If you’re off gas-grid, (and with the recent snowy weather even putting the availability of gas in question!), you’ll have a decision to make on how best you can heat your home.

Of course, two of the deciding factors could be how effective is the heating system and how much will it cost you to run? (Worth a read of our Renewables – Are we ready for them page!)

Earlier this year, the media covered a story from Suffolk where homeowners had a newly-installed green heat system, but claimed it didn’t get warm enough and was expensive to run.

We, at Mistral, are proud to be a British manufacturer of oil-fired heating systems, and we’ve watched the growth and decline of the green heat sector with interest.

It can seem an attractive prospect for homes that are ‘off-grid’ – which are those not connected to mains electricity or gas – but is it really a heating solution that can keep you warm and make you better off?

Perhaps not – according to a BBC report on people living in Orwell Housing homes in Ipswich and Tunstall. The BBC reported that families were sharing baths and wearing coats inside thanks to issues with their air-source heat pump.

For many, as tempted as they may be by the credentails of an environmentally friendly system such as a biomass boiler or ground or air source heat pumps, the installation costs can be prohibitive.

It can costs thousands, sometimes into double figures, to install a system either retrospectively or as part of a new build.

Even if you can afford the hefty up front bill, if the green heating system of your choice fails to keep you and your house warm, is it worth it?

Our domestic oil fired systems are not only the best option when it comes to daily running costs – low oil prices means it’s still the cheapest form of heating fuel – but they’re incredibly efficient, offering the best of both worlds to those homes that are off-grid.

Independent testing shows a typical 93% efficiency on our condensing boilers, and up to 87 per cent on non-condensing boilers. All of our products can be indoor, outdoor, condensing or non-condensing.