When people talk about off-grid properties, it’s easy to picture a remote farmhouse at the end of a winding country lane, or a pretty cottage tucked away in a rural village. While those homes certainly form part of the picture, the reality is much broader.
In fact, around 4 million homes across Great Britain are not connected to the mains gas grid, relying instead on alternatives such as LPG, heating oil, electricity, solid fuels or renewables to provide heating, hot water and cooking. That’s roughly one in six households, making off-grid living a significant part of the UK’s housing landscape rather than a niche way of life.
But it’s not just homes that operate beyond the mains gas grid. Thousands of businesses across rural and semi-rural Britain face the same challenge. From farms and poultry rearers, workshops and industrial sites to hotels, pubs, holiday parks, and warehouses, many organisations depend on off-grid energy solutions to keep their operations running smoothly all year round.
For both homes and businesses, the choice often comes down to two tried-and tested fuels: LPG or heating oil.
Both have been trusted by off-grid properties for decades. Both can deliver reliable heating and hot water. However, as energy priorities continue to evolve, factors such as efficiency, reliability, running costs, environmental performance, and future stability are becoming increasingly important when deciding which fuel is the better fit.
At Robinsons Gas, we work with homeowners and businesses across the UK every day, helping them find the right energy solution for their property. In this blog, we’ll take a look at LPG and heating oil, comparing their strengths, differences, and long-term benefits to help you make an informed decision.
LPG and heating oil explained – what’s the difference?
Before comparing costs, efficiency, and long-term performance, it’s important to understand what LPG and heating oil are and how they work.
Although both are delivered directly to your home or site and used off-grid, they differ in storage, combustions and day-to-day performance, which can influence everything from running costs to maintenance requirements.
LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) is stored as a liquid under pressure in either a bulk above-ground or underground storage tank. When released, it naturally turns back into a gas and can be used to for central heating, hot water systems, gas cooking and fires, and a wide range of commercial and industrial applications.
Its versatility is one of the reasons it remains such a popular option for both domestic and business users, particularly in areas where access to mains gas isn’t available.
One of LPG’s biggest advantages is that it offers all the benefits of gas heating without requiring a mains gas connection. For homeowners, this means fast responsive heating and excellent control. For commercial kitchens, hospitality venues, and catering businesses, LPG provides instant, controllable heat and the precise cooking control needed in fast-paced environments.
LPG also offers an important practical benefit for rural properties: security. Because it is stored as a pressurised gas within a sealed system, it is virtually impossible to steal, unlike heating oil which is stored as a liquid in external tanks and can be vulnerable in isolated locations.
Heating oil is a liquid fuel stored in an on-site tank and is used primarily to power boilers that provide heating and hot water. Like LPG, it is delivered directly to the property, making it a reliable off-grid energy source for homes and businesses without access to the mains gas network.
Both fuels provide an effective solution for rural and remote properties where energy security and reliability are essential. However, while they may appear similar on the surface, there are some important differences in how they perform. Key differences include efficiency, emissions, maintenance requirements, storage options and long-term sustainability.
Efficiency: getting more from every litre
When comparing off-grid heating options, efficiency is one of the most important factors to consider. After all, the more heat you can generate from the fuel you buy, the better value your heating system is likely to deliver over the long term.
For both homeowners and businesses, higher efficiency can translate into lower fuel consumption, reduced running costs, and a more consistent heating performance throughout the year. For commercial users, it also plays a role in controlling overheads, improving energy management, and supporting healthier profit margins, while reducing environmental impact.
Modern LPG boilers are renowned for their high efficiency, with many achieving efficiency ratings of more than 90%. Because LPG is a clean burning fuel, it produces very low levels of nitrogen oxide, (NOx), sulphur oxides, (SOx), and particulate matter (PM), compared with other conventional fuels. This cleaner combustion process helps minimise the build-up of soot, deposits, and other residues within the boiler system, allowing equipment to maintain its performance and efficiency over time when properly maintained.
For businesses, this reliability matters. Whether you’re heating a warehouse, workshop, office space or hospitality venue, a cleaner-burning fuel can help reduce downtime, support reliable operations, and minimise maintenance-related disruptions.
