Skip to content

fuel oil

liquid oil

DESNZ has no single 'heating oil' label. This entry uses DESNZ 'Fuel Oil' (heavier industrial/boiler grade). UK DOMESTIC heating oil is usually 'Gas Oil' (see diesel notes) or kerosene-type 'Burning Oil' (see kerosene). IPCC 2006 Residual Fuel Oil NCV 40.4 MJ/kg, CO2 77,400 kg/TJ; Gas/Diesel Oil is the alternative mapping. EIA US: No.2 heating oil ~138,500 Btu/gal.

  • 'Heating oil' is not one product, and this entry is the HEAVIEST grade: DESNZ 'Fuel Oil' (983.284 kg/m³), the residual bunker/industrial oil. Domestic heating oil is a lighter distillate — UK '28 second' kerosene is the 'burning oil' entry, and gasoil-grade heating oil (including German/Austrian Heizöl EL) is closest to 'gas oil'. Those differ from this entry by up to 15% per litre, so check you are on the right one.

Different products with different numbers. Check you are on the right one.

Emission factors

MetricValueScopeRegion / yearSource
CO₂3.16262 kgCO2/Ldirect combustionUK · 2025
CO₂e3.17492 kgCO2e/Ldirect combustionUK · 2025

CO₂ ≠ CO₂e — separate metrics, never converted into one another. What these metrics mean →

Worked example

Open in converter →
Converting
1 L · fuel oil

Conversion results

Energy

Same energy expressed in other units.

40.07 MJ
source-based
11.13 kWh
source-based
0.04007 GJ
source-based
37,980 BTU
source-based
42.63 MJ
source-based
11.84 kWh
source-based
0.04263 GJ
source-based
40,400 BTU
source-based

Mass

0.9833 kg
source-based

Volume

1,000 mL
exact
1 L
exact
0.001
exact
~0.264172 US gal
exact
~0.219969 imp gal
exact
~0.00628981 bbl
exact

Emissions

CO₂ and CO₂e are separate — never derived from each other.

~3.16 kg CO2
region + year
~3.17 kg CO2e
region + year

Energy density

Energy per unit of mass or volume.

40.75 MJ/kg
source-based
11.13 kWh/L
source-based

Assumptions

  • density: assumed fuel oil density 983.284 kg/m³ at 15 °C (fuel-properties basis)
  • heating value basis: energy on LHV/NCV basis, 11.131 kWh/L
  • heating value basis: energy on HHV/GCV basis, 11.841 kWh/L

Sources

Follow each source back to its primary document — that traceability is the point. How conversions work →

Sources

Learn more