I want gas central heating!

jtcg

Our house is currently all electric (Economy 7) and the running costs are astronomic. I'm seriously thinking of getting gas c/h installed, but one or two things concern me.
How much should I reasonably pay for a system (including installation costs) covering 4 average bedrooms, a bathroom, a largish hallway/stairs, a large lounge, medium dining room and a kitchen as well as hot water?
Will it be a messy job? ie will floors and walls be ripped up and the whole house need redecorating?
As there is no gas in the house yet how much would it cost to connect from the road, which is less than 5 metres?
Finally, if my current annual bills are approximately £1400+ how much could I reasonably save in order for the new system to pay for itself?
Sorry there's a lot of questions to answer, but I need to know before committing myself.
Thanks, John.

Cardew

Thats really a 'how long is a piece of string' question!

Firstly there have several threads about connection costs from house to the gas mains in the street - I suggest you do a search. The quotes vary tremendously from several hundred pounds to several thousands.

Assuming you have a Combi boiler for a 4 bed house, I would estimate a CH system itself would cost between £3,000 and £4,000.

Running cost savings are again difficult to assess; it largely depends on how much electricity you currently use topping up the storage heaters during the day; as well as daytime electricity usage.

Bear in mind that you will need an annual safety check/servicing plan for your gas boiler - which isn't cheap.

If I were to hazard a guess at a ballpark figure, it would be around £300 a year saving.

However the sheer convenience of Gas CH is priceless!