Featured Image: Carbery Bunded Tank concealed with trees
Home heating oil isn’t just a precious resource it’s a valuable resource too. Theft of heating and diesel oil has been a concern for many years where a strong seasonal trend can be seen in oil theft correlating to its demand. Carbery Plastics recommends a number of steps that can be implemented to reduce the chances of oil theft at your property. But before you read these steps firstly, make sure your oil is stored in a tank which is approved by the experts at OFTEC and complies fully to the European standard EN13341 which of course all Carbery Plastics tanks do.
Lock
One of the first security measures you should take once your oil tank is in place is fitting a good quality closed shackle padlock to the tank opening of the tank. Thieves may find other ways to access your oil but the lock will hinder any thief from direct access to you oil. Every Carbery Bunded tank is equipped with a concealed vent point, together with lockable fill, inspection and access points…. all designed to accept standard manual & electronic padlocks
Placement of the oil tank
Place your oil tank as close to the house as regulations allow and in view of one or more windows, ideally a location that is not visible from the road to passing traffic. This may make the thief consider the chance of being seen too high to risk.
Oil Level Gauges
Fit the tank with a level gauge complete with an audible alarm to alert when a sudden drain occurs from the tank. Dunraven Systems, Apollo Smart Monitor is designed to monitor the levels of oil within a tank and emit an audible alert which sounds if the oil level within the tank drops suddenly.
Monitored Alarm
Protect your home heating oil with the OilPal monitoring kit and the systems low level and sudden drain alert. OilPal sends automated warning messages when oil levels within the tank run low or when the level of oil dramatically drops. The app also allows the user to monitor heating oil levels, usage days to empty anytime, anywhere via a web enabled device or app.
Outdoor motion-sensor light
Installing outdoor motion-sensor lighting light up shaded areas which can often provide cover for thieves, thus carefully planned motion-sensor lighting can help deter thieves and make property a much harder and more undesirable target for a thief.
Defensive planting
Thorny plants and shrubs are nature’s way of providing further security and helping to reduce crime. Thieves will not wish to force their way through or over defensive thorny hedges and shrubbery. Strategic planting of trees or hedging can make your oil tank less visible from the road to passing traffic.
Securing the oil tank
A wooden or metal fence, trellis or wall can give significant protection to the tank and is probably the strongest method of target hardening. A metal or grill cage with a lockable access point across the top of this wall or fence can further improve security.
CCTV
Installing CCTV may sound extreme; however small infra-red cameras are fairly cheap these days. A CCTV camera to record the number plates of any cars or vans entering your driveway could help. It may not stop thieves but could help trace them later. Placing a highly visible camera on your property may act as a deterrent to thieves, especially in areas where natural surveillance is scarce.