Kerosene or Kero

Kerosene is a widely-used petroleum derivative with an array of uses. In areas of Britain, kerosene - also known as kero, heating oil and paraffin - is commonly used for home heating purposes where properties are not connected to mains gas.

So too, in the developing world kerosene is used for a variety of purposes such as heating, cooking and lighting in areas where gas and electricity supply is sporadic or non-existent.

In fact, figures from Shell show that developing countries account for half of the world's total kero consumption, although it concedes that this reliance on kerosene may dwindle as energy networks and infrastructure improves in the coming years.

However, the group notes that kerosene still plays a vital role for many consumers, as well as for sectors such as aviation industry, which relies on kerosene products to fuel planes.

While kerosene is no longer commonly used for home lighting - it has been replaced in time by electricity in most parts of the world - kero still serves an array of purposes in developed and developing countries.

For domestic purposes, kero is popular because of its clean burning properties, which in turn means that devices such as boilers require a very low-level of serviceability. So too, kerosene is also a very good fuel to use for those living in cold areas as it remains fluid at temperatures as low as -40C.

Consumers who are new to a property can establish whether their boiler has been set up to run on kerosene by checking the oil tank gauge for colouration. Kerosene is either transparent or very pale yellow in colour and as such should not stain boilers. If the tank shows signs of red staining, it is probable that the device is designed to run on gas oil.

Newer kerosene boilers will also contain British Standard information confirming which type of fuel it runs on. The mark for kero is BS 2869 class C2.