Reading a fuel price heat map like a pro
A heat map turns thousands of individual forecourt prices into a single picture you can read in seconds. Once you know what the colours mean, it becomes one of the fastest ways to spot a saving.
Green is cheap, red stings
The colour scale runs from green (cheapest) through amber to red (priciest). Because it is scaled to current prices, green does not mean a fixed number - it means cheap relative to the rest of the country today. The same site can drift between colours as the market moves.
Look for sharp edges
The most useful thing on a heat map is not a region, it is a boundary. Where a green patch sits right next to an amber or red one, a short drive can mean a real saving. Those edges are usually where a supermarket cluster meets an area with less competition.
Zoom in before you commit
Regional colour is a starting point, not the answer. Within any patch there is a spread, and the cheapest individual forecourt can be several pence under its neighbours. Zoom in, switch to the list, and check the actual sites before you plan a detour.
Pair it with the forecast
A heat map shows you where to fill up; the 7-day forecast helps you decide when. If your area is amber and prices are forecast to ease, it can pay to wait a day. If it is green and rising, fill up now.
