Central heating installation costs help?!

Millybee

Hi everyone, I am new here so apologies if I am posting in the wrong place!!
Am just wondering if anyone has any info on help with costs of getting new heating fitted please, any help much appreciated!
We live in a 1930's terraced house with a couple of storage heaters and a wood burner. The house is freezing and running the storage heaters costs a fortune and doesn't seem to keep us very warm! (Wouldn't mind paying if we were warm!) we have a 8 month old baby and have had to buy an oil radiator for her room as it's so cold. with the colder weather coming up we are getting very concerned!!

I am aware of some grants and support but I believe our income to be too high for these. I have read some information on green deal but as I understand it we could pay for the assessment and then when the fund re opens we might not get any help, have I got this right or is it worth paying for assessment?? Money is tight so I really don't like the idea of wasting £100 or so!!

We are now a one income household £20,000 and am currently applying for tax credits as I have been told we should be eligible for child tax credit, whether this means anything or not in regards to grants I don't know!!

Sorry for rambling post! Thank you for taking the time to read and thanks in advance for any replies and help!!

footyguy

Millybee wrote: »

Hi everyone, I am new here so apologies if I am posting in the wrong place!!
Am just wondering if anyone has any info on help with costs of getting new heating fitted please, any help much appreciated!
We live in a 1930's terraced house with a couple of storage heaters and a wood burner. The house is freezing and running the storage heaters costs a fortune and doesn't seem to keep us very warm! (Wouldn't mind paying if we were warm!) we have a 8 month old baby and have had to buy an oil radiator for her room as it's so cold. with the colder weather coming up we are getting very concerned!!

I am aware of some grants and support but I believe our income to be too high for these. I have read some information on green deal but as I understand it we could pay for the assessment and then when the fund re opens we might not get any help, have I got this right or is it worth paying for assessment?? Money is tight so I really don't like the idea of wasting £100 or so!!

We are now a one income household £20,000 and am currently applying for tax credits as I have been told we should be eligible for child tax credit, whether this means anything or not in regards to grants I don't know!!

Sorry for rambling post! Thank you for taking the time to read and thanks in advance for any replies and help!!

What sort of heating are you looking for?

New, better controllable, storage heaters are probably one of the cheapest forms of affordable heating to get installed (especially as all/much of the wiring already presumably exists)

Get a couple of quotes from locally recommended suppliers before making any hasty decisions

You can google the price of the heaters themselves (as a guide), so you just need to allow a bit for the assembly (putting the bricks in, etc) and wiring them in.

Millybee

Thank you for replying, sorry I missed that vital information out! We were looking at gas central heating but as gas in property is no longer live have been quoted £600 to start new gas connection! We were looking into getting gas central heating with British gas so we could pay monthly as can't afford a large out lay in one go. Have now knocked that idea I the head as can't afford £600 upfront unfortunately and it can't be added to a payment plan. Will have a look into new storage heaters thank you. Our current two are not that old but as they are small and not on any sort of timer system it's a very expensive inefficient way of trying to heat the house!!

footyguy

Millybee wrote: »

Thank you for replying, sorry I missed that vital information out! We were looking at gas central heating but as gas in property is no longer live have been quoted £600 to start new gas connection! We were looking into getting gas central heating with British gas so we could pay monthly as can't afford a large out lay in one go. Have now knocked that idea I the head as can't afford £600 upfront unfortunately and it can't be added to a payment plan. Will have a look into new storage heaters thank you. Our current two are not that old but as they are small and not on any sort of timer system it's a very expensive inefficient way of trying to heat the house!!

Storage heaters are usually on a dedicated, off peak circuit (one that only comes live during the off peak) rather than controlled by timers.

They heat up (depending on the heat input you set) and then cut out thermostatically.

If the two you have are not old, they may not need replacing, but rather supplementing. A competent person should be able to advise how many are needed (and what size) for your home. They need to be correctly 'sized' and then all of them used if they are not to run of heat before they recharge at the next night/off peak period.

Millybee

Ah we don't have any sort if off peak circuit. Perhaps we need to look into the cost of getting a few more and getting a seperate off peak circuit installed. I assume there would be no financial help for this though Having always had gas central heating we assumed that would be best thing to do to get house warm!! Thank you for your help

footyguy

Millybee wrote: »

Ah we don't have any sort if off peak circuit. Perhaps we need to look into the cost of getting a few more and getting a seperate off peak circuit installed. I assume there would be no financial help for this though Having always had gas central heating we assumed that would be best thing to do to get house warm!! Thank you for your help

Correct. You are generally expected to maintain your own home when you own it.

When did you buy it?

What type of survey did you have when you bought this home with inadequate heating facilities?

Millybee

Oh yes I do realise that! I just thought there was some help available to make homes more energy efficient regarding heating and insulation. Had I have not had to give up work to look after our daughter (after childcare fell through and alternatives were more than I could earn) we would have been able to pay to have gas central heating installed.

We brought the house just over 8 months ago. There was all the correct surveys. We rather rushed into buying as baby was due imminently and we thought we'd have money to sort out heating after I returned to work.

captainhindsight_2

If you are struggling to get conventional finance, the green deal fianc! may be worth a look.

In regards to your child tax credits, your household income has to be less than £15,860 to qualify for support through Eco.

There also is a Non means tested chash back scheme coming soon too, the Cashback will probably be around £1k +£500 if you bought your home in the last 12 months.

For whole new central heating system including a decent boiler you will be looking at about £3-£3.5k + your gas connection so £3.6-£4.1k total. Could be cheaper if you want a cheaper boiler. (British Gas will probably quote you £5k+)

If the Cashback scheme is anything like the last it will knock £1-£1.5k (you may have to install two measures) off your bill, then you can pay what you can then finance the rest.

Don't go the cheap option now and fit storage heaters, as in the long run they will cost you a fortune!