Central heating - oil to LPG

Central heating - oil to LPG

Author
Discussion

Harpoon

1,866 posts

214 months

Thursday 21st November 2019
quotequote all
Would echo the other comments that over £2000 a year on oil for heating/water for a two bed house seems very high. I just looked back through our oil purchases for our 3 bed:

November 2019 : 926 litres (£454)
January 2019: 1000 litres (£466)
October 2018: 1000 litres (£524)
January 2018: 858 litres (£398)

Our boiler is pretty old AFAIK, so I don't think it's very efficient

forest07

669 posts

205 months

Thursday 21st November 2019
quotequote all
I suggest you ring round various oil suppliers they have flexibility with pricing if pushed.
Having been involved with both gas and oil heating. I would stick with oil.

Edited by forest07 on Thursday 21st November 10:41

steve2

1,772 posts

218 months

Thursday 21st November 2019
quotequote all
TED Jordan said:
I seem to have missed a crucial point being that underground LPG tanks seem alot cheaper for install.

Its the space the oil tank takes up and the fact I literally have no-where else for it.

Im currently spending around £2100 on a 2 bed house a year and Im ok with that to be honest but I've a worchester boiler thats literally rotten and alone thats £3000 for a replacement...

Is LPG really that expensive? how did people find the size of the boiler in comparison and how it keeps up with central heating/shower demands?
We had a Worcester lpg boiler installed 2 years ago and that cost around £1500 if I remember correctly

TED Jordan

Original Poster:

13 posts

154 months

Friday 22nd November 2019
quotequote all
I'm fine with my heating bill currently, I've maybe exaggerated the cost a little looking back, this past year I've paid £1800 for oil and working out for the boilers used for electric but we do run the house WARM mind and it takes a good bit because its a 110yr old school masters house thats can be draughty as hell in very high winds even with full loft insulation and all new windows.

Main reason to change is literally the oil tank above ground.

Calors quote has came in at £1800 for the tank, and all external civils but I have to stick with them at a fixed price for 2 years at £0.41/ltr

that seems very reasonable??

My own boiler man whose Calor re-sale accredited is getting back to me with a quote for the boiler.

the third quote thats put the nail in the coffin for an underground oil tank alone (bearing in mind I still need a new oil combi boiler regardless if i stick with oil) is £6,400 + vat installed...

rlg43p

1,227 posts

249 months

Saturday 23rd November 2019
quotequote all
TED Jordan said:
I'm fine with my heating bill currently, I've maybe exaggerated the cost a little looking back, this past year I've paid £1800 for oil and working out for the boilers used for electric but we do run the house WARM mind and it takes a good bit because its a 110yr old school masters house thats can be draughty as hell in very high winds even with full loft insulation and all new windows.

Main reason to change is literally the oil tank above ground.

Calors quote has came in at £1800 for the tank, and all external civils but I have to stick with them at a fixed price for 2 years at £0.41/ltr

that seems very reasonable??

My own boiler man whose Calor re-sale accredited is getting back to me with a quote for the boiler.

the third quote thats put the nail in the coffin for an underground oil tank alone (bearing in mind I still need a new oil combi boiler regardless if i stick with oil) is £6,400 + vat installed...
LPG will cost you vastly more than oil - please please don't do it.

I currently pay 36.5p per litre BTW, with Flogas.


jet_noise

5,645 posts

182 months

Saturday 23rd November 2019
quotequote all
rlg43p said:
LPG will cost you vastly more than oil - please please don't do it.

I currently pay 36.5p per litre BTW, with Flogas.
Gas is about 0.7 less energy dense than oil
i.e. a litre of oil has about 1.4 times the energy than a litre of gas

Evanivitch

20,038 posts

122 months

Saturday 23rd November 2019
quotequote all
I believe there is financial support out there for changing to an electrical heat pump system if you would consider it?

Lower output temperatures mean they are less responsive to sudden demands, but if you run a constant temperature they can better manage. Some upgrading in radiators may be required, our ideally wet underfloor heating.

Ground source would be more efficient if you have the space/investment.

You'd have a cabinet sized external unit near the house.

ARHarh

3,750 posts

107 months

Saturday 23rd November 2019
quotequote all
jet_noise said:
Gas is about 0.7 less energy dense than oil
i.e. a litre of oil has about 1.4 times the energy than a litre of gas
And oil is about 50p per litre, 1.4 times as much as LPG = about the same. (Info take from boilerjuice website)

I would still have oil if i could as it would feel like less of a con. I have lived with LPG for 8 years and the contracts are a pain.

Trophy Husband

3,924 posts

107 months

Saturday 23rd November 2019
quotequote all
Done both in recent years. 3 houses with oil and 1 LPG.
Oil for me is the way to stay. I've done an all year deal with my supplier and pay by DD up front so there is always cash in the bank. I do the deal every Spring and guarantee the monthly. During Spring Summer they're sitting on a good amount of my cash. During Winter I get oil at Summer rates. I'm lucky that I have a construction company that gets our plant fuel from the same source which is probably 30k litres/year. I currently pay about 50p/litre for both IIRC.
The deals gas companies do involve the tank install although after a period which I'm not sure of you can switch and the new company sorts out the old for the tank install at a rate.
Basically, you never own the gas tank on your property as far as I know like you don't own the cables that bring your WIFI.

Condensing oil boilers are very efficient. Half chat ours is burning about 12l per day which is sick squid or 180/month. Halve that and you've got a good feel for cost given that we use timers. Bear in mind that I'm talking about Winter use. Last year we spent about a grand on juice and that includes for hot water and my good lady's need for 25 degrees!
Don't ask me about logs for the generally cosmetic log burners to bring us into the low 30's temperature wise. I'm pretty much in the nuddy even when minus outside!
Even without the benefits I have regarding buying power, oil will, in my opinion be better. Plus the boilers are easier to fettle!

jet_noise

5,645 posts

182 months

Sunday 24th November 2019
quotequote all
ARHarh said:
jet_noise said:
Gas is about 0.7 less energy dense than oil
i.e. a litre of oil has about 1.4 times the energy than a litre of gas
And oil is about 50p per litre, 1.4 times as much as LPG = about the same. (Info take from boilerjuice website)

I would still have oil if i could as it would feel like less of a con. I have lived with LPG for 8 years and the contracts are a pain.
Much of a muchness smile

Venom

1,854 posts

259 months

Monday 25th November 2019
quotequote all
We've looked into this as well. Conclusion we came to was it was madness to swap from oil to LPG when considering lifecycle cost.

Eventually we're going to swap over to air source heat pumps - no oil or gas necessary. But, as a poster above alluded to, you need to make sure all of your rads are sized and performing correctly for your property to achieve a more stable heat level in the house. Insulation needs to be spot on too.

We're currently renovating the house and replacing rads/insulation as we go to spread the cost.

The Government offers the Renewal Heat Incentive (RHI) - which is basically a slug of cash thrown at you on the drip to offset your outlay for shifting to a non-fossil fuel energy source. The amount they offer depends on a bespoke calculation for your property, I think ours is looking like being £6.5k from memory.