Large parts of rural Ireland and Northern Ireland have never had a mains gas pipe, and plenty of them never will. If you live on a farm outside a market town in Mayo, in a cottage up in the Sperrins or on a small estate built past the end of the network, your heating choices narrow quickly. Most households end up weighing heating oil, solid fuel, electricity and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) against each other.
For tens of thousands of those homes the answer has been LPG from Calor Ireland, delivered by tanker to a tank at the side of the house or bought in cylinders for smaller jobs. It’s an unglamorous choice. People tend to stick with it because the gas turns up when it’s meant to, the boiler fires when they switch it on, and there’s someone to ring when something goes wrong.
Below is how that supply works on both sides of the border, why ordering a gas cylinder in Northern Ireland is a different experience from ordering one in the Republic, and where Calor’s renewable gas fits for homeowners thinking about the next twenty years of heating.
Who Calor is, and why off-grid households trust it
Calor has supplied LPG in Ireland for more than 85 years. It works mainly with customers who sit outside the natural gas network, and it runs the whole chain itself: buying the gas, storing it in bulk, filling cylinders, driving it out to customers, and installing and maintaining the tanks. The company has six sites across the island and serves around 50,000 homes, farms and businesses.
Where the gas comes from matters more to people than it did a few years ago. Calor says roughly a quarter of its LPG is sourced from the Whitegate refinery in County Cork and the rest from within Europe, so its supply doesn’t depend on Middle Eastern or Russian imports. After a few winters of energy price swings, that’s a reasonable thing to ask any fuel supplier about.
The rest of the trust Calor has built is fairly practical. It owns and services the tanks it installs, so a homeowner isn’t left arranging inspections on their own. It runs separate emergency lines for the Republic and for Northern Ireland. And because it has delivered across both jurisdictions for decades, its drivers know the back roads, the long farm lanes and the townlands that sat-nav still gets wrong. For someone at the end of a two-mile boreen in January, that local knowledge is a big part of why they stay.
How a bulk LPG tank works for a house
Most homes that heat with Calor gas have a bulk tank on the property. Gas runs from the tank to a boiler for central heating and hot water, and usually to a hob as well. LPG gives heat as soon as the burner lights, which suits households who cook on gas and want hot water without waiting on an immersion.
Calor owns the tank, which has two consequences worth knowing before you sign up. Calor looks after its maintenance, and only Calor can fill it. If you buy a house that already has a Calor tank, you register the change of ownership with Calor rather than ordering a new installation.
Once you’re set up, most of the admin happens through MyCalorGas, Calor’s customer portal. You can order a refill when the tank runs low, pay a bill and check your tank level from your phone, which saves the old habit of lifting the lid on the gauge in the rain. Calor also offers remote tank monitoring, mainly to business customers, so the tank reports its own level.
Some newer developments outside the gas network use a different setup. On a metered estate, one communal bulk tank feeds a pipe network that runs to a meter at each house. You pay for what your meter records, much like mains gas, and if you move into one of these homes you simply call Calor to register your account.
Gas cylinders: delivered to the door in the North, bought locally in the South
Plenty of homes don’t need a tank at all. Cylinders run gas cookers, mobile heaters, patio heaters, barbecues and caravans, and some smaller homes rely on the larger propane bottles for heating and cooking. Calor’s range runs from a compact 5kg bottle up to a 47kg cylinder. How you get them depends on which side of the border you live.
Northern Ireland: Calor Direct home delivery
In Northern Ireland, Calor Direct delivers gas cylinders straight to homes and businesses. This service operates in Northern Ireland only. Local teams cover Belfast and Lisburn, Omagh, and Derry/Londonderry, and they deliver to rural addresses too, including farms and remote houses.
Delivery is same day or next day where possible, and Calor Direct doesn’t charge for it. You can order online, by phone or by email, and returning customers with a MyCalorGas account can be found by customer number, so reordering takes a couple of minutes. Payment is by card only, over the phone or to the driver at the door, and no cash is taken. If you have empties, mention them when you order and the driver will take them back.
| Calor Direct area | Phone to order |
| Belfast and Lisburn | +44 28 9081 4444 |
| Omagh | +44 28 7186 1663 |
| Derry/Londonderry | +44 28 7186 1663 |
All three areas also take orders at [email protected].
Republic of Ireland: local cylinder retailers
Calor Direct doesn’t operate in the Republic. Households there buy and swap Calor cylinders through local stockists, and Calor’s website has a finder that lists your nearest gas cylinder retailers by area. Bring your empty back when you collect a full one.
