Oil heating getting me down!

Carrie1983

Hi,

I moved into a different house last year, and since then have become a single mum. It's just me and a 3 year old (well nearly 3) who stays with her day about 30% of the time.

I have an oil boiler for water/heating.

I have a 1400L oil tank and had it filled up full last September, at a cost of about £850, as part of our local co-op, which was the cheapest price I could find.

I looked at the (electronic) oil monitor the other day, and the oil low warning was flashing - there are 2 bars left but the 'petrol pump' is a warning symbol and was flashing. I looked into the tank and there must only be about 5 or 6" of oil left in the tank.

I cannot justify buying 2 tanks full of oil a year, as this will be costing me around £1800. I also want to wait until May when prices should start to drop. I need to use the oil for the water (and to keep the boiler going and oil running through it, or could run into problems), but do have an immersion if all else fails. I have had to switch off the central heating, though, and just as this has happened, the coldest snap for some time has hit us.

I live in a 120 year old cottage, which does need some work doing. My husband left us in a right mess without many means to get the house finished quickly. So we live upstairs with a bedroom each and a lounge in the third bedroom. The bathroom has an old single glazed window which needs blocking up, and two of the glazing panes (one up and one down) have failed so are not keeping heat in. There is another single glazed, drafty window, on the landing, which needs replacing - it is small so I have filled it with a huge thick duvet for now. Because of the age of the cottage, there are no cavity walls, and there is no way of insulating the loft as it has a bedroom in there (original to the cottage). I don't have much in the way of carpets at the moment, and my front door is wood and needs replacing. All of these are things that impede the energy efficiency of the house.

I have an open fire in the lounge, but can't use it at the moment, as we are not using that room!

As an aside, my daughter is nearly 3 and I work part time, but am looking for full time work (I am highly trained!) as I cannot afford to carry on like this. I am doing bits to the house slowly, but it will take time. I really would love to just give it up but my ex husband doesn't want it, and I do want to stay for my little girl. For various reasons, including its state, the house is not saleable.

Anyway, I can't believe I have used so much oil is so little time and that there is no sign of spring weather yet. I am using a couple of oil filled rads for a few hours before bed in each bedroom, and my mum is going to let me have her little electric fire for my temporary lounge. The only room that is remotely warm, is my daughter's bedroom.

There is no mains gas here, so my options are to stay with oil but do my best to make the house warmer through other means, go over to LPG or look into electric heating systems. I am considering having a woodburner in place of my open fire, as the right sized one would easily heat my entire (medium-small) downstairs. Does anyone know rough costs involved?

Stig59

I sympathise.....
I too have a an oil boiler for water and heating. In the cold weather the tank seems to run out faster than ever. I have thought of using the local co-op "boiler juice" to try and reduce the acquisition cost but the delivery times quoted make it uncertain for me.

I don't think the distributor actually makes a lot of money out of oil (correct me if I am wrong) but there must be some way that a National collective could influence this price or cut out the middle man? Martin please help?

Now that oil is 65p a litre and rising! Is it time to switch over to LG and/or electrical underfloor heating. How can I work this out and is the green deal really worth considering?

All advice & help welcome

Silent_Dancer

Per KW oil is the cheapest form of off mains heating. See http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Energy-Saving-Trust/Our-calculations#general

Carrie1983 if you are on benefits you may be eligible for assitance in upgrading heating and insulation in your home. Contact the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234

G_M

1400 litres is not excessive.

My tank is 2500 and I fill it once a year (about 2000 each year).

But I don't use it in the summer. This time last year I'd long-since stopped using it, but with the cold snal, it's still running. Once the spring comes ( ha ha!) it goes off till autumn apart from the occassional day for maintenance reasons.

I use an emmersion heater in summer. On a timer (an hour every 2, or even 3, days) The tank is a modern insulated one to which I've added another TWO coats of insulation (£6.50), so the water stays hot (well, by day 3 it's sort of ... errr... OK for a shower if the weather outside is good!)

Kettle in the kitchen for washing up -= just heat the water you need, when you need it.

bernithebiker

Desperate times = desperate measures.

Shut down any room you don't use for more than an hour a day - they can go cold - keep a handful of rooms warm.

Seal up any draughts on windows, etc, with masking tape, you can pull it off when (if) spring arrives.

Can you light a fire? You can gather old wood in woods or get offcuts from shops, etc.

Don't think oil will be cheaper in May, there is nothing to suggest that.

chef002

I live in a village without mains gas and use oil-fired CH. The general consensus around here is that you use about 1500 litres per year in a normal 3-bed semi. This fits in with my own 11 years of experience with this system though my property is a bit larger than most and I tend to run things a bit cooler.

