Changing from solid fuel heating to oil - best solution and costs?

elljay

I've spent quite a bit of time on here this morning getting lots of useful information so thank you everyone.  The issue here is that I have moved into a house which has a big multifuel stove that heats water and radiators. (together with an immersion heater).  It's ugly and messy and smokes when the wind is in a certain direction.  There is also nowhere to store logs/coal outside.  Obviously I could get a log store or coal bunker but would prefer to spend money on alternative heating.

As there is no gas, oil seems to be the best choice.   Another poster mentioned about £2k for oil tank, then the boiler might be another £2.5k plus installation of course, pipework to the house etc. So far do-able. Given that there are already radiators here, what other costs do I need to think about?  Just rough figures to give me an idea would be great.

If anyone else has done this it would be helpful to have the benefit of your experience.  Many thanks.

Liz

greyteam1959

There are rules as to where you can site an oil tank.
Removal & disposal of the old stove could be a cost to add on.

maisie_cat

You could get a modern pellet stove, the storage wouldn't take up more room than an old tank, our oil tank is huge. You may also be eligible for the RHI scheme funded by the government.
We have oil and are looking to a greener option to replace our 60 year old Rayburn next year

comeandgo

Are you sure oil is the way you want to go?  It's very cheap at the moment but price is so volatile and does not exactly have any longevity.  We have oil heating and never had any problems other than price but if we had to look at our heating I would not choose oil.  It can cost far more than electricity.

matelodave

maisie_cat said:

You could get a modern pellet stove, the storage wouldn't take up more room than an old tank, our oil tank is huge. You may also be eligible for the RHI scheme funded by the government.
We have oil and are looking to a greener option to replace our 60 year old Rayburn next year

Pellet stoves tend to be very expensive and not everso reliable so you need to ensure that you get it from a reliable supplier who can service and repair it both now and in the future
Another problem is that the pellets have to be stored somewhere that's bone dry as they absorb moisture.. They also have to be purchased from a certified source if you want to claim the Renewable Heat Incentive.which increases their cost.  You also have to be capable of handling the bags of pellets to keep the stove fed.

justwhat

Ball park 4k dead to get up and running. You could do the base and pipe work for the oil tank yourself.(i have done 3 in the last 12 years). One of them had a stove in one room and a stove and back boiler in another. We replaced the back boiler one with a Worcester oil boiler and used the other stove. i would never jump wood/coal to oil. Wood for burning can be cheaper than oil. We still used one of the stoves so it was still dirty/dusty.  Oil prices fluctuate. Wood prices were we live remains constant. 
If you are in a newish house look at renewables.

A._Badger

comeandgo said:

Are you sure oil is the way you want to go?  It's very cheap at the moment but price is so volatile and does not exactly have any longevity.  We have oil heating and never had any problems other than price but if we had to look at our heating I would not choose oil.  It can cost far more than electricity.

Are you quite sure of that? I have used oil for over a decade and not once has electricity been a cheaper option. 

matelodave

comeandgo said:

Are you sure oil is the way you want to go?  It's very cheap at the moment but price is so volatile and does not exactly have any longevity.  We have oil heating and never had any problems other than price but if we had to look at our heating I would not choose oil.  It can cost far more than electricity.

Where did you get that info from?

There are about 10.5kwh of energy in a litre of oil - so oil would have cost around £1.20 TO £1.50 a litre for it to be as expensive as leccy at the moment (more if you take into account the standing charge). 

I don't have oil but in my research I've never seen it much above 60-70p/litre which equates to 6-7p per kwh, still miles cheaper than leccy even if you've got storage heaters running on an off-peak tariff (and its a lot more controllable). Even LPG is cheaper than leccy.

The only way leccy could work out cheaper is with a heatpump however you'd have to take into account the expense of installing one (properly) and understanding how to use to to get anywhere close to the cost of oil or LPG - I reckon my heatpump works out at around 4p/kwh but the whole installation cost me £14k (heatpump, tank,= £7k underfloor heating and controls = £7k)

elljay

Thank you for the responses.  In my last house I had oil for 20 years and although yes, the price does fluctuate - sometimes hugely - it's still pretty efficient.  By that I mean I would have a warm bathroom first thing,  the timer would control it,  I didn't have to light the fire for morning heat then it would go out when I was out at work, I could leave it on low if I was away for a few days to stop pipes from freezing and all the other conveniences  that people who have gas possibly take for granted.  It's not just about the cost.

I was thinking that selling the current stove would bring in a few quid rather than having to pay to have it taken away.  I'd then install a sensibly small stove to supplement the oil for cosiness and given that the flue etc is all there.  Renewables are so expensive to put in(it's an old house) and the upheaval to have a heat pump would be huge.  Solar panels would probably not be allowed for planning reasons.  So oil seems to be the only way to go, and from what I read the costs would be manageable.

Thanks for all the input, interesting to read how people's priorities are all different.   

J_B

Not sure if it's relevant, but you can get oil boilers that can be sited outdoors ...