According to the Energy Saving Trust, heating and hot water accounts for over half of what you spend in a year on energy, so an “efficient boiler makes a big difference”. Even if your existing oil boiler is reliable, it’s probably costing you a huge amount in wasted oil. That’s because over the last 25 years, there have been dramatic improvement in oil boiler efficiencies, with the introduction of condensing technology (where the boiler recovers more heat from the exhaust flue and uses it to heat the central heating water). That means far less oil needs to be burnt to keep your home warm.
In times when the oil price is high, the savings that can be made by replacing an old oil-fired boiler become even more significant. Running an ultra-efficient, modern oil-fired boiler can have a dramatic impact on your annual heating oil usage. As shown in Figure 1, below, replacing an old, 20-year-old oil-fired boiler with 60% efficiency with a modern oil-fired boiler with 95% efficiency would reduce annual oil consumption for a typical household from 2,500 litres to only 1,579 litres – a huge reduction of 921 litres. As well as the obvious saving from not having to purchase 921 litres of additional heating oil every year, lower annual oil consumption will mean that an oil tank refill will last longer and give you more flexibility on when you buy oil, for the best rates, to save even more money.
