To be terrified about the cost of oil

[Troublesometooth]

We don’t have any mains gas, heating and hot water both run on oil. We usually buy 500 litres every 8 weeks in winter which costs £200-300.

We are desperately low and the cost today is £700! We simply can’t afford to pay this to heat our home for the next 8 weeks.

Other than wearing more jumpers can anyone suggest ways of keeping warm?

The energy equivalent wholesale UK and Euro gas price is several times what the oil price is currently - if that is any comfort - probably not.

@Roadhouse111

Can you not fill a few barrels at your local garage? Our garage has home heating oil at pump? It is more expensive but could tide you over. To stay want you could all bunk in one room, and turn radiators off in all other rooms, so live and sleep all in the livingroom? Means you'd at I'll have want water and you'd stay want just until the weather warms up. Oil price is bonkers and people panic buying isn't helping unfortunately.

I’ve never seen heating oil at any garages around here sadly.

@Porcupineintherough

If you cant afford oil then your choices are electricity, calor gas and wood. Probably the cheapest quick fix is an oil filled radiator and electric blanket or two, medium term I'd suggest getting an electric shower fitted .

We have an electric shower thankfully so can cope without hot water for a while.

We don’t have a fire so good and gas are no use.

We do have a gas hob which we have to buy bottled gas for. Hoping they don’t run out any time so as I imagine the cost of replacing them is also sky high!

We are in the same boat - we are in an old and drafty farmhouse and used to pay around £600 every other month for a full tank, we had a delivery last week and it was £900! We are just about to renovate and more importantly insulate, put in double glazing etc. which we are hoping will make a significant different otherwise I have no idea how it would be sustainable for us either and we've been quoted circa £30k to install groundsource heating.

Martin Lewis has just posted about oil costs he recommends raising with your MP

i do feel a bit eyerolly when people leap in and say "oh you don't need the heating on, just turn it off" its in the stupid advice list along with "get a pay rise" take in ironing' or "move house"

@CoffeeBeansGalore

Some companies let you pay monthly by direct debit. Still costly but at least spreads out the payment.

I don't understand why anyone would do this as opposed to just saving the equivalent amount every month, and then you can shop around rather than being tied into one supplier.

Sometimes boilerjuice is cheaper than our oil club, other times individual suppliers are cheaper. Seems daft to not allow yourself the opportunity choose the cheapest supplier for each order.

@godmum56

i do feel a bit eyerolly when people leap in and say "oh you don't need the heating on, just turn it off" its in the stupid advice list along with "get a pay rise" take in ironing' or "move house"

But having the heating on all day every day for a whole house does seem excessive, particularly if cost is an issue. Getting a payrise or moving house take a long time, but just heating one room during the day and limiting heating the rest of the house is surely a sensible idea that can work in the short term until prices drop.

I feel your pain. I've just had to pay a ridiculous amount for 500 litres, which I'm going to eek out until the summer and hope the price comes down a bit then.

I've got some oil fired rads but they're staying in the garage as they are electricity guzzlers!

We have discovered heated throws. They cost pennies to run and they are toasty warm - the only problem is the dogs trying to get in on the act but they honestly do make it really cosy for watching TV etc of an evening. I wrap one round me while I'm working, too.

Electric blankets on the beds, too. I don't keep mine on all night, it's on a timer and switches off after an hour. Again, costs pennies.

Big fleecy oodie type things are also fabulous for keeping warm.

I also saw a recommendation for thermal wallpaper. I'm going to look at lining the outside walls on the colder side of the house and see if that helps - a project for the summer!

^^ adding a link for info
www.wallpaperdirect.com/collections/wallrock/wallrock-thermal-liner/528

@godmum56

i do feel a bit eyerolly when people leap in and say "oh you don't need the heating on, just turn it off" its in the stupid advice list along with "get a pay rise" take in ironing' or "move house"

Exactly! “Just have the same susceptibility to heat and cold as I do, live in a well-insulated house and be me! I have solved your problem!”

You do all realise don’t you that nearly 60p per litre of petrol is tax, then VAT on top? We are being ripped off by our own government.

I guess if you can't afford to have the heating on all day, you don't have the heating on all day.

When our DC were babies and toddlers (teens now), we lived in old, poorly insulated houses, all heated by oil, one being in rural Scotland in really cold winters, we never ever had the heating on all day, all winter.

Unless you have a medical reason for having the heating on all day, sadly you either suck up the massive cost of having your heating on all day or limit your usage.

I had 500 litres delivered in January and it cost £340 I’ve just checked the price today and for the same amount it’s £1048. I’m really hoping that by the time summer comes and I need to re fill the price comes down. There is no way I can afford that sort of money.

Boilerjuice just quoted me £1.29 a litre.
Last Thursday it was 80 something....

Would it be possible to have a log burner fitted? I only that's quite costly initially but you would be able to heat a couple of rooms for in the day. I did this today working at home and then had the heating on a couple hours in the early evening.

@Mystery2345

You do all realise don’t you that nearly 60p per litre of petrol is tax, then VAT on top? We are being ripped off by our own government.

If you like using public services, the money has to come from somewhere.

Wear onsies over clothes. They're selling off some old adult ones in Dunelm at the mo. VERY warm!! Make a remarkable difference. You look like a total prat but it's worth it. Also furry slipper socks or slippers over normal socks.

I’ve just had a quote. Boiler juice and various others won’t quote us for our postcode which has never happened before. We’re not particularly rural, we are 6 miles outside a large midlands city.

1000 litres £2020 but won’t deliver for 3 weeks

The plug in oil filled heaters that you can move around from room to room are really good and switch off on when room is very hot, not expensive to buy and cheaper to run than most.

We're on oil too - kicking myself to not fill up a couple of weeks ago when it was 58p a litre; then 64p, 78p, 92p and just looked and it's saying £1.55 a litre! It's absolutely mad.
We have cut back and are eeking out, hoping prices will stabilise at a more manageable level.

Thermostat at 18, might turn off altogether, but our children are teens and out at school and home office gets the sun most of the day when it's out.

We could fill up if we had to, but we'll see what happens over next few weeks.

We have an electric immersion heater on the water tank (I think) so may heat water overnight on cheaper electricity rate - can you do that?
We have our own wood and a logburner in the living room which will do when it's colder.

Electricity isn’t cheaper overnight unless you’re in economy 7 (which most people aren’t)

@godmum56

i do feel a bit eyerolly when people leap in and say "oh you don't need the heating on, just turn it off" its in the stupid advice list along with "get a pay rise" take in ironing' or "move house"

But it's not stupid advice.. If you can't afford your heating on all day, don't have it on all day. Plus I've lived in a large, very old house before on oil heating in the North of scotland. Having the heating on all day would be boiling hot, even during winter, so unless her boiler is atrocious (and that would be surprising since the boiler we used was very old), then she has the heating on too much. Wear more clothes if you get cold. Use blankets etc.

Or keep paying tons for oil to heat your house all day. Complaining about the price does nothing, it's not going to drop just from complaining about it. Either pay it or change so it isn't used up as quickly.

I can't believe some posters saying don't put the heat on, esp the one who posted yesterday that it was getting mild now when the gritters were out and in went below freezing in the SE last night ..