Tuesday 5th February 2008 at 10:49 Oil Heating still cannot be beaten in Northern Ireland  Historically high oil prices may have been making the headlines recently, but as consumers in Northern Ireland have recently learnt, ‘When it comes to cost-effective home heating, there’s no beating oil heating!’
NIE Energy is Northern Ireland’s largest electricity utility. In a recent bid to reassure its customers of the competitiveness of the company’s Economy 7 electric heating package, NIE Energy provided an overview of annual heating costs for a typical terrace house in the province, fuelled by Economy 7, ‘Natural’ Gas and Oil.
The data was obtained from independent energy consultants, Sutherland Tables. Running costs for Economy 7 came in at £739 per annum, whilst ‘Natural’ Gas came in even higher at £768. Oil however was the clear winner according to NIE Energy, with estimated annual running costs of £700.
Not surprisingly, oil is the predominant fuel choice for domestic space and water heating in Northern Ireland, which has the highest prevalence of oil heating in the UK. Indeed, according to The Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC), over 70% of homes in Ulster have oil heating – that’s more than all other fuel types combined. |
