If you use oil to heat your home, then you might have wondered exactly what the liquid is that you buy in each year and that you rely on to keep you toasty and safe over the winter months. Well, wonder no longer, as here’s the lowdown on kerosene.
Kerosene is the most commonly used heating oil in the UK and Ireland, and it’s also used in commercial and industrial engines. It’s a thin liquid, with a density of 0.81g/mc3 – slightly less dense than water.
Here does it come from?
Kerosene is produced by the distillation of petroleum. The petroleum is heated to different temperatures ranging from 150C to 275C, as this is the temperature range that breaks the petroleum down into its constituent parts, or fractions. The lighter weight hydrocarbons rise to the top and the heavier components, which will have higher boiling points, stay towards the bottom.
Kerosene used to be taken from coal, oil shale and wood, but now it’s mainly extracted from petroleum. When you’re next searching for the cheapest oil in NI, spare a thought for the process it’s gone through to get to you!
Kerosene’s history
We’ve been producing kerosene since the mid-1800s, and before electricity became widespread it was our main way of heating and lighting our homes. Kerosene was the world’s foremost refinery product until gas started to take over in the 1920s.
What is it used for?
Kerosene is used in a huge number of applications, from oil lamps and heaters to huge machines and even jet engines!
Is kerosene safe in the home?
Yes, very safe, and for a number of reasons. Firstly, it burns cleanly, with no smoke or vapours. It also presents a very low carbon monoxide poisoning risk and it’s also very unlikely to explode because it doesn’t produce fuel vapours. If your heating system is properly installed by a qualified technician, then it’ll work cleanly within your home, without producing any soot, smells or smoke.
Is it kerosene or kerosene?
It can be either – the spelling may differ, but the chemical composition remains the same. In the USA, people adopted the “kerosine” spelling variant whereas the UK preferred the “kerosene” version. You may also occasionally hear it referred to as “coal oil”, which is a throwback to the days when it was extracted from coal.
Isn’t it a bit old-fashioned to use oil for heating now?
No, not at all. There are roughly four million homes in the UK and Ireland that use heating oil for their homes, mainly because they’re not connected to the gas grid. Kerosene is actually a very cheap method of heating, and its price is particularly low right now, making it a firm favourite with many homeowners.
Not only that, but kerosene is a highly efficient fuel – you can expect at least 90% efficiency, which means 90% of its energy is converted into heat. Compare this to gas, which has an efficiency of 77% and electricity, which languishes at 31%. There’s no question, really!
