Ruling out renewables - is oil the best off mains option?

RickMoney

I know its a subjective question but does anyone have an up to date comparison of comparable energy unit prices of each method of heating?

I've seen it before but can't find it now.

I've been round the houses trying to figure out how to heat my house and water in a renovation that is off mains gas.

There is room for a GSHP but I don't have the spare £ to install it. Wife doesn't like look of ASHP. So it's likely LPG or oil.

In a conservation area so trying to site a bulk LPG tank seems to be a problem here so it's looking like either 47kg bottles or oil. I reckon I could get a oil tank sited ok as they are generally green and blend in.

Don't want Elec storage heaters as they are ugly.

Does anyone know if underfloor heating can be used with oil boilers?

Thanks,

Rick

Robwiz

Is this what you were looking for?

If it's a conservation area you will have to site any tank where it can't be seen from the road, including 'glimpses' between buildings. One of the drawbacks of oil is that your tank contents can be stolen.

I'd suggest you look at reducing your heat demand first by insulating and improving air tightness. That way you can go for a smaller boiler and you will enjoy lower energy bills. Heat pumps are most effective in well-insulated homes. If you're thinking of underfloor heating, it's worth upgrading the insulation.

Regarding ASHP, you could construct a beehive type structure or garden shed around it to disguise it, as long as you follow the manufacturer's standards for inflow and outflow hole sizes. Air to air heat pumps are simpler to operate, cheaper to install and they transfer heat into your property more efficiently – using less electricity for the same heat output.

In your situation, i would be looking at biomass. Using wood pellets is similar to oil, the RHI is attractive and on an old building with a high 'deemed heat demand' can be pretty lucrative. If you have the time and energy, log burning boilers are simpler and cheaper to run but have to be fuelled and lit by hand.

Ebe_Scrooge

Robwiz has some very good points.

In general, if it's a simple choice of Oil or LPG, then oil wins every time - it's the cheaper ( or should that be "less expensive" ! ) off-grid option, and you can shop around for the best price at each fill. With LPG you tend to be tied in to the company that owns the tank. But as Rob says, the alternatives may be worth looking into as well.

RickMoney

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. Yes that was the list I was looking for cheers.

Biomass was one of the options I was set on, then went against as the boilers seem quite large with my limited space (do have a utility but its not massive) and can be expensive to install again from the outset.

With the ASHP, I did think of the cover but was concerned reading about ice build on the units when you need them and that they work best air to air and we can't do that in ours.

As part of the renovation, we will be doing a installation of insulation etc to bring it up to a good level.

There is a new extension that I was thinking of the underfloor being put into that.

Cheers

Silent_Dancer

Oil is the overall cheapest option when installaction, heating and maintenance costs are taken into account particularly on a older home.

Theoretically a heat pump may give a lower unit cost but to do so will require lots of work with the risk that if this work isn't done properly you end up with expensive bills.

LittleVermin

Robwiz wrote: »

Is this what you were looking for?
If it's a conservation area you will have to site any tank where it can't be seen from the road, including 'glimpses' between buildings. One of the drawbacks of oil is that your tank contents can be stolen. ...............

RickMoney, I think you've realised that Bulk LPG isn't likely to be an option in a conservation area: one of the items in the UKLPG (the trade association) CoP - Code of Practice - is that the tank MUST be visible from the tanker when the driver is filling the tank. Yes, you can screen the tank - info on e.g. Calor's website - but still the driver has to be able to see the tank, and most likely the tanker will be parked up on the highway. I suppose you could have demountable fireproof screens...you'd need to ask a potential supplier, or an independent LPG engineer.

The other option is an underground tank - the top needs to be visible from the tanker but there's very little for you and Jo Public to see. (But there can be problems with changing suppliers with underground tanks).

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

............ In general, if it's a simple choice of Oil or LPG, then oil wins every time - it's the cheaper ( or should that be "less expensive" ! ) off-grid option, and you can shop around for the best price at each fill. With LPG you tend to be tied in to the company that owns the tank. ..........

Silent_Dancer wrote: »

Oil is the overall cheapest option when installaction, heating and maintenance costs are taken into account particularly on a older home.......

With bulk LPG you have two options: own your own tank and shop around, or rent a tank from a supplier and then you are tied into an exclusive 2yr contract. Very few people own their own tank (but Extra Fuel, for example, gives 5ppl discount off its posted price for tank owners).

Notts Energy website very useful - but bulk LPG prices vary widely. Here's a chart for the last 24 months showing wholesale and some retail (transparent only) prices:http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=64962441&postcount=2244

So last month the cheapest transparent (on the web) price was around 41ppl - but some people were paying their (major) supplier in the high 60s ...over half as much again (50-70% more!). Yes, the majors offer 'introductory' offers, with a guaranteed max price rise after that ..BUT their contracts also have a get-out clause that if the wholesale price rises too much they only have to tell you this and they can put up the price as much as they want! A bit of a one-sided contract! It's usually best to find a local/regional independent supplier (list on Bulk LPG sticky).
..