Heating oil is cheap in France - and we will not stop using it

We have been running down into the cellar recently, to check how much fuel oil is left in the two rusty tanks there. 

In principle this is simple because each one has a gauge on top. But the gauges bear almost no relation to the oil levels and are calibrated in random numbers which do not correspond with the size of the tanks. 

So we have a length of bendy wire which we stick into the tank and pull out again. A smelly business but reasonably accurate. 

The challenge is that heating oil is cheapest in August so we always fill the tanks in mid-summer, and then try to eke it out past Christmas, which is when the prices go sky high. As spring comes round, the prices start to drop again. 

As the levels of our remaining oil sink, we start watching the websites. 

There are at least half a dozen purporting to be the cheapest, but the prices change all the time. 

Some of these websites have special offers, others give free credit, and you can even set up a monthly payment system if you are organised enough. (We are not.) 

So there is a lot to watch. We get granular about heating costs, working out the price of running a small electric fan heater for an hour or putting the radiator on for two hours. 

We once organised a group delivery for us and four different neighbours, but that was a nightmare. Getting everyone organised, and ordering all the heating oil took forever. We might have been refuelling Concorde, and in the end we all only saved one centime per litre. What a waste of time.

Why are we still even using heating oil? Well, because the boiler is incredibly efficient

. 

Given you are prepared to pay for the fuel, in a couple of hours it can turn the whole house into a sauna. 

We know people who moan that their heat pumps do not work very well when the temperatures drop below freezing, and apparently electricity suppliers can turn your heating off remotely if they start to run short of electricity. What fresh hell is that? 

Our greasy old monster is reliable. And if it ain't broke don't fix it. 

Also, all those grants promising tip-top new heating for one euro? Yeah. There is always a catch. Usually in the form of around €9,000 to pay even once the grant has been taken into account. 

And what about hot water? I dislike immersion heaters because there always comes that moment when there is no hot water. Usually when my sister is staying, has had her bath, and I am hoping for a shower before we go out for dinner. 

So yes, we still have an old heating boiler lurking in the barn which burns through enormous sums of money each winter. 

But every time I manage to find what I reckon is the cheapest heating oil on the market, it warms the cockles of my frugal little heart.

Do you have any tips on cutting energy costs in France? Let us know at letters@connexionfrance.com