£15,000 for gas central heating or install Dimplex Quantum?

Maikeru

So I live 75 metres from the gas mains and following a ludicrous quote from the local supplier, an Independent Gas Transporter company has quoted me £11,000 for extending the mains to my house. With boiler/radiators installation costs for central heating I reckon then I'm probably looking at around £15K.

For the mains to be extended to all 17 houses on my street the indicative estimate is £21,500 (so relatively affordable if everyone goes for it, but that's unlikely). So assuming it doesn't work out with any neighbours wanting to pay, my options would be to fork out £15K or go for what seems to be the only viable alternative, a Dimplex Quantum heating system.

The latter will probably still cost me around £4K if I go for an official Dimplex installer who'd guarantee them for 10 years - I'd need two QM150 storage heaters on the first floor of my 1970 built 3-storey townhouse (around 45 sqm), 2 Q-Rads for two of the three bedrooms (I already have one Nobo heater for the third bedroom), and ideally another 2 QM150 storage heaters for each of the hallways (although I'm still considering this as not sure the hallways need to be heated really). There is one bedroom on the ground floor (with an internal garage at the back) and two bedrooms on the top floor.

It's a flat (felt) roof property built in 1970 so isn't going to be exactly oozing with insulation (although we do have cavity wall and are mostly double-glazed). Will definitely draught-proof and are considering kingspan floor insulation.

The running costs of the new Quantum (running a mix of storage heaters in the living areas and panel heaters in the bedrooms) don't appear to be too much higher than a gas condensing boiler considering the latter costs around £200 a year to service. I have calculated :

Annual cost of heating our whole house (113 square metres) with gas: £1,066 (plus £200 annual boiler servicing)

Quantum storage/panel heaters: £1,405 (no servicing charges)

Older storage heaters/panel heaters: £1,927 (no servicing charges)

Fully heated with panel on standard tariff: £2,623 (no servicing charges)


This is assuming we want to heat the whole house (a standard 3-bed house is considered to be 90 sqm; ours is 113 sqm so it would likely be 20,000 Kwh per year instead of the usual 16,000).

So I'm banking on £140 extra per year to use Quantum instead of gas. Possibly even less than gas if we choose not to heat the whole house?

Sources I've used are (I know the first one is Dimplex itself - don't laugh! :-) At least they show separate costs for 1960s insulation):

http://www.dimplex.co.uk/products/domestic_heating/installed_heating/quantum/homeowner/running_cost_comparisons.htm

http://www.confusedaboutenergy.co.uk/index.php/heating-and-hot-water/central-heating#.VDu3XvldVCY


If these calculations are right then it seems a bit excessive to spend an extra £11,000 on gas central heating. I guess the potential for increased property value is the main consideration. The house is in a desirable area in London (albeit Zone 5), in a quiet cul-de-sac with transport only 5 minutes walk away and in a borough renowned for good schools. The going rate for the properties in my cul-de-sac are around £375K in good condition, which is a couple of hundred grand less than similarly-sized houses in the area - though a local estate agent who's sold a house on the street before says this is more down to the communal gardens (no private ones) and share of freehold status. Although I'd heard that gas central heating can add value to properties, he was of the opinion that it can also make no difference at all in many cases. Houses in the street under normal market conditions typically sell quickly regardless due to the demand from growing families (though it was more of an issue during the recession).

So I obviously don't want to spend £11K which I'll never get back in heating bill savings (we'll probably stay here around 12 years), but if it raises the value of the property by even 3% or so then it could be worthwhile.

I realise nobody has a crystal ball to give an informed answer on the property value thing but any experiences of Dimplex Quantum that could help inform my decision would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Cardew

Is there a reason you have ruled out Oil fired CH?


Surely some of your 16 neighbours would be interested in getting a gas main laid? Could the local council be persuaded to help?


Despite what your estate agent states, storage heaters are not liked and I am sure gas would enhance the desirability of your property.

captainhindsight_2

Why is your only option gas or storage heaters???

First avoid storage heaters like the plague, electric heating is so expensive.


Don't pay to get gas connected either, look at renewables and get rhi income to cover the capital cost,

Biomass will be the quickest return on investment or if your house is well insulated look at a heat pump. Both will be a good options and so much better than storage heaters!