I do have my boiler serviced annually including replacement of the boiler jet. If I miss a year then the system seems to get through a lot more oil and I would check your service records.

It's also been a cold winter and there has been little opportunity to economise. Good luck.

Carrie1983

Thank you guys.

I will look into insulating the water tank, as I was thinking of using the emersion in the spring/summer/early autumn, but was concerned about switching the boiler off as I worry this will cause problems with oil not flowing through it? It is serviced...

Windows/front door are the biggest issues, that are solveable (I live in an old house with solid walls so, without considerable expense I cannot insulate, although have looked into interior insulation and have applied for a grant to insulate the roof despite there being a room in there). I have two window panes that have failed - the seals around have broken and there is moisture inside, so I have called someone to get those replaced. There is also a small square window on the landing which is single glazed and has gaps around the wood, so that needs replacing as it's like having the window open! The bathroom window is large for the room and is single glazed; it is being blocked up and a small double glazed window put elsewhere in the room. The front door is wood, with a considerable amount of single glazed glass in the top half and cracks in the wood - that is going to be replaced with a modern composite door. These are all things I will do over the summer.

The radiators in rooms I am not using, are now off, and the central heating has been switched off; we are relying on oil filled rads in our bedrooms to get us through until April (I am in credit with my electric anyway as they did an estimated reading last month as I forgot to call in!).

The landing and downstairs hall are all open, so the front door and landing window both create such coldness in those areas, which spreads to other areas if doors are left open, so all doors are now being closed without fail.

I will also be carpeting and using decent underlay, which will help.

With closing down the boiler for half the year, I hope to be able to manage with just one tank of oil a year. The lady at the other end of the row of cottages, has a smaller tank, bigger house, and has only used half a tank - she is in her late 60s!

I am definitely going to look into the wood burner as well. I can't use my open fire at the moment, as the living room is out of bounds due to the house needing so much work. However, I have made the decision that making the house warmer is my first priority and anything decorative can wait!

Carrie1983

How did they manage without central heating! I say "they", but until I was about 10 years old (I am 30 this year), none of my family had CH in their houses, and my grandparents (farmers) had an old farmhouse that got incredibly cold... we used hot water bottles and that was that! Having said that, we had open fires.

I am not on benefits apart from tax credits and that is mainly for childcare.

shegar

I dont think its just the people on benefits that are struggling with their heating bills, the low paid workers with families must be finding it terribly hard too......

You have to find your own way to keep warm in your houses, obviously if you only use one room and just heat that, but its hard when you have children and need the other rooms warm.....

Hot water bottles, throws, electric blankets ,thick door curtains etc ....

Look carefully into the prices of having a burner installed , ie; cost of fuel etc, after all the burner will only heat one room......Can work out very expensive, my GCH is cheaper than if I had a woodburner alight 14 hours per day......

Rolandtheroadie

Consider fitting solid fuel central heating?

We're hoping to this year, oils only going to go up and my grandparents had coal fires into their 70's and managed.

A friend in the same house as us spent £2300 on the conversion and £100 a month in coal keeps the heating and water on 365 days a year (except when they're on holiday ofcourse).

At 68ppl for my last fill, and averaging 2800 litres a year, it should pay for itself in 3 years. AND the house will be toasty constantly instead of just for a few hours a day.

Carrie1983

shegar wrote: »

I dont think its just the people on benefits that are struggling with their heating bills, the low paid workers with families must be finding it terribly hard too......

You have to find your own way to keep warm in your houses, obviously if you only use one room and just heat that, but its hard when you have children and need the other rooms warm.....

Hot water bottles, throws, electric blankets ,thick door curtains etc ....

Look carefully into the prices of having a burner installed , ie; cost of fuel etc, after all the burner will only heat one room......Can work out very expensive, my GCH is cheaper than if I had a woodburner alight 14 hours per day......

I know, but someone in an earlier post asked if I was on benefits as I would possibly be entitled to certain grants. I do have a child (who is nearly 3) and don't earn a huge amount as I work 29 hours term time only, but obviously I don't have a live-in partner.

Thank you for your other suggestions - I have a few heaters going and we wrap up etc. My brother has offered to fit some poles for thick curtains as well.

The woodburner should heat my downstairs as my house is small, and if I have a floor vent fitted the heat could transfer to the upstairs room in smaller amounts. However, I also have the consideration of just running my open fire which I already have.