Switching from elecric to oil or gas

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anjahood
anjahood Posts: 4 Newbie
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Hi

My husband and I bought our home back in July. We love the house, and are happy for it to be our forever home. I mention this as w're happy to putmoney into the house, as we will be the ones benefiting from it, and we're not worried about profit for reselling.

Ouver our first winter we have realised it is quite cold. We have gone around and sealed up a few areas and done what we can to make it warmer, but I've accepted the fact that it might just be a cold house!

The heating heats up the whole house, but I grudge having it on too long, as we are running on elecric (no storage heating) and it costs a lot!

We are in a rural area, so no acess to gas, but we have thought about getting either an oil or gas container in the garden. The only thing is, we don't know where to start, and despite spending hours online, can't really find costs or pros and cons between gas and oil.

I was wondering if anyone could share their own experiences with converrting to gas or oil in a rural area, and what kind of costs are involved?

We're both very new to being responsible for any work carried out on our home, and just want to make sure we're being as efficient and cost effective as possible.

Thanks in advance :)

Comments

  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
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    Hi and welcome. Usually I am really irritated by people who say, "this should be posted on such-and-such a board, not this one" but think you would receive far more help on the Energy sub-board about LPG/oil and such:

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=78

    HTH.

    I know little about either except that they are both wayyy more expensive than mains gas. Don't suppose there is any possibility of getting connected, is there? I think LPG is more expensive than oil and involves being stuck in a contract, making it impossible to shop around but don't listen to me. Hope you find the help you need.

    Only other possibility I can think of is solar panels and storage heaters; worth a look?
  • ASavvyBuyer
    ASavvyBuyer Posts: 1,737 Forumite
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    Smodlet wrote: »

    Only other possibility I can think of is solar panels and storage heaters; worth a look?

    It is unlikely that you would get enough kWh for storage heaters from solar panels.

    However, using Solar PV with an Air Conditioner/Heat Pump could work well. Have a look at this thread for more info.
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
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    ASavvyBuyer wrote: »
    It is unlikely that you would get enough kWh for storage heaters from solar panels.

    However, using Solar PV with an Air Conditioner/Heat Pump could work well. Have a look at this thread for more info.

    I do actually know that, thanks, was just trying to cover all possibilities. Even solar panels would make some saving but are hardly a viable heating option where any other exists.
  • reeac
    reeac Posts: 1,430 Forumite
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    If you're thinking long term then undoubtedly you should invest in a better heating system. LPG is much more expensive than oil so the choice is really between oil and electrically powered heat pump. I had to make this choice about 22 years ago when our present place was built. I was dubious about heat pumps as at that time they weren't readily available for the domestic market so we settled for oil. We have been very happy with this choice .... original Thermecon boiler going strong with very few problems and 100 percent reliability. We have a 2500 litre tank and so buy once a year, watching the price trend and trying to predict minimum price. Three brm detached bungalow with two retired people consumes 1800 litre of oil per annum and we don't skimp on heating.
    A heat pump system is best run at a lower water temperature which entails more radiators or else underfloor heating is. more disruption.
    With oil you need have no long term contract with a supplier so no fine print t's. and c's as with electricity. If I were having to decide today I would still go for oil rather than electric heat pump.
  • collectors
    collectors Posts: 231 Forumite
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    Overall i think oil is the cheapest. But it will cost at least £1700 for a boiler fitted & another £1500 for an oil tank fitted. Now, at the moment Calor will supply a 2400lt LPG tank for free & a LPG boiler fitted is around £1100 & cleaner than oil. Remember the installation of rads is on top of this. You will also have the bonus of gas cooking. So you would have around a £2000 saving to fit LPG. But it would only be a bonus for about 2.5/3.3 years until you start thinking i should of gone oil. I have around 14 rads, 2 towel rails, large hot water tank & a 5 ring hob in a 5 bed bungalow & this works out around £127 in the winter months & £50 in the summer months per month, & i am careful.
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
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    collectors wrote: »
    Overall i think oil is the cheapest. But it will cost at least £1700 for a boiler fitted & another £1500 for an oil tank fitted. Now, at the moment Calor will supply a 2400lt LPG tank for free & a LPG boiler fitted is around £1100 & cleaner than oil. Remember the installation of rads is on top of this. You will also have the bonus of gas cooking. So you would have around a £2000 saving to fit LPG. But it would only be a bonus for about 2.5/3.3 years until you start thinking i should of gone oil. I have around 14 rads, 2 towel rails, large hot water tank & a 5 ring hob in a 5 bed bungalow & this works out around £127 in the winter months & £50 in the summer months per month, & i am careful.


    Wow. That really does put things in perspective for me, thank you so much. So, cost of new boiler + oil tank = £3200 at least. About £1k more than a mains gas boiler for a smallish 3 bed semi. Rads not an issue as, if you have mains gas and gas CH, they are already present except in a new-build situation.

    Mains gas is by far the cheapest option, obviously but, where it is not a choice, perhaps oil is not as much more expensive as I had thought. I would still never choose it over mains gas but some very helpful posts on here for the OP and interesting ones for me. Thanks guys.
  • J_B
    J_B Posts: 6,445 Forumite
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    Most LPG sellers are sharks, so 'the man in the pub' told me.
    Prices often go up and rarely go down.

    Oil boilers can be installed outside, but are more expensive.
    Oil can be stolen but LPG can't
    Oil will almost certainly be cheaper than LPG to run.

    Some say that LPG sellers are sharks ... not sure if you've heard that before :D;)
  • anjahood
    anjahood Posts: 4 Newbie
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    Thanks for your advice everyone, it's really helped.

    We used an oil boiler growing up, but I didn't know too much about the running costs of it.

    We're going to get a few quotes to see what costs we're looking at and go from there :)

    Thanks again
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