Level 3 · Plumbing revision
Domestic Fuels revision notes
Fuel types and characteristics, low-carbon heat sources, choosing a fuel, safe storage and the competent-person bodies.
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Fuel Types & Characteristics
- Domestic fuels and heat sources at a glanceHow natural gas, LPG, heating oil, solid fuel and electricity compare on supply, storage, combustion and energy content.
- Oil-fired heating — the essentialsHow a domestic oil heating system works: tank, supply, fire valve, burner and flue.
- Why gas density matters: natural gas versus LPGFuel-gas density, the limits of rise-or-sink rules, and the separate purposes of detection and ventilation.
Low-Carbon & Sustainable Options
- Decarbonising heat and the Future Homes directionHow a cleaner electricity grid, hydrogen-readiness and the Future Homes Standard point heating away from fossil fuels.
- Heat pumps: air source and ground sourceHow ASHP and GSHP move low-grade heat, why flow temperatures are low, and what good design depends on.
- Solar thermal and biomass as low-carbon heatHow solar thermal panels pre-heat hot water and how biomass boilers burn wood fuel as renewable options.
Choosing a Fuel
Fuel Storage & Safe Siting
- LPG storage: cylinder and bulk tank sitingSiting LPG cylinders and bulk tanks safely, allowing for a gas that is heavier than air.
- Oil storage: tanks, bunding and the fire valveSafe siting of domestic oil tanks, integrally-bunded construction, separation and the fire valve that cuts the supply.
- Storing solid fuel and biomassWhy solid fuel and biomass need dry, well-sized storage, and how moisture affects performance.
Regulatory & Competent-Person Bodies
Compare a fuel choice against the actual installation
A domestic-fuels scenario needs more than the name of an available fuel. Consider the building demand, supply or storage arrangements, appliance requirements and competence needed for the proposed work. State which information would be needed before choosing a system.
Use the LPG notes when revising fuel-specific differences and the heat-pump notes for electrically driven heating. Keep the wider low-carbon heating principles alongside those individual technologies.
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