Slim Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Oh god I've just bought a house. Well, I say a house, it's more a pile of bricks with a roof. It's 1930s and is still in pretty much original condition. So I need central heating. Believe it or not my current gaff doesn't have heating either, we just burn wood, so I've no clue on what kind to install. Oil or Gas seems to be the choice locally. I hear a lot of horror stories about gas prices, am I better off with oil for a new install? Anyone know? Anyone care? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posters Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Choose oil. Just make sure that they have access to fill the tank. I understand that the local oil companies are going to refuse to take the hoses through houses to fill peoples tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Oil all the way. Gas prices will go mental after this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 If you can't get oil, why not go for my new patented solar heating system? £750 all installed and sod all maintenance to worry about (just don't leave anything flammable in the top bedroom!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 I know a lot of people will say oil is much cheaper compared to gas, but to be honest there's not much in it. You'd probably find though that oil is the easier choice to go with (provided you've space for the tank!) as there's no requirement to be Corgi registered to work on oil fired boilers - which may work out cheaper from an installation/maintenance perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3v0 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 We are looking at buying a house, the majority we have looked at have gas CH in them, but we were told that the £3500 estimate to convert to oil would pay for itself in about 2-3 years. Could be wrong but just what we were told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 Ta for that. Has anyone ever heard of a local company doing the biomass systems? I guess you could say we run on biomass currently, we burn mostly logs on an old back boiler system to heat our water. This actually works out very well for us although its hot water only and of course you can't stick it on a timer like a central heating system. I have heard of automated biomass/wood burning boilers that use pellets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 With the Russians controlling a huge proportion of the available gas resources - and having already demonstrated that they're quite prepared to shut off supplies whenevr they think it necessary - gas prices are never going to be stable or reliable. Realistically, that means a choice between oil and solid fuel - and in both cases there is the advantage of burning what's already been paid for, rather than waiting with trepidation for a bill to arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 Burning what you've paid for, I like that. It's how we operate now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 We are looking at buying a house, the majority we have looked at have gas CH in them, but we were told that the £3500 estimate to convert to oil would pay for itself in about 2-3 years. Could be wrong but just what we were told. I've heard that as well, and think that they're being a little optimistic. I know someone who converted to oil a couple of years back and were quite disappointed with the savings, or lack thereof that they were making. Essentially, the only time to throw away a perfectly serviceable boiler is when it needs replaceing as then the costs are more justifyable. Sure you might be paying a bit more for fuel in the short term, but if you leave it until it needs doing say 2-3 years on, you're new boiler will be 2-3 years newer than if you took the plunge earlier. Might be worth it, might not. Don't believe what the installer claims without a second opinion!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 £3500 if you go direct with the oil company. Our conversion to oil cost us less than £1500! definately worth it, but shop around and you will save a fortune! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 And what are your savings compared to gas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 With the Russians controlling a huge proportion of the available gas resources - and having already demonstrated that they're quite prepared to shut off supplies whenevr they think it necessary - gas prices are never going to be stable or reliable. *chuckle* .. are you implying that oil prices are stable or reliable ? -------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman8180 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Might be worth it, might not. Don't believe what the installer claims without a second opinion!! Agree with BigDave on this one. £3500 sounds very optimistic to me. Not forgetting that, historically, Oil pricing has been far more volatile than NG and I think the trend for NG will be cheaper over the next couple of years. (the sure sign of this is British Gas offering 'fixed' pricing for lengthy periods - they only do that when they have bought cheaply far enough ahead). Also, make sure any 'comparison' is done against the latest version of boilers. Some of the newer condensing Gas boilers are pretty efficient compared to what they used to be. The mian advantage has already been said, in the with Oil, you pay up front, and aren't left with a big bill every couple of months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 Thinking more about that oil vs gas saving, you'd have to be saving £145 a month to achieve that. I'm hoping you wouldn't spend anywhere near that amount, let alone save it. What's your current monthly heating bill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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