LPG user, elderly parent, how to minimise cost
Jools70
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I understand that LPG supply of gas via large tank in the garden does not come under the governments energy price cap. My elderly mother (78) is worried as she has a gas boiler linked to a large tank for hot water and her heating.
She is of the mind short term to buy some electric radiators for heating, but other than boiling a kettle for hot water she is unsure what to do for hot water.
I've suggested the following options, but she's reluctant for change - I've tried explaining this issue is not going away. (She lives in largish 3 bed bungalow).
1. Contact Gas supplier and say that she doesn't require gas and will use up current tank around 75% full and good for 5 months as this is already paid for.
2. Install a heat pump for hot water and heating - yes upfront cost, but one use of energy
3. Swap out the gas hob for induction hob
I also suggested solar panels to help offset the electricity, but she's says they look ugly (this is for context to help my reasoning with her).
Thanks for any suggestions........
Jools
She is of the mind short term to buy some electric radiators for heating, but other than boiling a kettle for hot water she is unsure what to do for hot water.
I've suggested the following options, but she's reluctant for change - I've tried explaining this issue is not going away. (She lives in largish 3 bed bungalow).
1. Contact Gas supplier and say that she doesn't require gas and will use up current tank around 75% full and good for 5 months as this is already paid for.
2. Install a heat pump for hot water and heating - yes upfront cost, but one use of energy
3. Swap out the gas hob for induction hob
I also suggested solar panels to help offset the electricity, but she's says they look ugly (this is for context to help my reasoning with her).
Thanks for any suggestions........
Jools
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But I assume she will want to stay where she is. My parents are in their eighties, and are not keen on moving even though their home is poorly insulated, and has a very old heating system. I've talked to them about the options to replace their heating system, and even offered to pay for it, but they find one excuse after another not to do anything. Their final argument is that they will not live long enough to get the financial benefit of improving their home's insulation or heating system. They are right about this, but I'm still concerned that they will be cold, despite paying a lot for their energy. I've talked to them about equity release as way of getting cash to pay inflated energy bills for rest of their life, but they are somewhat tied to the idea of "leaving a legacy".
A Heat Pump could be a really bad idea for your Mum unless the bungalow is well insulated. It it isn't well insulated, the best option is to insulate the bungalow and rigerously block all sources of draughts (but don't block essential ventilation paths), and keep buying LPG, but less of it. This is expensive and disruptive work. If wall insuslation is applied on the insde walls, redecoration will be required, so it would make sense to consult your Mum as to when she last redecorated. If it was recently, she will be reluctant to have it redone, but it's just part of the cost of improving the insulation, and should not be considered a waste. Insulating under the floor can require carpets to be refited, and once lifted they don't always go back perfectly. It's definitely worth hiring a carpet fitter to refit any fitted carpets if the floorboards have to be lifted to install insulation. Once the bungalow is property insulated, you could then look at a heat pump. Heatpump installations can require larger radiators, and in some cases, larger pipes. If the floors have to come up to install the insulation, replacing them with concrete and underfloor heating would also be an option, albeit expensive.
Induction hobs need a lot of electricty. Often the cable to the hob needs to be upgraded, and this creates more need for redecoration. I would check carefully to see if an induction hob can save your mother any money.
Water heating would be best done with a Combi boiler running on LPG. If your Mum's current boiler is more than 20 years old, it will be worth replacing it with a modern combi boiler, and losing the hot water tank. A modern boiler will be more efficient, especially if the insulation has been improved. Electric radiators only make sense, to my mind, for odd days when it isn't necessary to heat the whole house, i.e. spring and autum days that she is planning on spending the day in one room.
There are roof cassette systems available that allow solar panels to be installed level with the roof rather than above it. These reduce the extent that the solar panels look ugly to a very large degree, although I doubt your Mum will agree with me on this! The solar panels can be combined with a solar diverter that will use solar power to operate the immersion heater in her current hot water tank to provide all the hot water she needs for free most of the year. Solar panels are difficult to justify unless you have a hot water tank or a heat pump, or are prepared to also pay for a battery to store the electricty you generate until you need it.
In the short term, think I would try to get her to accept the idea of solar panels and insulating at least her bedroom and living room, and keep using her current LPG boiler and tank.
How old is her existing boiler & is it a condensing boiler?
My understanding is that LPG is still cheaper for heating than electricity.
Typically LPG users are in Contract with one supplier (with a standing charge for the tank) so find out what rate your Mum pays and do the sums. Some contracts have fixed rates (with limited increases annually), others are variable rate. Rarely, there is no contract and one can shop around for best price.
It's also possible to switch LPG supplier in some circumstances.
Even at 70p/litre LPG will be on par with current natural gas prices per kWh and far cheaper than electricity. LPG has usually been more expensive than Natural gas.
She will get the Winter Fuel Payment in November - increased this year - £500 or £250 if living with another qualifying pensioner and might cover a good portion of the fill cost?
I am still using my kerosene oil purchased at 4.5p/kWh from last year and must order some soon but that'll be close to 10p/kWh. The winter fuel payment will cover half my fill.
A heatpump will not only cost somewhere like £10-15k to be installed but will cost around 34.5/3 = 11.5p/kwh to run. Assuming that it's been properly installed, commissioned and, most importantly, operated correctly. I'm not anti heatpump, I've had one for twelve years, but they are not cheaper to run than either oil or mains gas and just about on a par with LPG at around 80p/litre.
TBH even if she was offered one for free I'd be a bit reluctant as it would be unlikely to save much if any money in the short term and if, as you say, she's elderly then she probably wouldn't live long enough to even see any benefit in the long term either.
Even if you are considering solar panels, you really do need to see whether there's a realistic chance of getting a return on the capital outlay over the next few years - solar and heatpumps are really long term investments so you need to determine whether the initial outlay can break even within a reasonable time
The £10,000 ost of a heatpump, invested in a building society could get you a return of around £400 a year at the moment
Lastly keep lpg hob cost savings over induction unless safety is a concern naked flame on lpg..
We're - for the first time - grateful to be on LPG rather than natural gas as our gas cost (per litre) has barely risen over the last 2 years where natural gas unit prices have shot up.