Need help choosing a new heating system!

Jules2054

Macman...due to my health conditions, I don't get much sleep, so yes, I'm awake to put the boost on, and turn it off! 
Also I swapped the E7 wiring around for the immersion heater, so I get a large amount of hot water! I was going to put a timer on it too, but not worth it now ! 
I only need to put it on once every 3 days, to last me! 
As Talldave , and myself have previously mention....im having a new system installed, hopefully, so why would I spend money I don't have on ' bodge' jobs, to only have them ripped out or updated later on!!!! 

macman

Thanks for the feedback. Your posts gave the impression that the main immersion had been out of action for quite some time. Even if you have an LPG system and boiler installed, then it's well worth retaining an immersion heater as a backup DHW system, unless you are going for a combi boiler. 
My knowlege of LPG is limited, but a bit of research indicates that, with a typical 1200l bulk tank, the cost of a 1000l refill will be in the region of £400 a time? 

Jules2054

macman said:

Thanks for the feedback. Your posts gave the impression that the main immersion had been out of action for quite some time. Even if you have an LPG system and boiler installed, then it's well worth retaining an immersion heater as a backup DHW system, unless you are going for a combi boiler. 
My knowlege of LPG is limited, but a bit of research indicates that, with a typical 1200l bulk tank, the cost of a 1000l refill will be in the region of £400 a time? 

Yes, its going to be a condensed combi boiler. 
Can I ask how you came to the figure of £400? 
And where that info can be found, as I worked it out as a bit less than that! And comparing it to what I'm paying, or would be paying, for the whole house to be heated on NSHs, was only slightly less than the bulk LPG! 
So seeing that I could have a new system installed, that is free, and would give me heat & hot water 24/7, instead of hardly any heat in the evening/night from the NSHs, just seems to me, to be the better system to go for, at only a slight increase on my bill! 
However, if its not viable to have the bulk tank, ( not enough space), then I'll be looking at getting some secondhand NSHs, while I try to get the people on my estate to club together with me, and part pay to get the gas mains connected for the whole of the estate. If that doesn't work out, last resort is that I either claim  some equity on my house or take my works pension earlier, to pay for the gas connection to just my house. 

matelodave

if £400 gets you 1000litres and there are approx 7.1kwh in a litre of propane then it works out at around 5.6p/kwh.

So you could work out your annual consumption which would give you a rough idea of the cost. The average is around 12,000kwh = £672 a year, yours may be more or less depending on how warm you keep the place and how long you have the heating on

(my neighbour has a two bedroom semi, out in the Fens, with external wall insulation and reckons he spends about £1500 a yeare on Calor gas, but the place is like an oven - he has several deliveries a year).

You could also install a gas cooker and save on your leccy costs for cooking.

this might be worth a read if you are contemplating LPG - https://www.calor.co.uk/home-energy/new-to-lpg/my-options/lpg-installation-options?tabname=above-ground-lpg-tank

macman

I based it on 1000l at £0.40 a litre, but prices seem to vary widely, some down to 35p per litre. Not sure if that includes the 5% VAT or not. There will be others on here who have LPG experience and will know what the other extras are. 
Bear in mind that you'll need to get the metering changed back to single rate after the LPG install, that will not be included in the grant.

matelodave

Jules2054 said:

macman said:

Thanks for the feedback. Your posts gave the impression that the main immersion had been out of action for quite some time. Even if you have an LPG system and boiler installed, then it's well worth retaining an immersion heater as a backup DHW system, unless you are going for a combi boiler. 
My knowlege of LPG is limited, but a bit of research indicates that, with a typical 1200l bulk tank, the cost of a 1000l refill will be in the region of £400 a time? 

However, if its not viable to have the bulk tank, ( not enough space), then I'll be looking at getting some secondhand NSHs, while I try to get the people on my estate to club together with me, and part pay to get the gas mains connected for the whole of the estate. If that doesn't work out, last resort is that I either claim  some equity on my house or take my works pension earlier, to pay for the gas connection to just my house. 

Be very wary about doing that as it could affect your benefits - take advice before going down that route

Gerry1

macman said:

Bear in mind that you'll need to get the metering changed back to single rate after the LPG install, that will not be included in the grant.

Not necessarily so, many suppliers will happily bill both registers at the same single rate.

Jules2054

matelodave said:

if £400 gets you 1000litres and there are approx 7.1kwh in a litre of propane then it works out at around 5.6p/kwh.

So you could work out your annual consumption which would give you a rough idea of the cost. The average is around 12,000kwh = £672 a year, yours may be more or less depending on how warm you keep the place and how long you have the heating on

(my neighbour has a two bedroom semi, out in the Fens, with external wall insulation and reckons he spends about £1500 a yeare on Calor gas, but the place is like an oven - he has several deliveries a year).

You could also install a gas cooker and save on your leccy costs for cooking.

this might be worth a read if you are contemplating LPG - https://www.calor.co.uk/home-energy/new-to-lpg/my-options/lpg-installation-options?tabname=above-ground-lpg-tank

Thanks for the info! 
If I get bulk LPG, I intend to regulate the system on a smart thermostat that works with the combi boiler, so I can save where possible! I can save up the £178 for that! 
I worked it out at about £830 yr, inc vat etc. I was paying over £1200 a yr, when I had all my NSHs on etc, so there's not a lot of difference between the 2, once you factor in the cost of electric added to the cost of bulk LPG. 
There's also a lot cheaper out there than calor gas. The LPG Save website is a good one to get the best rate on a 2 Yr fixed plan. 

Jules2054

I've contacted warm home solutions via the Cadent gas network,  as I'm in the east Midlands area, but just waiting to hear back from them re; the gas for the estate. 
Im also going to get in touch with another chap
From the local council to help me with this. 
I'll update again when I know more! 😊

Jules2054

Just a thought, but at the moment I've got a separate fused electric shower fitted....would this work better coming off the boiler,  in terms of running costs? Or not? 
I suppose it would, as if the boiler is on to heat the water, then there's no point in using electricity to use the shower!!!! Is that right? Lol! Brains not working today! Lol! 😊