LPG, OIL versus wood burner

wilkieone

Hello All!
i know this has been covered Ad Nausuem!
but it's making my head ache!
i live in a small semi, with no mains gas. when i moved here, i had central heating installed, and four LPG cylinders outside.
each cylinder costs @£70.00 which is @560.00 per year
i am told by many! that i have the most expensive type of heating!
should i go for oil, mixed fuel or stay with LPG. i have the space for an oil tank. i do not really have the sapce internally for a wood burner.
i have an open fire for one room. and a suggestion has been made that i could heat the house from the aga, would suspect this would be hot in the summer?
i would like to keep the open fire, rather than install a wood burner in the room.
if i use 8 tanks a year, what is the equivilent in oil, cost?
HELP!!!

marcs_2

Oil systems are expensive to install taking oil tank and boiler into account but are less costly to run. Depending on how long you are planning on staying at your current property, you might find the savings on running costs don't out way the installation and material prices. Might take upto 4 years to start making it pay (depending on the size of the house).

Another tip. Get the largest oil tank (Titan are best in my opinion) you can fit in. When the price of oil drops.... fill it up! Always a gamble but can work. Have done several conversions from LPG to Oil in Devon and always get my materials from Discounted Heating .co.uk - Good prices and service.

Good luck.

david29dpo

Have you looked at the price of bulk LPG?

wilkieone

Hi,
and, thank you very much for your replies, i know this is a well trodden subject. and i have read the previous posts, but came to no firm conclusion!
oil does look to be in the lead at the moment, the regulator on the cylinders has frozen up this morning! no heat, no cooker!!!!
marcs, the installation costs are not too much of a problem at the moment, i have set some money aside for this.
david29dpo, i assume bulk LPG would need a large tank?
i am quickly going off LPG, and the fuss around replacing cylinders, frozen regulators!!

thanks again for the help.

Paul

rhiwfield

If I was going to install a new system I would be taking into account what is likely to happen in the near future. Oil and other fossil fuels are likely to become more expensive due to both finite supply and (maybe) increased taxation to combat climate change. Renewables are probably the way forward and should help increase house value (whereas oil might not).

So woodburners, ASHP, solar pv, wind turbines and solar water heating might be worthwhile exploring. Grants are currently available (until end of March) up to £2500 for some renewables, though you will need to have cavity wall and loft insulation installed.

wilkieone

rhiwfield,
thanks for the reply.
i guess it's more about convenience for me, i work away at times, and looking for a system i can 'turn on' when i get back. it would also have to fire the cooker?
the house is 140 yrs old, so no cavity walls, and solid concrete floor!
i know there are external wood burners or furnaces, are these any good?

rothers8080

I'd recommend you get some heat exchanger units installed, easily your best solution.

An air to water heat pump might actually hook straight up to your radiators then you can forget about oil, lpg, wood etc. Just the one (low) electricity bill.

wilkieone

thanks for all the very useful information.
heat exchangers solar power etc., all very green, but i do not want to go to electric cooking.
that still leaves oil, gas, wood?

The_Mighty_Gusset

I've just moved out of a place with oil fired central heating, and talking to my neighbours it was much dearer than LPG - also, if you switch to oil, how are you going to cook ?.

If you have an open fire already, replace it with a wood-burner - they give out much more heat for much less fuel - I don't understand your objection to doing this.
If you have space to fit a back boiler as well - do so.

Depending on how your water is currently heated it might be worth considering adding solar power

lowbrim

For what it is worth I have all 3!! We use gas for cooking via bottled gas, we have a wood burner for heating along with Oil for Central heating and hot water.

On cost Oil is definatly the cheapest option providing you have a big enough tank to manage the oil price this year (2009) I purchased at 33p/Litre but if I purchased now it would be 43p/litre. I have a 2500 litre tank and this normally lasts 12 months by backing up the heating via the log burner. But I top it up whenever I consider the oil price to be chaep this is normally Sept/Oct but not always. I do not use the oil during the summer months I use electric emersion heater for water and the wood burner used if it is chilly.

The wood I get free if I was buying it, it would probably be cheaper to use oil. Wood is not cheap!!

Bottled gas is not the cheapest option for cooking that would be electric or oil but we prefer it and it only works out to about £30/Year


My neighbour moved from Gas last year and he says using oil is far cheaper especially the way we purchase oil. With Gas like the utility companies they quickly put prices up but rarely drop them wheras oil is traded on the open market and therefore much more competitive.

My house is very big so I watch the pennies!!

wilkieone

thanks all,
still looks like oil.
once again, thanks for all the replies!

Paul