Is it possible to compare cost of oil against gas?

Gambler

The reason I'm asking is we currently have normal gas supply and I have usage figures etc.

We are looking to move house and as we would ideally prefer semi-rural location quite a few houses have oil central heating.

Anyway can I compare how much oil would cost for my current comparitive gas usage?


Thanks.

Cardew

CH oil produces approx 10.2 kWh per litre. so at 38p(?) per litre the maths is pretty easy - 3.72p a kWh.

However you need to know the efficiency of your boiler. I believe older oil boilers were pretty inefficient and worse than gas boilers of that era(that is what I have read anyway) Modern condensing oil boilers are much more efficient.

However oil is going to be in the region of 50+% more expensive than gas.

There is a strong argument for fitting modern storage heating to the main rooms(which is much better than older systems and relatively inexpensive to install) and using Economy 7 for heating and domestic hot water and retain oil CH as a back up.

Newbird

Is oil still 50% more than gas per kw with the price rises that have happened lately....or more or less?

moonrakerz

I have had an oil fired CH system for the last 20 yrs, prior to that I was using gas.
I was very concerned when I moved that oil heating would be very expensive to run - everyone said so ! I have to say everyone was wrong ! The first year I was in this house it cost me considerably less to heat than it did the previous one.

Oil has tripled in price since then, from 10p to 32p (three weeks ago), I have no idea what gas prices have done in that time. A previous post quoted 38p/litre, oil does go down as well as up - unlike gas and electricity. I am still more than happy with my oil costs - but not with my electricity.

I don't think it is quite as easy to do a comparison between the two fuels as it might appear - and of course there is a multitude of other factors which have an effect on your heating costs.
I think the only way to get a true comparison would be to run a house on gas for 12 months then run it on oil for the same period, BUT, you would need identical weather conditions for both periods.

Cardew

moonrakerz wrote:

I have had an oil fired CH system for the last 20 yrs, prior to that I was using gas.
I was very concerned when I moved that oil heating would be very expensive to run - everyone said so ! I have to say everyone was wrong ! The first year I was in this house it cost me considerably less to heat than it did the previous one.

Oil has tripled in price since then, from 10p to 32p (three weeks ago), I have no idea what gas prices have done in that time. A previous post quoted 38p/litre, oil does go down as well as up - unlike gas and electricity. I am still more than happy with my oil costs - but not with my electricity.

I don't think it is quite as easy to do a comparison between the two fuels as it might appear - and of course there is a multitude of other factors which have an effect on your heating costs.
I think the only way to get a true comparison would be to run a house on gas for 12 months then run it on oil for the same period, BUT, you would need identical weather conditions for both periods.

Surely it is quite simple to do a comparison.

The only calculation that matters is the cost to produce a specific amount of heat; it doesn’t matter if you are talking about a house using 10,000kWh or 60,000kWh in a 12 month period.

Given that we know the calorific value of oil, all you require to know is the cost of the oil and you can make a direct comparison.

Obviously the efficiency of the boilers might be different, but then the efficiency of different gas boilers varies as well.

moonrakerz

Cardew wrote:

Surely it is quite simple to do a comparison.

All I am saying is, that based on my experience, I don't think it is quite that simple. As I said, before I moved to this house all my friends and neighbours were shaking their heads and forecasting instant bankruptcy for me, but that wasn't so in my case. Now, what I don't know is the difference between the two houses as far as the efficiency of the complete heating system is and what the general thermal properties of the two houses is.

Oil always gets branded as expensive, usually from unsubstantiated hearsay. Over the past 12 months gas has risen an enormous amount in price, then, very recently wholesale gas dealers were actually paying people 5p a therm to take it off their hands ! People like British Gas could only respond by saying that retail prices MAY come down in the spring.
Oil also rose in price earlier this year, but recently has fallen, to the consumer, quite markedly from around 38p/litre to not much more than 30p. I can't remember what I paid to fill my oil tank last year, but I have recently paid 32p/litre this year which I don't think is anywhere near the % increase that is now applying to gas.
One disadvantage, which I acknowledge, is that I have to pay for my fuel in advance, but I can choose to buy at a "cheaper" time of year, usually summer - which you can't do with gas.

In a few months I am moving to a "gas" house, I'll give you my thoughts after I have been in that for 12 months !

frankie

Living in a rural area myself and with my boiler coming up to 20 years old, I am now deciding whether to switch to oil. Currently use CALOR in a bulk tank.

Has anyone any experience of the pros and cons of oil v CALOR? I have searced for independent comparisons but have only found 'self interest' information.

