Switching from oil fired to gas heating?

Bettycheese

Does anyone have experience of switching fron an oil fired boiler to gas combi boiler / central heating and the ballpark cost of this please (possibly including radiators)?.

The scenario I'm specifically interested in is a house on a close where almost everyone else has already changed to gas so I know that there is a supply, but just not piped to this particular house currently.

Thanks.

EachPenny

It is difficult to say without more information, but you are certainly talking about many thousands of pounds.

The first thing to think about is why do you want to change? Is it because the boiler is old and unreliable?

You need to consider how many year's life the old boiler has in comparison to a new gas combi - from conversations I've had with a heating engineer I would not be shocked to learn your oil boiler could be expected to outlive any replacement gas boiler.

Will the efficiency of a new gas boiler and cost of gas allow you to make a saving in running costs which would cover the cost of the work, including making a new gas connection to your home?

Finally, bear in mind one advantage of oil is you can buy in bulk when the price is lower and keep it stored until you need it. With gas you have to pay roughly as and when you use it. You cannot buy and store mains gas when it is cheap, the best you can do is to get a fixed tariff when the price is (hopefully) lower.

EachPenny

Just to add: another consideration is the cost of getting a gas connection to your home.

For that you'll need to know the history of why your neighbours have a supply and you don't. For example, if your road was added to the gas main network after a certain date then the cost of originally extending the supply to the road may be something you'll have to contribute towards even now (see 'Gas infills' for more details).

It is also possible that pipework has already been laid in the street to your property, or even into it, which may reduce the cost you have to pay. However, depending on the age of the pipes you may still have to have brand new pipework installed and pay for it.

So unfortunately there is no simple answer to your original question - you'd need to get at least some investigation work done and/or quotes if you want a ballpark figure accurate to even a couple of thousand pounds.

macman

The evidence is in front of you-why do think everybody else in the close has switched to mains gas? Yes, there will be a large capital outlay involved, but saving in fuel costs (and the immediate increase in the value of the property) will outweigh that. Fuel oil is currently about 20% more than mains gas per kWh.
But why do you think you might need to change the rads?

Ebe_Scrooge

macman wrote: »

Yes, there will be a large capital outlay involved, but saving in fuel costs (and the immediate increase in the value of the property) will outweigh that. Fuel oil is currently about 20% more than mains gas per kWh.

Hmm, an interesting question, and some very valid points made, by both you and EachPenny. According to the spreadsheet that I keep, I've been spending very roughly £1000 a year on oil - that's an average taken over the last 8 years.


Now, if, as you say, gas is 20% cheaper, that'll give a saving of - what - £200 a year ? The cost of a new boiler and of getting gas laid to the house - I've no idea. But would £4000 be a reasonable ballpark estimate ? If it were, then it's going to take 20 years to recoup the costs ( by which time the boiler may need replacing ).


I agree with your point about the increased value of the house, and that would need to be factored in. And I'm not really disagreeing with anything you've said. Just putting in my two-penn'orth I guess. And hopefully giving the OP some food for thought.

EachPenny

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

But would £4000 be a reasonable ballpark estimate ?

I didn't really want to put a figure up as it is such an open question, but I'd say £4k would be towards the lower end of the range.

A friend's landlord recently had a like-for-like gas combi changed in a 3-bed semi. Including powerflush the cost was £3k give or take.

The OP will have to add on costs of:
New gas supply (guess at any figure you like from free to perhaps £5k)
Internal gas pipework
Alternative flue arrangements/decommisioning existing chimney (possibly)
Drain facilities for condensate
Relocation of boiler and pipework (possibly, depending on above)
Removal and disposal of residual heating oil
Decomissioning and removal of oil storage tank (optional, to maximise property value increase)

Edit: Also add contingency in case any part of existing installation contains asbestos (depending on age of property and/or heating installation)

Cardew

macman wrote: »

The evidence is in front of you-why do think everybody else in the close has switched to mains gas? Yes, there will be a large capital outlay involved, but saving in fuel costs (and the immediate increase in the value of the property) will outweigh that. Fuel oil is currently about 20% more than mains gas per kWh.

The problem is the volatility of oil prices. If you look at the thread on CH oil prices on MSE you will see that oil price has varied from being cheaper(per kWh) than gas, to over 3 times(300%) more than gas. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/27753

I suspect that many of the conversions from oil to mains gas occurred when oil was very expensive. However, as you say, gas CH will always enhance the value of a property.

dogshome

I'm at the start of the process of changing from Oil to Gas - 1st step is to contact National Grid on 0800 0745 788, or Google "National Grid Connections'.
They will almost instantly give you an estimate of the cost of hooking up the street supply to your house - Mine is £470 for 9m of buried pipe from the pavement to the front of house.

So far as the debate on oil or gas is concerned, I'm only doing it because I have to, due the new regulations concerning the siting and flue arrangements for Oil fired boilers

macman

Cost of mains gas connection-why don't you just ask one of the neighbours what theirs cost, rather than speculate?
Yes, you will have to change the new boiler within the next 20 years, but the same would probably apply to your current boiler-how old is it?
Think of the future scenario. When you come to sell, if two houses in the close are for sale, which is the more desirable-the ones with gas CH, or yours?

EachPenny

macman wrote: »

Think of the future scenario. When you come to sell, if two houses in the close are for sale, which is the more desirable-the ones with gas CH, or yours?

This might depend a bit on where the OP lives. The rural area I come from has a mix of villages with gas and without. The villages with gas are nowhere near 100% gas converted.

Some 'townies' might throw up their hands in horror at the idea of an oil boiler, but generally people will either have parents or grandparents with oil and won't see it as that much of a disadvantage. In fact some savvy rural dwellers would see having oil CH as a positive advantage compared to the new-fangled gas. For example, 'switching' for them simply means calling a different phone number and having a different tanker (or perhaps the same one!) pull up at their gate.

If the OP lives in a town then yes, it is going to have a much greater influence.

Bettycheese

Apologies to all that my question was a little vague due to lack of information on our part.