Heating oil boilers can also achieve high efficiency levels, particularly modern condensing models that have benefitted from significant technological improvement over recent years. However, oil combustion naturally produces more deposits and residue that LPG. Over time, this can lead to greater wear on components and increased servicing requirements if maintenance is not carried out regularly.
While servicing is important for both fuels, neglecting an oil system tends to have a greater impact on performance, potentially leading to higher fuel consumption and reduced efficiency over time.
In short, both fuels are capable of delivering efficient and effective heating, but LPG’s cleaner-burning properties give it a distinct advantage when it comes to maintaining long-term system performance, reducing emissions and helping to ensure that more of the fuel you purchase is converted into usable heat.
Environment impact: an increasingly important consideration
As the UK continues its journey towards Net Zero, environmental performance is playing an increasingly central role in how homeowners and businesses choose their heating systems. It’s no longer just about keeping a property warm efficiently and reliably, it’s also about reducing carbon emissions and choosing fuels that can adapt to a lower-carbon future.
Traditional LPG is widely considered a cleaner-burning alternative to heating oil, producing lower carbon emissions and fewer particulates. This makes it an attractive option for properties looking to reduce their environmental impact without compromising on performance or reliability.
Looking ahead, LPG also offers a clear pathway to low carbon heating through renewable alternatives such as bioLPG. Because bioLPG is chemically identical to traditional LPG, it can be used in existing LPG storage tanks, pipework, and appliances without any system changes. That means lower-carbon heating without the cost or disruption of replacement equipment.
Heating oil is also evolving. Alongside continued improvements in boiler efficiency, renewable fuels such as HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) are being developed and introduced as lower carbon alternatives to traditional heating oil. These fuels are designed to reduce lifecycle emissions while still allowing many existing oil-fired systems to continue operating with minimal or no modification, depending on compatibility.
In reality, both fuels are moving towards a more sustainable future, just through slightly different pathways.
Why LPG offers more long-term flexibility than HVO
At Robinsons Gas, we’re often asked how LPG fits into the UK’s long-term energy transition, and the answer increasing lies in its renewable potential.
BioLPG is not just a renewable fuel. It’s also a sustainable, drop-in alternative that can be produced through a range of established and emerging technologies, using both thermal and chemical processes.
For example, bioLPG is already produced as a co-product during the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), as well as through gasification processes that convert organic materials into usable energy gases and liquids.
One of its key strengths is the wide variety of feedstocks it can be derived from. These include:
- Used cooking oil
- Animal fats
- Vegetable oils
- Organic waste streams
- Plant-based dry matter
This broad feedstock base is important. It means bioLPG can be produced from both waste materials and sustainably grown resources, helping to reduce reliance on fossil fuels while supporting more circular, resource-efficient energy systems.
In comparison, alternatives such as HVO tend to follow a narrower production pathway and are often more constrained by feedstock availability. They can also face increasing competition for raw materials from other sectors, including transport and heavy industry.
As a result, LPG’s route into renewable fuels in not only already well underway, it is also more diverse, scalable, and adaptable to different future production methods.
So, which is better?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer.
Heating oil remains a proven and widely used fuel across rural Britain, particularly where existing systems are already in place.
However, for many modern off-grid properties, LPG offers several clear advantages:
- High-efficiency heating performance
- Cleaner combustions
- Lower carbon emissions
- Flexible storage options
- Reduced maintenance requirements
- Compatibility with renewable bioLPG
- Versatility across domestic, commercial and agricultural applications
- Virtually impossible to steal
Ultimately, the right choice depends on your property, budget, energy usage, and long-term plans.
Need advice on off-grid fuel for your property?
Whether you’re heating a rural family home, managing a farm, running a hospitality venue or operating an industrial site, choosing between LPG and heating oil is an important decision.
At Robinsons Gas, as a specialist bulk LPG supplier, we’ve been helping homes and businesses across the UK find reliable energy solutions for over 50 years. Our friendly customer service team can provide clear, practical advice on LPG supply, storage options, and ongoing fuel management to help you get the most from your energy system.
We also have our own in-house engineering team, handling everything from installation to ongoing servicing and maintenance, giving you an all-round service and complete peace of mind that your system is in safe, capable hands.
Get in touch with us today on 01347 238177 to discuss your requirements and discover whether LPG could be the right fit for you.