What is your preferred heating system in a rented house?

legbutton

We are currently buying a house to let out which has a Parkray back boiler using solid fuel (coal). We are currently undecided about whether we change the current heating system or not. We were wondering what type of heating system tenants preferred? The choices are:

a) Parkray back boiler fuelled by coal, with an immersion heater for the summer for hot water;
b) Oil fuelled boiler;
c) Bulk tank LPG fuelled boiler.

There is no mains gas in the village.

Look forward to your replies! Thank you.

theartfullodger

Crackin' survey: So do we take it there is no electric in the village and no options such as wind/solar and//or wood-burning?? Or indeed wearing more clothes..

ie there are other choices...

Cheers!

fluffpot

I can see coal limiting the tenants you would get!
How about electric heating - assuming the main supply is up to it - you'd need to get a sparky to check

ash28

I have oil central heating, there is no mains gas where we live.

I wouldn't want electric or LPG both are too expensive to run.

Parkray back boiler....what do you use to heat the water when the weather is nice?

legbutton

theartfullodger wrote: »

Crackin' survey: So do we take it there is no electric in the village and no options such as wind/solar and//or wood-burning?? Or indeed wearing more clothes..

ie there are other choices...

Cheers!

Well, yes, there are other choices, but not ones we are proposing to change the property to! yes there is obviously electricity but putting in storage heaters is a backwards step IMHO.

legbutton

ash28 wrote: »

I have oil central heating, there is no mains gas where we live.

I wouldn't want electric or LPG both are too expensive to run.

Parkray back boiler....what do you use to heat the water when the weather is nice?

There is an immersion switch on the hot water tank so you can just put that on in the summer to heat up the water.

legbutton

fluffpot wrote: »

I can see coal limiting the tenants you would get!
How about electric heating - assuming the main supply is up to it - you'd need to get a sparky to check

Well we did initially think that, but two people we spoke to (one of them our tenant and one a friend who uses coal) said that they would much prefer coal to anything else, which is why we are asking the question really. We don't want to put in electric heating as we feel that is a backwards step. I certainly wouldn't rent anywhere myself with electric heating but would with the other options.

Dunroamin

I'd prefer night storage heaters and a multifuel stove but, given your options, anything other than the back boiler!

agrinnall

legbutton wrote: »

Well, yes, there are other choices, but not ones we are proposing to change the property to! yes there is obviously electricity but putting in storage heaters is a backwards step IMHO.

Why would you think that storage heaters are the only electricity heating option? I suggest you use a search engine to find out about electric boilers which heat radiators exactly the same as other types of central heating. I have oil heating myself but several of my neighbours have switched to electric in the last few years.

PasturesNew

I'd go for: none of the above.

1] Parkray/coal - OK if you want coal, but I'd never want coal. Lot of work, messy.
2] Oil - troublesome when it comes to how much oil's in at the start of the tenancy and getting it topped up on the right date at the end.
3] Not really keen on LPG, although the bulk tank option is better than the big canisters (I have horrid memories of a sackbarrow and moving those 4' tanks about along a bumpy path and round to the back of a caravan in the dark

ihatemyhouse

air source, my mate has this in her house, very cheap to run