Wherever you buy them, store cylinders upright, somewhere well ventilated and away from heat. If you’re unsure which size suits a heater or a cooker, the retailer or the Calor Direct team can tell you before you buy.
Moving from oil, solid fuel or electric heating
Calor has separate switching guides for homes on oil, solid fuel and electric heating, because each move involves different work. If you’re thinking of making the move, Calor’s page on how to switch to LPG sets out the process, and it runs in five stages:
- You fill in an enquiry form and Calor gets in touch.
- Someone from Calor rings to talk through what you need.
- A specialist visits to plan the installation, including where the tank goes.
- A registered gas installer of your choosing does the installation.
- Your first gas delivery arrives within a few days.
Calor’s own figure for a move from oil to LPG is a cut in CO2 emissions of about 20%. LPG also does away with the coal bucket and the ash pan, which anyone who has run a solid fuel range will appreciate. At the time of writing, Calor is offering new home customers either a free boiler or up to 1,200 litres of free gas when they switch, subject to terms and conditions, so check the current offer before you commit.
BioLPG: lower carbon without replacing the boiler
A fair question about LPG is whether it has a future, given that it’s still a fossil fuel. Calor’s answer is BioLPG, a certified renewable gas made from sustainably sourced waste materials and renewable vegetable oils. Most of it currently comes out of biodiesel production, where it’s a by-product that gets purified until it’s identical to conventional propane.
Because it’s chemically the same as standard LPG, BioLPG runs in an existing tank, boiler and appliances with no changes. Calor sells it as blends of 10%, 25% or 50% BioLPG mixed with conventional LPG, so you can choose how far to go. On Calor’s figures, based on its 2024 feedstocks and deliveries, BioLPG can cut carbon emissions by up to 80%. It’s approved under the EU Renewable Energy Directive, and Calor says the Irish Government exempts it from carbon tax.
One honest point about how it’s delivered: Calor uses a mass balance system. BioLPG arrives in Ireland as pure biofuel and is then stored and transported alongside conventional LPG, so the molecules in your tank won’t all be the renewable ones. What the audit guarantees is that the renewable volume you pay for actually enters the supply chain. It’s the same system used for most renewable fuels, and it’s worth understanding before you switch to BioLPG.
Common questions from off-grid homeowners
Can I get Calor gas cylinders delivered to my home in the Republic of Ireland?
No. Calor Direct home delivery covers Northern Ireland only. In the Republic you buy Calor cylinders from local retailers, which you can find through the retailer finder on Calor’s website.
Does Calor Direct charge for delivery in Northern Ireland?
No. Calor Direct lists no delivery charge, and it aims for same-day or next-day delivery where it can. Payment is by card only.
Does Calor Direct deliver to rural addresses?
Yes. Calor Direct delivers across urban and rural Northern Ireland, including farms and remote homes, from its bases serving Belfast and Lisburn, Omagh, and Derry/Londonderry. Apartments are fine too, provided the driver has safe access.
Can another supplier fill my Calor tank?
No. Calor owns its tanks, so only Calor can supply gas to them. If you’d like to move to Calor from another LPG supplier, Calor has a separate switching process for that.
Do I need a new boiler to use BioLPG?
No. BioLPG is chemically identical to conventional LPG, so it works in existing tanks, boilers and appliances. You choose a 10%, 25% or 50% blend.
What cylinder sizes does Calor sell?
Calor’s range runs from a 5kg bottle up to a 47kg cylinder, in butane and propane. The smaller bottles suit portable heaters and barbecues, while the larger propane cylinders are used for cooking and heating.
What should I do if I smell gas?
Put out any flames, turn off gas appliances, don’t use electrical switches, turn the gas off at the valve or meter, and open doors and windows. Move butane cylinders outdoors if it’s safe to do so. Then ring Calor’s emergency line: 01 291 6229 in the Republic, or 0845 075 5588 in Northern Ireland. Never try to fix a leak yourself.
Where to start
If you’re off the gas grid and want a tank, the first step is Calor’s home enquiry form, which leads to a phone consultation and a site visit before anything is installed. If you only need cylinders, it comes down to geography: order from Calor Direct if you live in Northern Ireland, or call into a local Calor stockist if you’re in the Republic. Existing customers can manage orders, payments and tank levels through MyCalorGas.
For anyone weighing up the longer term, it helps to know that a home set up for LPG today can move onto a BioLPG blend later with the same tank and boiler. Off-grid homes don’t get many heating decisions that stay open like that.
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