Thinking about switching from standard heating oil to a greener alternative? We will explore the modifications required, performance, environmental temperature, supply chain, and costs of switching to this greener fuel in this blog post.
Modifications
The boiler modification is straightforward; it would require 1-2hrs maximum for a heating engineer with only a few inexpensive parts required including increasing the jet / nozzle and cleaning the tank out. The cost to convert is expected to be around £500.
Performance / Efficiency
Calorific values between the two are very similar. Spec sheets normally quote a minimum and maximum figure, with the actual figure falling somewhere between the two, but varies on the blend and source materials used.
Kerosene 42.80 – 46.20 MJ/kg
HVO 42.00 – 44.00 MJ/kg
Different manufacturers’ specification sheets also have some slight variations so take the figures with a pinch of salt but in short, the 2 are almost identical.
Temperature
HVO temperature stability is much better than fossil diesel; the cold filter plug point is -35degC on the Winter grade which is far superior to EN590 Diesel of -15degC.
Kerosene never really suffered from any temperature related issues to begin with so no loss/benefits on this front.
Supply Chain
The supply chain wasn’t the best when it first arrived, but the uptake by distributors and the investment in production by the terminals has increased massively over the last 12 months, so any concerns we originally had are now starting to fade.
We’ve just spent £0.5m on new storage tanks and loading equipment for it in our yard in Penwortham.
Costs
The elephant in the room – and it’s a big one… HVO is expensive!
- Kerosene – 75p + 5% VAT
- White HVO (On Road applications) – £1.65 + 20% VAT
HOWEVER, the price above doesn’t properly reflect the actual cost of HVO if you were to run your home on it, right here and now.
The on-road HVO product currently benefits from RTFO credits which wouldn’t be eligible if used in a domestic heating application, therefore the true cost would exceed £2.00 per litre + VAT.
Any good news?
Governments have finally acknowledged that heat pumps aren’t necessarily the silver bullet to tackle climate change and have since agreed to new legislation to look at subsiding HVO for off-grid heating purposes.
To summarise, the product certainly appears to be heading in the right direction, but it needs huge financial backing from the government before Joe Public starts to use it. If you need any advice before switching this greener alternative, we’ll be happy to assist on 0330 128 9838 or sales@compassfuel.co.uk