Your Guide to Ordering Kerosene from Johnston Oils
When temperatures plunge and winter bites, keeping your home warm becomes more important than ever. At Johnston Oils, we understand that freezing conditions can create real challenges for domestic heating oil customer, from increased fuel usage to weather related delivery delays. This guide will help you stay warm, monitor your kerosene levels, and order efficiently during cold snaps.
Why Winter weather increases oil usage
When the temperature drops below freezing, your boiler works harder to maintain a comfortable home. Most households use more heating oil than they realise in prolonged cold weather, sometimes up to twice the usual amount. Keeping an eye on your tank level during these colder spells can help you avoid running low when you need heat the most.
Top tips for staying warm and fuel-ready
1. Check Your Oil Level Regularly
During freezing conditions, check your tank level more often than usual. A quick weekly (or even twice-weekly) check can prevent unexpected run outs.
2. Order Early, Don’t Wait Until the Tank Is Low
Cold weather can affect delivery schedules, so placing your order before your tank reaches 25 – 30% ensures you have enough fuel on hand.
At Johnston Oils, we always work hard to keep deliveries moving, even in difficult weather but ordering early gives you peace of mind.
3. Keep Your Boiler Well Maintained
A serviced boiler runs more efficiently and uses less fuel. If your home feels colder than usual, or your boiler seems to be working overtime, a service check may help reduce your overall usage.
4. Protect Your Tank & Fuel Line
If your oil line is exposed, freezing temperatures can sometimes cause problems. Insulating pipes and ensuring drainage around the tank can help avoid issues during icy weather.
5. Use Your Thermostat Wisely
Small adjustments can save fuel:
Keep rooms at a steady temperature rather than constantly adjusting.
Close curtains at night to retain heat.
Reduce heat slightly in rooms you don’t use often.
Ordering kerosene from Johnston Oils during freezing conditions
We pride ourselves on dependable service throughout the year, but winter can create challenges, from icy roads to increased demand. Here’s how to make ordering as smooth as possible:
✔ Order Online Anytime
Our online ordering system is available 24/7, allowing you to place an order whenever you need to, even late at night during a cold snap.
✔ Choose the Amount That Suits Your Needs
Whether you need a top-up or a full tank, we offer flexible delivery quantities from 500ltrs upwards to fit your home, usage, and budget.
✔ We Prioritise Urgent Deliveries
If you’re running dangerously low, let us know. We’ll always do our best to prioritise emergency situations, especially during freezing conditions.
✔ Local, Reliable Drivers
Our team understands the local routes and winter challenges. Their experience helps ensure safe and dependable deliveries.
Stay warm, stay prepared
With a few simple precautions and early ordering, you can stay warm and avoid disruption during the coldest spells. Johnston Oils is here to support you with reliable kerosene deliveries and helpful advice all winter long.
If you haven’t checked your tank recently, now is a great time to have a look and if you need a top-up, we’re ready when you are.
A Johnston Oils payment plan is a monthly direct debit scheme that allows customers to spread their annual heating oil usage, rather than paying for a delivery every time they order.
This helps to ease the financial burden, especially during the cold winter months when fuel consumption is highest. It also gives you more control over your household budget by eliminating large, unexpected bills.
How the payment plan works
Estimate annual usage: You and Johnston Oils will estimate how much heating oil you use over the course of a year. The company provides a Fuel Usage Calculator to help with this.
Calculate monthly payment: Based on the estimated usage, you can use the monthly direct debit bands to workout your monthly payment value.
Set up direct debit: A direct debit is set up for the agreed-upon monthly amount and preferred payment date.
Order as normal: You place an order for oil when you need it, and the cost is covered by the credit you have built up in your account.
Quarterly reviews: Johnston Oils reviews your account every three months to make sure your payments align with your actual usage and any changes in oil prices.
Adjust payments: If your usage or the price of oil changes significantly, Johnston Oils will contact you to adjust your direct debit amount. Any changes are communicated to you beforehand.
Benefits of the payment plan
Avoid large bills: You can avoid a hefty, single payment by spreading the cost over the year.
Easier budgeting: Predictable monthly payments make it easier to manage your household budget.
Prevents running out of oil: When combined with a top-up service, it can provide reassurance that you won’t run out of fuel.
Better financial management: The plan helps you manage your finances more effectively by smoothing out seasonal energy costs.
Fair and transparent: Quarterly reviews ensure your payments are accurate and align with your consumption.
Johnston Oils’ oil clubs are a free service that allows households in a community to combine their orders for heating oil, also known as kerosene, to secure a cheaper bulk purchase price. By organising multiple deliveries in a single area, Johnston Oils can reduce its travel and administrative costs and pass those savings to its oil club members. The company manages over 200 community clubs across Scotland and Northern England.
Joining a heating oil club can offer several benefits, here’s a breakdown of the key advantages:
Group ordering
By combining the orders of an entire community, the collective volume of heating oil is significantly larger than any single individual’s order. A higher volume gives the group increased buying power to negotiate a better price per litre.
No fees or contracts
Joining a Johnston Oils club is free, with no joining or renewal fees. You are not locked into a contract and can leave at any time.
Flexible ordering
You are not obligated to order every time the club places a group order. When you need to top up your tank, you can place an order online or by phone and get the special oil club price. You can also order outside of the group schedule if needed.