Owain_Moneysaver

Gas CH does add value, possibly not £15k worth though especially in an area where houses already sell quickly. If you are not going to sell for 12 years then I woudln't regard putting in gas CH now as being an important factor - in 12 years time you'd probably need a new boiler anyway.

There are sometimes grants available for new gas connections or gas infill - check the energy saving trust website. See if you can get a residents' association on board to support the proposals, or even leaflet all the flats yourself.

I am not convinced that Dimplex Quantum is really much better than Dimplex Duoheat (or the similar alternatives such as Elnur Ecombi) which are cheaper to buy than Quantum.

One other factor is that installing a storage heaters - especially if you have solid floors/ceilings - can be a lot less disruptive if you use plastic minitrunking rather than knocking holes through for pipework etc. If you already have a storage heater installation this may reduce the amount of work further.

Depending on your roof orientation and structure, photovoltaic panels might be appropriate and these could charge up storage heaters during the day.

If you spend £11000 on gas installation now you have to consider what else you could do with that money and what return you would get from it.

If you do go with the IGT check you're not locking yourself into buying gas from them in the future, at possibly uncompetitive tariffs.

Maikeru

Thanks for your replies so far.

Oil is not an option - as mentioned it is all communal gardens so no outside space to put the boiler. Same goes for LPG (which is really expensive anyway). A heat pump is probably not workable for the same reason and it's a 60s house so insulation will not be good.

I hear there are significant differences between older-style storage heaters and the modern Quantum varieties in terms of control , look and even running cost due to the insulation and ability to retain heat to release when needed. They are by some accounts even cheaper than oil.

I have looked at solar panels but they're very expensive as well and could possibly damage my flat roof.

Cheers for the tip about gas tariff - I'll definitely check that out.

sheffield_lad

captainhindsight wrote: »

Why is your only option gas or storage heaters???

First avoid storage heaters like the plague, electric heating is so expensive

!

I suggest you check your Sutherland tables as only mains gas works out cheaper than NSH.

captainhindsight_2

sheffield_lad wrote: »

I suggest you check your Sutherland tables as only mains gas works out cheaper than NSH.

That's clearly wrong, I have wooddchip biomass in my offices it works out at 3p/kWh + rhi income

I have heat pump at my house much cheaper than NSH and mains gas and I'm earning money through the RHI.

:money::money::money::money:

[Deleted User]

Maikeru wrote: »

A heat pump is probably not workable for the same reason and it's a 60s house so insulation will not be good.

Heat Pump in 100+ year old detached house here with no issues Cheaper to run than our last new[ish] Wimpey house with GSH.

lstar337

Maikeru wrote: »

Thanks for your replies so far.

Oil is not an option - as mentioned it is all communal gardens so no outside space to put the boiler. Same goes for LPG (which is really expensive anyway). A heat pump is probably not workable for the same reason and it's a 60s house so insulation will not be good.

I hear there are significant differences between older-style storage heaters and the modern Quantum varieties in terms of control , look and even running cost due to the insulation and ability to retain heat to release when needed. They are by some accounts even cheaper than oil.

I have looked at solar panels but they're very expensive as well and could possibly damage my flat roof.

Cheers for the tip about gas tariff - I'll definitely check that out.

Quantum could work well in your situation, especially if you add PV solar to the mix to bring down the cost of E7 day rate electric.

You should look at the Quantum cylinder too, as it is very well insulated and should give you a steady amount of cheap hot water.

louisemf

Hi, Sutherland tables provides COMPARATIVE heating cost figures. Looking at the tables you can see how much you MIGHT be likely to pay for home heating when comparing one fuel with another.
So although your bill may not be exactly as listed in the tables, you can see what % difference would be likely for a different fuel type, in your region, for your home type


Sutherland Tables is a subscription service, so subscribers pay an annual subscription to get lots and lots of figures and data. Some Energy Advice Agencies, and local authorities subscribe so that they can provide the relevant advice to domestic consumers free of charge

the website is sutherlandtables.co.uk

Smiley_Dan

Assume they are a more accurate version of http://www.nottenergy.com/energy_cost_comparison/energy_comparison_data/november_2014 ?

The above seems to be ok for a general guide, no? The most important factor in many cases is the how well a particular heat source will work in a particular house.