Oil use in 4-bedroom house

spudd

Just wondering roughly how often do people have to get their oil tanks filled typically? I live in a 4 bedroom house, we got 250L of oil delivered 3 weeks ago and it's gone already, so just want to check if that's normal?

(We have it timed to come on from 7-9 every morning, and then from 6-11 each night)

murphym7

spudd wrote: »

Just wondering roughly how often do people have to get their oil tanks filled typically? I live in a 4 bedroom house, we got 250L of oil delivered 3 weeks ago and it's gone already, so just want to check if that's normal?

(We have it timed to come on from 7-9 every morning, and then from 6-11 each night)

Its kind of a how long is a piece of sting one, but here is an idea of what I have gone through, first year with oil heating.

4 bed detached: 6 -7 each morning and 5 - 9 in the evening. just finished 500Lt this week, filled it at end of Sep. Did have it on a lot over the last 2 weeks. Ths guy who filled it said he'd see before Christmas - he was right!!:(

DubDani

We don't have exact times set for the heating, but we went through 2400L since last May (20 months), and just got another 1200 delivered.

So that about 120L per month for a big 4 BR house (200sqm). Our water also works via oil (timer set to 30 minutes a day) all year round.

waffleman

The price of oil is nuts. Im gettin an Erin solid fuel burner installed to replace my open fireplace. heats hot water tank and all radiators. 1300 euro from your local co-op. Installation might cost you a grand or 2 but luckily I have family members who can do that for me. Should pay for itself in 2/3 years max. I'll be burning mostly turf in it which costs 100 euro a year to cut.

Milk & Honey

spudd wrote: »

Just wondering roughly how often do people have to get their oil tanks filled typically? I live in a 4 bedroom house, we got 250L of oil delivered 3 weeks ago and it's gone already, so just want to check if that's normal?

(We have it timed to come on from 7-9 every morning, and then from 6-11 each night)

Your insulation might be poor which will mean a lot of heat will be lost. What is your energy rating.
Your tank or boiler might be leaking.
Your oil might have been stolen.

spudd

Yea we know the house is pretty badly insulated, it's got single-glazed windows which is a major issue in heating it. It's a rented house though, so not much we can do about it. We were thinking the oil might have been stolen alright, we can't our next delivery til next week so once we do we'll try padlock the gate or something, and see if it lasts longer next time

Cheers for all the replies by the way

listermint

spudd wrote: »

Yea we know the house is pretty badly insulated, it's got single-glazed windows which is a major issue in heating it. It's a rented house though, so not much we can do about it. We were thinking the oil might have been stolen alright, we can't our next delivery til next week so once we do we'll try padlock the gate or something, and see if it lasts longer next time

Cheers for all the replies by the way

You should be able to padlock the tank.

stimpson

We got double glazing in during the year and replaced the oil burner (as it died in Feb). We plan on re-insulating the attic too.

We had a fill in Feb and again last week - we had used 700 litres in that time. I reckon that is nearly half what we would have used beforehand.

pooch90

I would definitely get onto the LL about getting the boiler serviced or investigate the last time it was serviced.

We lived in a house with oil last year. Used 500L in about a month. turned out boiler hadn't been done in 5 years and efficiency was way down. The heating system wasn't pressurised either. We thought we were being robbed too. Unfortunately just padlocking the oil tank isn't enough to deter thieves. Very easy to drill a hole and steal that way.

Might not be the cause if it is just a cold house but might help (plus it LL's responsibility so saves you cash).