be available for you to choose from.

The boiler you select will ultimately depend on your unique needs as a family, but it is possible to get some cost effective options. It is possible to find combination and heating only oil boilers too. On average, an oil boiler will set you back anything between £1,000 and nearly £3,000 depending on a number of factors.

Cost effectiveness of oil vs gas

Oil is slightly more efficient than gas, so you will get more for your money per kWh heat.

However, the price of oil does go up and down quite a bit, so you need to be careful when you order it and try and time it with when it is lower. However, this is not always practical. As such, gas does tend to be a bit more cost effective overall, but not necessarily by a huge amount.

There are also fewer suppliers to choose from when it comes to oil, and not all allow payment by monthly instalments. More information can be found here.

Maintaining an oil boiler

The thing to keep awareness of is how much oil you have. There are sensors that can be purchased to keep track of how much oil you have in your tank.

In the same way that you need to get a gas boiler serviced regularly, you need to do the same for an oil boiler. There is a range of specialists who can help here, such as http://www.hprservicesltd.com/gloucester-boilers/.

If looked after properly, an oil boiler and heating system can last for many years and provide a good alternative to a gas system for those not on the grid.