Heating advice - Stick with LPG?

simons_s

Hello

I have just purchased a property and I'm quite confused about my options on heating it. We're first time buyers so not done anything like this before!

The house is a bit out of the way so there's no gas mains available. I got in touch with 1Gas who basically said it would cost an arm and a leg to get it on mains gas as there are no nearby pipes.

The house is currently connected to a bulk LPG tank which is shared between myself and four other properties. Changing provider is a pain as my neighbours would have to be outside of a contract and be willing to switch.

Our first months LPG bill came to just over £100, and I've just paid a weeks worth which came to £24.71. This was for 17 litres. I have no idea if this is a good or bad price. It doesn't sound all that unreasonable as it is winter, but we do only have it on for 5 or 6 hours a day. I dread to think fo the cost if we had it on all the time we're home.

The boiler and double glazing are both quite old, I'd say they're probably the originals from when the house was built in 1998.

One option would be to stick with LPG and upgrade to a more efficient boiler. Hopefully, we could have the boiler on longer (the house is still quite cold with 5 or 6 hours a day) without it costing more.

The only other option I can see is to install a wood burning stove in the living room and have it connected to the hot water tank and central heating. From what I've read it would suggest I could have the wood burner running for a lot longer the LPG boiler as we could leave it to burn out over night. We tend to go without heating on weekends and during the day to try and save some money. Am I right in thinking we could connect the stove straight up to the central heating and use both the stove and LPG at the same time?

Does anyone have some thoughts? We really do like the house we've bought but it's just so cold!

Thanks!

J_B

simons_s wrote: »

Our first months LPG bill came to just over £100, and I've just paid a weeks worth which came to £24.71. This was for 17 litres.

My calculator tells me that works out at £1.45 per litre.
I have a contract with Woldlink - my last bill worked out at 24.6ppl, so you are paying nearly six times as much as me, but presumably your price includes tank rental, whereas mine is extra at around £100 per year

simons_s wrote: »

I have no idea if this is a good or bad price.

Best get reading here ....
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1003291

JerryW

Welcome! If your figures are really correct you need to do something, quite soon. Your options are:

simplest: get together with your neighbours. Review your supply contract. Beat the current supplier over the head and get a better deal from them or go elsewhere elsewhere - see the main lpg thread, switching within contract can be done. Given much more detail about who is the current supplier, who the contract is actually with, timings, prices etc., the main thread may be able to help you

or: take out your own contract with another supplier and rent a tank from them. Most major suppliers will do this without much fuss

most complex: change to another form of heating such as ground pump, or oil.. may make financial sense, probably not for the faint-hearted though.

Good luck, and do read all through that other thread!

simons_s

Holy christ! I had no idea I was paying so much more than needed! I shall get reading that thread now.

I'm with FloGas and here's the info I'm taking straight from the online dashboard for our first months gas usage:

Description	                        Code	Quantity	Value	VAT Rate	VAT	Total
Metered Propane	                30011	64	        £88.58	5%	        £4.43	£93.01
Meter Daily Standing Charge	40009	30	        £4.08	5%	        £0.20	£4.28
£97.29

Could it be because I'm outside of a contract? Looks like I'll have to get in touch with FloGas.

Cardew

I will leave the LPG experts to comment on your prices, but I can't see a quantity in that quote.

On your question of integrating a solid fuel stove into a CH system, it can be done - but it isn't easy! You won't be able to shut off the stove with a valve when it is not lit* This means there will always be water flow through the stove from the CH system.

The two heating systems can be combined with something like a Dunsley Neutraliser.

Having had a combined system myself, I wouldn't bother.

* Shutting off the water to/from the stove with a valve means that if someone forgot to open the valve and lit the stove you would have a mighty explosion when the water boiled. No plumber would dare fit such a valve.

simons_s

Thanks for the info Cardew. I'll look into other options for now.

As for the LPG prices, after looking at the bill sent through the post, it appears my bills are calculated in m3 (3.85 litres), I made a mistake in my first post. I've attached a couple of photos of the bill they've sent, which is saying 35.95 per a cubic litre (13.6ppd standing charge). Looking on the main LPG post, it looks as though some people are paying less than that.

And thanks JerryW, I will have a talk with my neighbours and see what we can do. It appears, from Googling, Oil is preferable over LPG. As our boiler is fairly old and due for replacement, it could be wise to look into getting switched over to oil.

Apparently I cant attach images properly as a new user but here's the links anyway. Just need to remove the spaces
https /i.imgsafe.org/ddc1c97298.png
https /i.imgsafe.org/ddc1d923d6.png

Ectophile

This handy site http://www.nottenergy.com/energy_cost_comparison/ gives some indicative prices for different fuels, and is updated regularly. Bear in mind that the cost of oil can be quite volatile.

J_B

simons_s wrote: »

Apparently I cant attach images properly as a new user but here's the links anyway. Just need to remove the spaces
https /i.imgsafe.org/ddc1c97298.png
https /i.imgsafe.org/ddc1d923d6.png

https://i.imgsafe.org/ddc1c97298.png

https://i.imgsafe.org/ddc1d923d6.png