Replacing oil c/h - how viable?

Flash_No3

Hello everyone
I am just about to buy a house with central heating & hot water by oil. It's very rural, so mains gas is not an option. It's about the best house I can get for all my needs & if I keep on looking could loose my buyer. I'm happy with the house, but worried about heating costs. How viable is it to change from oil to another fuel, and if change is viable, which would be better, LPG or solid fuel? I imagine I'd be able to keep the pipework to radiators, and the radiators themselves and it would be the replacement boiler & removal with poss replacement tank that would be the things to deal with. House currently has a working standalone woodburner in the lounge so that chimney works, & space in kitchen where it looks like a range once stood (not looked into or asked about whether that could be opened up and got working again at all). Any info, thoughts, experiences, links about potential and feasibility of change and ball park costs would be v welcome.
Thank you (in advance & anticipation!), lovely people!

GlynD

If you're on a gas main then change to gas. That's a definite. If you're not then oil is your best option. I'd give you a couple of bits of advice as an oil user myself:

1. Make sure your boiler is serviced.
2. If your boiler is more than 15 years old, replace it with a new condensing boiler.
3. Fill your oil tank during the summer when prices are low.
4. Make sure your boiler is set to run with 28 second oil (kerosene). It's much cleaner.

Oil is the most economic form of heating outside gas. Best of luck with it.

Dunroamin

Agree with the above.

Oil isn't cheap to run but neither is LPG. Solid fuel may be cheaper but it's a lot of work.

You could always install an immersion heater for hot water but the costs of a new boiler will take a long time to recuperate.

GlynD

I agree with Dunroamin that you should have an immersion heater installed but if your boiler runs a hot water heating facility separate from the main heating use that instead. Oil is still much cheaper than electricity. Solid fuel is a nightmare and everyone I know uses oil as their main form of heating unless they're on the gas main. Solid fuel is reserved for open fires and is only really used as an uber comfort thing in the coldest of weather.

Johnhowell

If oil is new to you, may I suggest having a flow meter fitted (Aqua Metro VZ04). With this you can estimate the volume of oil remaining in the tank to a better degree than systems like Watchman.

Also, when we had a fault with our oil boiler, we just got a new burner unit, so did not have to replace the whole of the boiler unit. Just ensure that is serviced and cleaned out regularly. One service chap put an incorrect jet in and within 6months it was chocked full of coke! Since fitted with the correct jet, after 12months it only has a light dusting of coke on the cooling plates.
You may also have to get a chimney sweep in to clean the flue (~£35?), but the OFTEC service chap should advise you.

Just some ideas.
Good luck.
John

LittleVermin

Flash_No3 wrote: »

Hello everyone
I am just about to buy a house with central heating & hot water by oil. It's very rural, so mains gas is not an option. It's about the best house I can get for all my needs & if I keep on looking could loose my buyer. I'm happy with the house, but worried about heating costs. How viable is it to change from oil to another fuel, and if change is viable, which would be better, LPG or solid fuel? <snip>

Welcome to the forum!

Your question comes up quite frequently so here's a link to lots more threads:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=48945875&postcount=9

And to compare the fuel element of the running cost check this out: http://www.nottenergy.com/energy_cost_comparison/ Obviously different systems have different set-up and maintenance costs (and annual tank rental of around £60 for bulk LPG).

And though the price of heating oil is often less in the summer - suppliers want to keep cash flowing! - the oil price is affected by many other factors than the weather in the Northern Hemisphere summer! You also need to check out ways to make your oil tank theft-proof. At least bulk LPG is not really nickable!

sk240

Your best option is to keep/upgrade the oil system.

Your only real alternative that may offer a saving over oil would be heat pump system. ASHP or GSHP


A ground heat pump is more expensive to install but is cheapest to run.
an air source heat pump is cheaper to install but not quite as efficient.
A heat pump is only really viable if you have a well insulated proper though, because most systems have a top water temperature of 55 degrees (the lower this temp the more efficient)