Your guide to home heating oil

Curious about how home heating oil works? Find out more with the Scottish Fuels guide.

While the majority of homes in Scotland are connected to the national gas grid, many UK households rely on alternatives. With home heating oil, fuel is delivered manually and stored in a tank. This provides a cost-effective alternative for 1 million homes across the UK and Scotland..

What is heating oil?

Heating oil comes in two main types:

Gas oil – this is mainly used for commercial and agricultural fuel. It’s also known as ‘red diesel’ or ’35-second’ oil.
Kerosene – this is the standard home heating oil and is also known as ’28-second’ oil. As it’s a lighter type, it can be used for home heating.

For domestic customers, we highly recommend our premium Glowmax kerosene heating oil. It’s cleaner burning which means it can reduce the amount of build-up in your boiler and help it last longer.

Order Glowmax today >

What is kerosene?

Kerosene fuels are used for home heating systems. You may have heard of it referred to as heating oil . As a non-corrosive fuel, it is less dangerous than other types, and can also be stored for many years.

Kerosene is derived from petroleum, a natural oil found beneath the surface of the earth. This is then broken down into fuels such as butane, propane, petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Benefits of using heating oil in the home

Efficiency – home heating oil burns at 70°C, which is hotter than electricity or natural gas, resulting in faster home heating.
Fuel economy – kerosene is one of the cheapest options for home fuel.
Flexibility – you can choose to buy it when you like, which gives you freedom to take advantage of lower costs in summer months when there is less demand.

How to store home heating oil

Home heating oil is stored in a heating oil tank. When you’re choosing a heating oil tank, make sure it meets regulatory standards and is installed by an OFTEC engineer.

There are also strict regulations around where you position your tank and how it’s installed.

A Scottish Fuels, all our engineers are OFTEC-registered, and can guide you with any questions you may have.

When storing heating oil, there are strict government regulations you have to follow, up to 3,500 litres of fuel. Larger tanks have to go by business regulations, but most home tanks carry 1,000 to 2,7000 litres. You can find more information on the gov.uk and OFTEC websites.

Alternatively, find out more about the Scottish Fuels tank team and how they can help here >