Diesel fuel guide: what is it and how to find the best supplier?

At Certas Energy, we are UK’s largest diesel fuel distributor. For the last 40 years we’ve helped supply businesses across a range of industries, ensuring fuel needs are maintained and supporting continuous business performance.

Our customers trust Certas Energy as they need a reliable diesel supply to fuel a mixed range of business-critical vehicles and machinery. We offer top quality fuels for all purposes, including red diesel (referred to as off-road diesel or gas oil) and DERV (or white diesel, referred to on-road diesel). Purchasing fuel from Certas Energy is easy, with our vast network of depots and customer service facilities – giving you access to competitive diesel prices and expert advice.

Red Diesel

Red diesel is a fuel used in off-road plant, vehicles and machinery as well as for heating. It is the same technical product as regular diesel, but with a red dye added to maintain compliance to ensure it is not used instead of on-road diesel – red diesel is currently a government subsidised fuel and therefore lower cost. Many industries use this subsidised fuel, in particular agriculture, construction, marine and others. The main users are industries such as:

Farming
Construction
Schools
Rail
Factories
Hospitals
Marine
Commercial Fishing

Red diesel, also known as gas oil, is commonly used in vehicles such as tractors, farming equipment, off-road plant, forklifts, cranes, power generators, back-up generators as well as boilers.

Important Notice: gas oil tax legislation will be changing from 1st April 2022. Certas Energy will keep this guide up to date, in line with the revised government legislation as details are communicated from HMRC. Please see latest Certas Energy statement for a summary so far of the gas oil tax legislation changes and how it may affect your business – please click here.

White Diesel (DERV)

To ensure your fleet stays on the road, a reliable fuel supplier is crucial. At Certas Energy we have decades of experience supplying high-quality Diesel Engine Road Vehicle (DERV) fuel to businesses large and small. Also known as ‘white diesel’, we deliver over a million litres each year to customers nationwide across a wide range of industries including:

Haulage
Logistics
Construction
Utilities
Waste Management
Public Sector

Supplying fuel to a range of industries

Certas Energy is one of the UK’s largest fuel distributors, providing safe and reliable fuel deliveries to customers throughout the UK. We supply a range of industries, including:

Agriculture
Commercial
Construction and plant
Education
Haulage and storage
Leisure
Manufacturing
Marine
Passenger transport
Public sector
Rail
Retail and wholesale
Utilities

As a fleet operator as well as a fuel distributor, Certas Energy is an expert fuelling business. To see how we can help yours, find out more on our industries page.

Diesel FAQs

How much is a gallon of diesel? The average price of diesel globally fluctuates daily as well as between different countries. For more information on fuel prices, talk to the Certas team of fuel experts or request a quote from your local specialist.

What type of fuel is diesel? Diesel fuel is defined as any liquid fuel that is specifically designed for diesel engines. It’s produced from various sources, with the most common being petroleum. There are different types of diesel that serve different purposes, including red diesel and white diesel. The most common type is petroleum diesel.

What are the different types of diesel? There are several different types of diesel fuel, including:

Petroleum diesel
Synthetic diesel
Biofuel
Hydrotreated oils and fats
Dimethyl ether (DME)

What is diesel used for? Diesel is an energy-dense fuel that is used to power engines, including cars, trains, boats, turbines, generators and more. It’s mostly used for transportation purposes, while producing a higher mass density than gasoline. Because of this, the same volume of diesel has more energy than a comparable volume of gasoline.

What is the best diesel fuel to buy? The best type of diesel you can use will depend on how you intend to use it. For instance, if you’re using it in your car then you may wish to use premium diesel thanks to its high-performance values. If you’re using it for heating or to power plant machinery or off-road vehicles then you would use red diesel as a rebated fuel.

Fuel Cards

Managing a fleet has never been easier thanks to the Certas Energy fuel card. Ensure your operations run smoothly with a nationwide network of cashless fuel payments with added payment security, lower prices, and discounts across hundreds of well-known brands. Our fuel card is accepted at up to 3,000 refuelling sites across the UK, while you can also keep track of everything with our app.

There are numerous benefits to using a Certas Energy fuel card, including:

Discounts – enjoy fixed rates and deals
No need for a company credit card
Eliminate the need for cash
Track spending across your fleet
Added benefits with the customer loyalty scheme – Certas Energy Extras – big discounts off well-known brand products and services.

Whether you’re looking to improve your productivity or easily manage your expenses, then look no further than Certas Energy.

Telemetry for fuel tanks

Make buying fuel easy thanks to the Certas Energy FuelWise telemetry system. Track performance and optimise stock management with our all-in-one service that can keep your business running smoothly no matter what. Within 48 hours of installation, you can get an in-depth view of your usage so you can have total peace of mind.

Here are just a selection of benefits you will see:

Consumption data
Fill volume
Sudden drop alert
Projected run out date
Low-level alert

We also provide onboard telematics for fleets, so you can keep track of vehicle and driver performance. FuelTrace can be used as a standalone solution or together with fuel card data, giving you an accurate measurement of your fleet’s fuel use.