47kg Propane Calor Gas Prices - What are you paying?

vic_55

Hi, found my way here for obvious reasons. Currently a long term FloGas customer, now paying £62.99 delivered for a 47kg cylinder in the Wiltshire area. At this price it's getting very close to the cost of using electricity to heat the home and hot water. Given that I have to replace an aging boiler this year I need to research this a bit more. On my present electricity tariff I reckon the equivalent cost for the energy in a cylinder would be about £68. If I factor in the efficiency of the old boiler then it's probably costing me more using gas than if I was all electric. Seriously considering an electric boiler as this would mimimise disruption to rest of house. Vic.

Ben84

vic_55 wrote: »

Hi, found my way here for obvious reasons. Currently a long term FloGas customer, now paying £62.99 delivered for a 47kg cylinder in the Wiltshire area. At this price it's getting very close to the cost of using electricity to heat the home and hot water. Given that I have to replace an aging boiler this year I need to research this a bit more. On my present electricity tariff I reckon the equivalent cost for the energy in a cylinder would be about £68. If I factor in the efficiency of the old boiler then it's probably costing me more using gas than if I was all electric. Seriously considering an electric boiler as this would mimimise disruption to rest of house. Vic.

I believe propane is roughly 13.8 kWh per Kg, so a kWh is costing you about 9.7p. However, your boiler is going to be somewhere between 60% and 90% efficient, giving a price per kWh of heat from your radiators as somewhere between about 16p for an inefficient boiler to 11p for a good one. This is within the range that electricity may be cheaper.

However, instead of an electric boiler, you may be able to install an insulated heat store full of water which is heated overnight on cheap rate electricity and then pumped around the radiators when needed. Sizing would need to be considered carefully and space could be an issue, but you could probably roughly halve your cost per kWh this way. Although the disadvantages of split tariffs are of course not being able to access cheap electricity 24 hours a day and that the day rate usually costs a bit more than a flat rate tariff, so some of the savings would be eaten in to.

energyman

Consider an air source heat pump if looking to use electricity

frugalstephen

Hi, found my way here for obvious reasons. Currently a long term FloGas customer, now paying £62.99 delivered for a 47kg cylinder

That's wonderful!! In Nortrhern Ireland, I just ordered a 47kg refill last week, cost delivered? £94! Yes, that's £94. Dam rip off merchants here, count yourself VERY lucky...

White_Trailer_Trash_Man

nesssie1702 wrote: »

Wow - £60 a bottle - I wish! It's a gas hob we've got and I paid £81 for a 47kg bottle back in July of last year. No idea what they are now.

Based in the Outer Hebrides

I'm very much hoping your prices have gone down since then... I have moved to Shropshire and am getting two cylinders for under £100 which (having lived in Norfolk) I consider to be very good value...

White_Trailer_Trash_Man

frugalstephen wrote: »

That's wonderful!! In Nortrhern Ireland, I just ordered a 47kg refill last week, cost delivered? £94! Yes, that's £94. Dam rip off merchants here, count yourself VERY lucky...

That is utterly hideous / fraudulent. I am so sorry for you... I guess you have no alternatives?

It seems, recently, to always be the "man in the street" that is taking the pain of this recession...

Ben84

frugalstephen wrote: »

That's wonderful!! In Nortrhern Ireland, I just ordered a 47kg refill last week, cost delivered? £94! Yes, that's £94. Dam rip off merchants here, count yourself VERY lucky...

That's about 14p a kWh before taking in to account the energy lost from the heating appliance. This is a rare situation where using an electric heater would probably save you money.

frugalstephen

Ben84 wrote: »

That's about 14p a kWh before taking in to account the energy lost from the heating appliance. This is a rare situation where using an electric heater would probably save you money.

Yes it would, but the cylinder is to power a gas fire in the living room, and a heater wouldn't look so nice, besides, my girlfriend would really be annoyed if I took it out!

Northern Ireland has always been the home of 'rip off' in the price of fuel. A report released today confirmed that we are the most expensive place in the whole of Europe for diesel... Guess it's nice to be first in something though. You gotta look at the bright side :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

swap the gas fire for an electric one?

frugalstephen

swap the gas fire for an electric one?

I refer the honourable gentleman to the response I gave moments ago...

the cylinder is to power a gas fire in the living room, and a heater wouldn't look so nice, besides, my girlfriend would really be annoyed if I took it out!