Anyone who has ever had an oil boiler in their home will know that it can be a bit of a nightmare managing the running costs and finding the cheapest suppliers for replacement oil. Not unlike petrol and other oil products, heater oil prices are constantly changing and unless you plan ahead it’s not hard to find yourself in a difficult position if your supply runs low while prices are high. Here are some tips to help you get the best prices for your heating oil:

Buy your oil in bulk
Like most things, the more oil you buy at once, the cheaper it will be. For this reason its best to plan ahead and buy enough to fill the tank at once instead of waiting until the tank is almost empty and topping up with whatever you can afford. Joining forces with friends and neighbours to order heating oil as a group is a good way to get costs down even further, as you can get some great discounts for bulk orders and delivery costs will be much less too.

Buy during warm weather
There are many factors that affect the cost of oil, many of which we have no control over. But we can make a difference by buying most of our oil during the summer months, when the cost is at its lowest. Oil prices rise significantly in the winter when were using it every day, so fill your tank during the summer and just top up if you need to in winter.

Make sure your boiler is kept well serviced
As with any boiler, oil boilers should be serviced regularly. Boiler oil servicing should be carried out once a year to make sure it is running as efficiently as possible and that there are no potentially dangerous problems. Having your boiler checked regularly could save you money when it comes to repairs as its much less likely to break down during the winter when its most needed.

Security
Strange though it may seem, the number of cases of oil being stolen from people’s boiler tanks is increasing. A large outdoor tank could contain anything up to 1000 of oil after a delivery, easy pickings for any opportunist thief. The majority of oil tanks have space to attach locks and there are locking systems you can get for the fill points as well, so use them and you could save yourself hundreds and a lot of hassle too!