Moving To LPG For The First Time

Peakoverload

Currently we live in West Sussex and are on mains gas and have always been on mains gas. However, we are currently in the very early stages of looking to relocate to Devon and so far all of the properties we have looked at are not on mains gas but have LPG central heating. This is completely new to us. I understand how it works and I know it's more expensive but I'm trying to get a handle on what kind of bills we can expect to pay as both my wife and I work from home and so, during the winter, we have the heating on most of the time.

Currently we are with Octopus Energy and I know how much we consumed last year both in terms of Cubic Meters and as Kw/h but I can't work out how to convert this to litres in order to calculate what we would have paid if we had been on LPG.

For example we used 1974KW/h of natural gas last year. If I divide that by 7.08 (the calorific value of LPG and divide that by 48p per litre (guestimated price based on what I've read), the price comes to just over half what we paid last year which can't be right.

However, we consumed 1036 cubic meters of natural gas last year and converting that to litres for LPG would mean we would have paid more for LPG than we are aiming to pay for the house!

Obviously I'm either rubbish at maths or doing something wrong, probably both.

As gas prices are so high at the moment and as prices never seem to come back down once they are up, I really need to get an idea of what we would expect our bills to be as this will have an impact on affordability of the increased mortgage.

For reference, we are currently in a 2 bed flat with a new combi boiler but pretty poor insulation and looking to move to a 3 bed semi or detached house.

Veteransaver

I think your figure of 1974kWh is quite low. An average house for example might use around 10000 kWh a year.
You also need to divide the 48p by 7.08 to get the pence per kWh. So it's about 7p
Mains gas on the price cap is/ was similar  though other tariffs are cheaper

Also, you'll probably have a standing charge on the LPG tank, but obviously no mains gas standing charge.
LPG is normally the most expensive of mains gas, oil and LPG. 
Though at 7p it's fairly similar to oil currently.
And quite a bit more than mains gas on Octopus tracker for example.

Netexporter

I'd get a heat pump fitted before you move in and ditch the LPG. There's a £7500 grant towards the installation cost. Also you'll avoid getting into a contract with the LPG supplier, if you get the tank removed straight away, saving you tank rental fees.

Rodders53

Your using 7.08 kWh of energy per litre is correct.  (NB the unit is kiloWatt not KelvinWatt).
 
Not so sure about the price per litre though (I'm a Kerosene user but occasionally check out the LPG master thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1003291/bulk-lpg-cheapest-suppliers-supply-route/p441 )  It could be a fair bit more and it varies with Region as much if not more than Kerosene does.



You'd best advised to ask sellers what they use per annum (litres, not £s) for an estimation. It's what I asked when moving to Kerosene.

Your annual gas consumption is wrong though 1036 cu m is roughly 11770 kWh without accurate calorific value correction --- so your litre calculation will be out and also the money... 

Looks like you missed a leading 1 = 10 MWh. 

So take 11,974 kWh for your gas divide by 7.08 = 1,961 litres x £0.45 = £761 plus the tank rental (standing charge) - allow £60-100?  It may also be + 5% vat?

Peakoverload

Ahh yes, I did miss type, I was in fact looking at the wrong row on my spreadsheet. The 1974kWh is what we used in December. In total we used11090 kWh so not far off your figure. However, that means if we had been on LPG we would have paid around £770 + tank rental. Whereas we paid £1312 in total last year for our gas. So LPG would have been substantially cheaper??? I don't understand how that can be when, even now, it's meant to be more expensive than natural gas.

QrizB

Peakoverload said:

I don't understand how that can be when, even now, it's meant to be more expensive than natural gas.

Last winter (22-23) natural gas was over 10p/kWh and LPG was 70p/litre.

Prices have fallen since then.

Veteransaver said:

You also need to divide the 48p by 7.08 to get the pence per kWh. So it's about 7p

If you're currently on the SVT, mains gas is also about 7p/kWh.