Oil Heating 45 Addressing the needs of consumers today as well as the future

While acknowledging the importance of transitioning away from fossil fuel to low carbon alternatives, OFTEC believes that it’s important to meet the needs of today’s oil heating households, many of which will be struggling with the cost of energy.

Malcolm Farrow highlights some of the key issues.

Since the government published its proposals for the decarbonisation of the heating sector in 2021, what this means for the future for oil homes has naturally been a focal point of discussion. But with very few further announcements, there are currently more questions than answers. While it’s important to look ahead and plan for the potential scenarios, in doing so we mustn’t lose focus on what’s happening today.

One of the key issues currently facing oil heated households, and the whole country, is the cost of living crisis. Not only are consumers cutting back on how much they use their heating to keep their bills down, Citizens Advice has reported that complaints about so called ‘cowboy tradespeople’ who entice people with seemingly low prices but leave behind poor quality and potentially dangerous work increased by a third last year.

Raising standards

The role of competent installers in upholding high standards has therefore never been more important to ensure consumers have safe and efficient heating systems and aren’t left with costly repairs. This has been

Malcolm Farrow OFTEC head of public affairs

an important area of focus for OFTEC over the past few months and, with 1.7 million homes in the UK on oil heating, our industry must continue to hit this challenge head on and promote the importance of using reputable technicians. Enhanced regulations are also coming into force to provide further protection for consumers regarding work notifications. As part of changes to the Building Safety Act, up to two years imprisonment is being added to the list of potential sanctions for technicians who persistently fail to correctly notify applicable installation work. OFTEC has been engaging with Local Authority Building Control (LABC) to further clarify the impact of these changes.

It’s important to note this doesn’t just apply to the installation of a heating system, but also other work from adding extra radiators to replacing an oil tank. OFTEC registered technicians can self-certify work to speed up the process, but it’s important all installers are fully up to speed on the latest requirements and understand their responsibilities.

New blood

There’s also an increased focus on training and apprenticeships in the oil heating sector. The

 Regular inspections of the work of OFTEC registered technicians are helping to uphold standards within the industry skills shortage is affecting almost every part of the UK but, in particular, the trades and construction where there are 244,000 fewer workers than three years ago, according to the Office for National Statistics. It’s estimated the UK needs at least a million new tradespeople over the next decade to keep pace with demand.

That’s why OFTEC continues to focus day to day on supporting consumers and technicians in the oil heating industry. But, in parallel, we’re also preparing for what the future holds. The way we heat our homes and business is changing with the increased focus on reducing emissions in support of net zero and this can’t be ignored. There’s a positive future ahead for liquid fuels but it’s important we lead this transition on the front foot and aren’t left behind.

Fossil fuels ban

In its Heat and Buildings Strategy, the government proposed banning the installation of fossil fuel boilers off the gas grid, which would include oil, in homes and small businesses from 2026. The same applies to large businesses from 2024. In most cases they would be expected to switch to a heat pump. However, it’s important to stress these are just proposals at this stage and there are no immediate plans to ban the use of oil heating.

But that doesn’t mean our industry can sit back and wait to see what happens. The government and opposition parties are committed to the rollout of heat pumps and it can’t be denied that the technology will have a central role in the UK’s future heating landscape. However, there are challenges to transitioning some off-grid properties to the technology, from the cost (£20k+ according to the government’s own calculator once the necessary energy efficiency upgrades are made) to the disruption the work causes. If the transition is to be fair we need more choices, which is why our two-year demonstration of the renewable liquid fuel Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil has been so important. We’ve shown that the fuel can deliver a near 90% drop in emissions following a simple conversion to the boiler, costing around £500.

Affordable option

We’re working hard to secure amendments to the government’s Energy Bill to create a Renewable Liquid Heating Fuel Obligation (RLHFO), to mirror for home heating the current incentive scheme in place for HVO in transport, which would greatly reduce the cost of HVO for oil users. We’re also calling for the Treasury to align the fuel duty rate of HVO for heating with that of kerosene, as this too would help to make HVO an affordable heating option.

While the fuel would change, the underlying principles would not. All the strengths of our industry will remain at the forefront, as competent engineers will be essential to service and install liquid fuel boilers, provide advice to consumers on energy efficiency and ensure high standards are maintained.

Alongside this, heat pumps will inevitably have an important role to play which is why we’ve launched new heat pump training courses for oil heating technicians who want to diversify and take advantage of the growing market. Renewable liquid fuels and heat pumps both have a role to play in delivering Net Zero and we strongly believe OFTEC registered technicians should be at the forefront of delivering the change we need.

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