Oil fired heating - would you view?

[Snazzy73]

We’re looking to move home and there’s a lovely house but it’s oil fired heating. Would we be mad to view this home right now? On the description it says every 3 months for oil fired heating. EPC rating is E and it’s a Victorian semi. Thoughts welcome!

What is every three months? Is there the option to convert to mains gas if you wanted? I would want to look carefully at the EPC to see how the insulation could be improved if possible. We replaced oil with an ASHP but out house is newer and was borderline D/C on the EPC
As far as heating with oil , the costs can be variable, we had oil for 20years and price per litre varied between 9p to more than 60. Recently, PPL had gone above £1.20 but has dropped back. . I got very tuned in to oil price cycles at one stage but those seem to have gone AWOL.

We’ve just moved after spending 16 years with oil fired heating. We found it fine, had an electronic gauge which told us when it was getting low. The fluctuating prices are a bit of a pain trying to plan how long to leave between deliveries and you have to avoid peak times like just before Christmas. We were very rural, but I believe in more populated areas neighbours group together to get one large order at the same time which can work out cheaper? We wouldn’t rule out another house with oil, but now living in a house with mains gas, it is much simpler!

We have oil. About 71p a litre at the moment and the tank takes 500L.

For heating and hot water we spend £1300 a year including boiler service and any parts. This year, we held off refilling when various wars were hotting up.

Most people here have oil as there’s no gas.

Oil-fired per se is not unusual, but every 3 months to fill sounds a little frequent. If you view, I would check the size of tank for the house but also, position (how near the house?) and access for filling, which might be quite tight in a semi.

Look how secure the tank it. My parents (rural) have had their oil stolen twice in the last year!!

I love having oil fired heating. I don't understand the every 3 months thing. We just have a huge tank hidden in our garden and we just refill when we need to or when the prices are lower. They are also quite cheap to run and repair in terms of the boiler and tank etc.

If you will be there a long time, and particularly if you are renovating, a heat pump may make sense.

Thanks so much for your comments. Partner is sceptical so your questions are very useful.

No way, and definitely not with an EPC E, likewise if it doesn't have mains drainage. My other requirements, no flat roofed extensions, off road parking, roads etc must have been adopted by the council and last but not least basic shopping within walking/mobility scooter distance, yes you can get your shopping delivered but that's not a lot of help when all you want is a pint of milk and a large bottle of tonic.

Yes of course I’d continue. Why the exclamation marks? I’ve lived in 11 houses all with oil. How often you fill depends on your usage and the size of the tank.

if they give three months I’d ask if that’s averaged over the year, which sounds like a small tank. I have three fills a year. 7 months over summer then 2 over winter

Same here. 1100litre tank. We fill end March-ish, then top up about half a tank in Sept, half to 3/4 tank in December. I always budget for an extra fill and if we are close to needing so e and prices start to rise, I order and lock a price in. I line the security of knowing its in the tank and paid for.

We’ve oil fired heating no issues. Also don’t tend to believe EPCs ares was so wrong as too many assumptions. They were wrong.

No. My SIL has it (house in the Highlands) and her experiences have convinced me it would be a deal breaker for me.

Our EPC rating is E, I'm still not sure what difference it is supposed to make to me since our bills here are much lower than in pur previous newbuild with gas central heating! I'm not sure I'd put any weight on the EPC, just do your own research and see what you feel comfortable with.

Grew up with oil heating and my parents have it now They had a new boiler and tank a couple of years ago, fill up twice a year. Service boiler once a year and are warm and cosy with loads of hot water for a reasonable cost. I’m also rural and have a heat pump, nightmare to get serviced, I’m always stalking electricity prices so it goes on at the cheapest time of day and now it’s decided it’s not doing hot water so needs a service more expense

Bottled or a tank of gas is ok but a lot more expensive than oil

I don’t understand the issues with septic tanks or the modern sewage treatment systems as they just need a pump out and service every couple of years it’s cheaper than sewage charges

My EPC rating is C but the bills with the ashy are horrific

We have oil and no problems with it

It’s just a different way of heating your house, but I wouldn’t say there’s anything about it that is a pain or would stop me viewing a house. Everyone in our surrounding area is on oil unless it’s a newer build with a heat pump. Before this we had gas central heating. Our tank is large (2500L) and there’s just two of us so we never fill it right up. We order twice a year, usually a 500L order and a 1000L order

My most recent plumber came to service the oil boiler and said the price of oil may fluctuate,but the boiler itself will outlast any gas boiler as it is built like a tank.

So, perhaps savings there, in less frequent boiler changes, vs the ever changing price of oil?.

We have oil fired heating, private sewage, an awful EPC and live up a private road.
We have a pressure gauge in our 2000L tank so I always know how much we have. Through trial and error we have found that the heating uses less oil if you run all day and have it off at night. I order a full tank in August ( which is usually the cheapest price) then have a 500l top up in Feb and May.
if it is poor insulation it is a double edged sword freezing in winter and boiling in summer.
Our house is a project the next thing to be addressed is the roof - replacing with better (or maybe some insulation) and adding solar panels for both electric and hot water.
But we love the isolation and peace.

I should also add at this time of year I become obsessed by oil prices watch the trends - there has been a huge drop since Trump decided he was going to leave Iran alone. I tend to do my big fill in mid August as historically I have found that the cheapest week.

Thanks again for all your comments. Really helpful. Will try and convince my partner to go see at the very least!

I'd also say it's not a deal breaker.

We've had oil twice including at our last house (very rural, no gas) where we had a septic tank and our own borehole water supply too. It was a 400 year old converted detached agricultural building in a peaceful location which outweighed the issues - if you can call them that as we actually liked being in control of these things.

As we're very frugal - and had two large wood burners which we used instead of the central heating most of the winter - we tended to only fill up once a year, but someone we knew locally topped their large tank up every month as they liked their heating on non-stop!

From July 21, 2026, the government Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant increases to £9,000 for eligible homes in England and Wales that rely on heating oil or LPG. So you could potentially move in and upgrade the boiler to an ASHP?
We replaced our old oil boiler with an ASHP last year, and really like it but they work differently to oil or gas so you need to get used to them.
If you like the house go and see it and take it from there.

If you want to live even slightly more rurally you are likely to find there is no mains gas. We have oil, fill up when the gauge tells us we are low and have it serviced annually.

There is always fluctuation in oil prices and you are paying for your oil in advance although some companies alloW you to pay via DDR but then, of
course, you don’t have the chance to shop around for the best price.