Alternatives to Heating Oil

ccluedo

Thanks for taking the time to give that pretty comprehensive reply Matelodave, much appreciated!
As with the OP, mains gas isn't available in the area so that's not an option. 
We were actually thinking about getting a quote for a product similar to fischer heat but we hadn't done any serious research on it yet.

We'll have a forum trawl as u suggest but our initial thoughts from reading your response and the others in the thread is that probably we are best sticking to oil after all.  Maybe we can disguise the oil tank and boiler with garden art or suchlike.

dunstonh

I posted on energy forum and was kindly redirected here.

That makes a change.  Its usually the other way around 

Hi, wondering if anyone have any experience good or bad of changing heating and water systems from oil to anything else - except gas. 

Not really worth it yet.  Oil is going to be around for a very long time.   And the alternative technology is still early days and expensive.  There will come a point when it is viable to switch but we are not there yet unless you have big pockets and a airtight home with top of the range insulation.

 

J_B

ccluedo said:

We were actually thinking about getting a quote for a product similar to fischer heat but we hadn't done any serious research on it yet.

Better get researching then ... plenty of negative stuff on here ....

ccluedo

J_B said:

ccluedo said:

We were actually thinking about getting a quote for a product similar to fischer heat but we hadn't done any serious research on it yet.

Better get researching then ... plenty of negative stuff on here ....

Yes, so I see! Back to the drawing board.

ktee_uk

Hi, I have just replaced my heating system from oil fired to ASHP.
really important to research and get comparison quotes.

My main considerations were installation cost (my comparison costs were based on replacing whole system- nothing lasts forever right?) , convenience (reducing reliance on fuel deliveries), running cost.
It will help if you have a recent EPC rating as this will help inform you on paybacks if you are able to tap into RHI.  I found that the estimates quoted by all the companies I approached varied quite a bit, so I only used 50% of the RPI payback estimate in my calculations to err on side of caution.

i looked at cost of replacing like for like (all the component parts of my existing system were almost 25 years old except for a couple of recent valve replacements), using economy 7, installing gas (it’s in our village but not up our very long driveway), lpg, and ceiling mounted IR.

Once I took the projected RPI income from capital cost for ASHP , the cost was very close to that of replacing like for like or economy 7.
The estimate on running costs is yet to be proven through a cold winter.  The average monthly cost of heating oil over last 12 years has been £76.  Additional  elec consumption doesn’t look wildly different to that based on my current tariff (which is the most expensive I’ve ever had)
Radiator sizing - we increased 6 of our radiators and happy with output.  Wish  we had done that years ago as our property always felt chilly.  The radiators look absolutely fine - the fitters were careful to make sure pipe work looked good.  For the first time ever, I have a warm kitchen.

We have the legionella heat up once a week in middle of day as we have solar panels.

i was surprised how easy it was to heat the property up.  It took me a few weeks to settle down into a comfortable heating up and lower night time temps pattern.
i was worried about comments I read about low heat levels but I am really happy with mine.

i also gained room in kitchen from where old boiler was removed (more storage space), and a couple of square meters in the garden where the oil tank was.

thanks