Order reminders
Johnston Oils sends reminders via text, email, or phone call before an oil club delivery is scheduled, ensuring you don’t forget to order or run low.
Environmentally friendly
By consolidating deliveries to a single area, the number of tanker journeys is reduced, which lowers fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
Convenient delivery
You don’t have to be home for the delivery, as long as the driver has safe access to your oil tank.
We at Johnston Oils are often asked about factors affecting the price of heating oil. While some are in our control and we do all we can to minimise them, some are out with our control. Heating oil prices can fluctuate due to a variety of factors. Here are the key influences that can drive up or lower the cost:
Global Market Influences
Crude Oil Prices
Heating oil is derived from crude oil, so its price is directly tied to the global cost of crude. When crude oil prices rise or fall, heating oil prices follow suit.
Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
This organisation of major oil-producing countries determines production levels, which can constrict or increase the global supply of crude oil and cause price fluctuations.
Geopolitical events
Political instability, sanctions, or conflicts in oil producing regions can disrupt the oil supply chain, causing market uncertainty and leading to price spikes.
Currency exchange rates
Crude oil is priced in U.S. dollars on the global market. A weak local currency (such as the British pound) against the U.S. dollar will make imported oil more expensive for suppliers, who often pass that cost on to consumers.
Economic conditions
A growing global economy typically increases demand for oil, pushing prices higher. Conversely, a recession or economic slowdown can cause demand and prices to fall
Seasonal and weather-related factors
Seasonal demand
Heating oil demand is significantly higher in colder winter months (typically October to March), which causes prices to rise. In the warmer summer months, demand falls, and prices are often lower. Many savvy buyers top up their tanks during the off-season.
Extreme weather
Severe weather events like blizzards or hurricanes can increase demand while simultaneously disrupting the transportation and delivery of heating oil, which can cause sharp price increases.
Local and national market factors
Competition
In regions with a large number of heating oil suppliers, competition helps to keep prices in check. In more rural or isolated areas with fewer suppliers, consumers may face higher prices.
Distribution and delivery costs
The cost to deliver heating oil from the refinery to your home is factored into the final price. Factors like delivery distance, local fuel costs for tankers, and logistical challenges can increase prices, especially for hard-to-reach rural properties.
Taxes and regulations
Government policies and taxes, such as VAT (Value Added Tax) and environmental regulations, can directly influence the overall cost of heating oil.
Bulk purchasing
The size of your order can affect the price per litre. Suppliers often offer a better rate for larger orders. Joining a local “oil club” allows a group of neighbours to combine their orders and secure a lower bulk price.
Refining costs
The costs associated with refining crude oil into heating oil and storing the finished product also affect pricing. Technological advances and government regulations can impact these expenses
If you’re tracking prices in your area, some of these factors may be more relevant at certain times of year or depending on where you live. You can track prices in your area using Johnston Oils depot pricing trends: https://johnston-oils.co.uk/heating-oil/heating-oil-prices/
Oil heating works by burning heating oil, which is stored in an external tank, to heat water in a boiler. A thermostat signals the boiler to activate, a pump delivers oil to a combustion chamber where it’s ignited, and the heat generated transfers to a heat exchanger. This hot water then circulates through pipes to radiators or underfloor heating, warming the home. Once the desired temperature is reached, the thermostat turns the system off
Delivery & Storage
Heating oil is delivered by tanker into a storage tank at your home as there’s no connection to mains gas supply.
The storage tank can be above ground or underground.
Thermostat Control
A thermostat in the home detects a drop in temperature and signals the heating system to start.
Fuel Supply to Heating System
The oil travels from the tank through a fuel line to a combustion chamber in your boiler.
Ignition & Combustion
The burner atomizes (sprays) the oil into a fine mist, then an electric ignition system or a pilot light ignites the mist in the combustion chamber creating a flame and generating heat.
Heat Transfer
The heat from the burning oil transfers to a heat exchanger, a component that separates the combustion gases from the water.
Heat Distribution
The hot water then flows through pipes to radiators or an underfloor heating system throughout the house, providing warmth.
The hot water releases its heat into the rooms, warming the space.
Exhaust
Combustion produces gases (mainly carbon dioxide and water vapor), which are safely vented outside through a chimney or flue.
Thermostat Control
When the thermostat senses that the desired room temperature has been reached, it signals the system to stop producing heat
Maintenance
Oil systems require regular maintenance (e.g., annual cleaning, nozzle replacement, filter changes and tank checks) to stay efficient and safe.
Johnston Oils deliver Heating Oil to homes throughout Scotland and the North of England. In the UK, “heating oil” refers primarily to kerosene (also called 28-second oil or burning oil), a type of petroleum-based liquid fuel used to power oil-fired central heating systems, that are “off-grid” and do not have access to the national gas network.
Heating oil is delivered to homes via our fleet of oil tankers and stored in a secure tank located on the property. These oil tanks requiring regular monitoring to ensure a sufficient supply, we recommend refilling the tank at 30% of the tanks capacity to avoid running out of heating oil.
Johnston Oils offer a range of service to help you manage your heating oil levels, also see blog articles on Smart Tank Monitors and Oil Clubs.