Trying to find efficiency/cost figures of oil v CALOR has been hopless. Any help and advice gratefully received.

david29dpo

i have LPG, next door have oil. i have my 1500l tank filled twice a year, middle of dec and end of feb. total cost about £600. next door is nearly twice that with oil but the house is a little bigger. LPG for me!!

SineadKernaghan

I've just concluded a similar exercise of comparing LPG versus Oil and have firmly decided that I am sticking with oil.

One of the difficulties as has been suggested is the difficulty in getting any kind of verifiable information as to the comparable costs of the two fuels. But hopefully the digging I have done will prove of benefit to someone else. I've also put in the relevant links to those websites I found useful. From the outset, I worked upon the basis that I would intend to keep the installation for 20 years:

LPG Costs

Tank Deposit URL="http://www.calor.co.uk"]Calor[/URL £150
Tank Installation URL="http://www.calor.co.uk"]Calor[/URL £175
Boiler including Installation [Calor / Local Corgi Engineer] £1,393

Total LPG Installation Costs £1,718
20yrs Servicing Costs @ £55pa URL="http://www.calor.co.uk"]Calor[/URL £1,100
20yrs Tank Rental Costs @ £60pa URL="http://www.calor.co.uk"]Calor[/URL £1,200
20yrs Fuel Costs @ '£17per calendar month more than oil*' URL="http://www.calor.co.uk"]Calor[/URL £4,080
20yrs Fuel Costs - Oil £12,800

*As per telephone enquiry to Calor Gas, October 2006

Total LPG Cost £20,898

Oil Heating Installation Costs

Bunded Oil Storage Tank URL="http://www.tankdepot.co.uk/shop/26_117_0/bunded_tanks/harlequin_contract_bunded_oil_tanks/harlequin_1450bct_contract_bunded_plastic_oil_tank/index.html"]TankDepot.co.uk[/URL £575.75
Oil Tank Level Gauge URL="http://www.tankdepot.co.uk/shop/6_39_0/accessories/apollo_electronic_tank_contents_gauge/index.html"]TankDepot.co.uk[/URL £56.00
Tank Installation [Local Installer] £225
Boiler including Installation [HeatandPlumb.com / Local Installer] £1738

Total Oil Installation Costs £2594.75
20yrs Servicing Costs @ £50pa [Local Installer] £1,000
20yrs Fuel Costs* @ £640pa [Local Distributor] £12,800

*Assume 2,000 litres per annum @ £0.32 per litre

Total Oil Heating Costs £16,394.75

Which means that if I were to opt for LPG instead of oil, I'd be giving Calor over 27% or £4,500 more of my hard earned :rolleyes: I'm sure the folks at Calor are really nice and all the rest of it, but I don't think they're quite that nice

What really frustrates me though is how difficult it is to obtain information on comparative fuel costs.

Calor for instance are happy to let you know that a litre of LPG costs less than a litre of oil. What they're not so quick to tell you is that you'll need to burn 50% more LPG than oil, to obtain a given amount of heat. And they're not so quick to point out that their 'high efficiency' boilers are actually less efficient oil burning equivalents, as per SEDBUK.

I’ve also came across several stories of LPG users experiencing great difficulty in trying to switch supplier, for instance ‘LPG Customers Losing Out’ – Competition Commission, which to my mind is a reason in itself to give LPG a miss... even if some of Calor's salespeople are on the dishy side:o

Anyhow, hope this helps

Regards

Sinead

Other useful links:

Federation of Petroleum Suppliers
LPG Association
OilFiredUp.com
Oil Firing Technical Association

david29dpo

personally. i have found calor to be the most expensive, as so have 5 friends who have calor. i have been with listers for 12 years. costs for me..... fitting tank, free. annual hire £40 including safety check. 31ppl at the moment, friend paying 36ppl with calor. the smaller regional companies seem to be a lot cheaper than the big players.

OverlandLandy

I cant give a direct comparison - but out of the 8 houses in my street only one has now got gas. 7 have oil.
having spoken to a good few of them some had gas but replaced it with oil. Most have Rayburn's etc as they are good multifunctional items.

All of the houses are 'everyday' - no 'big posh ones' - It just a case of function winning over form!

It costs me around £250/year for my electricity
and around £800/year for fuel oil (for cooking, heating and hot water)
The house is a 2/3 bed semi cottage - I have had cavity wall insulation and loft insulation done since last winter - so the oil costs may come down this year (depending on fuel costs and outdoor temperatures!)

hope this helps