I am thinking of changing our central heating from lpg to oil. lpg system is really expensive to run. oil is suppose to be cheaper due to higher calorific value for the same quantity (and price) of fuel.

Has anyone done this???? any experience???

also do you need planning permission to instal an oil tank??? (in place of a gas tank)

anything else to consider????

cheers

I can only comment on running costs as the house we bought is oil run.

Our tank has been filled twice in the last 12 months, 1000ltrs each time, and
cost around the £700 mark to do, steep coming from mains Gas which cost approx £400 for 12mths.

Thinking of having LPG put in but only for running gas hob & gas fire, back up
really if we get a power cut no heating!!

thanks for the reply...

What size house is this for???

our lpg bill is twice that for a 5 bed house!!!!

My last delivery of oil was 1000 litres on 03/03/06 and the bill (including vat) was £362.25.
To give you an idea of consumption we have a 5 bed house and get through about 2500 - 2700 litres a year. The heating is often on all day as my wife and son are usually home.

How long are you planning on staying at your current house? The payback period may well be quite a long time once you factor in a tank, tank installation (including concrete base), boiler and flue plus any lpg tank removal fees.

This used to be my industry a few years ago.

Fuel prices change daily, so keep phonig around different oil companies when you think you are closeto ordering, play at least 3 off against each other, always get a per litre price. This will ensure you get the best deal and not the oil company.

As far as oil storage goes, find a reputable installer and get quotes. A lot of the laws changed about 3 years ago, with different Oftec regulations. You might need a double skin tank if you are close to a water course or if you intend to store above 2000 litres. But your installer will recomend whats best. As far as planning was concerned, i think the installer can sign it off as a responsible person, as i said, i left the industry just as they bought out all the red tape and polatics.

If you need any further help, let me know, also your area, if you are midlands or south based i might be able to reccomend one.

Hope this is of help to you

Paul:D

Try here for further advise....

http://www.oftec.co.uk/consumers/index.htm


Paul:)

thanks for the reply...

What size house is this for???

our lpg bill is twice that for a 5 bed house!!!!

4 bed detached,(12 rads) Mrs and the kids at home so heating is on,

1400 quid for lpg, and i thought 700 was bad !! Guess i've been spoilt coming
from mains gas!!!

You will need a double skinned tank regardless of water course or not. You would be wise getting as big a tank as you can get away with, as bulk buying of gas oil brings down the price, but only to a certain point. IIRC, any deliveries over 2300 litres are charged at 17.5% VAT, whereas lesser deliveries are at 5% VAT. Plastic DS tanks are fine for external installs ( not that you'd want one in the house :D )

You can also use a single skinned steel tank, ( something like http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Large-Metal-Lockable-Diesel-Storage-Tank_W0QQitemZ7598562459QQcategoryZ1269QQrdZ1QQcmd ZViewItem )as long as it is in a bund that will contain 110% of the tank contents, this can be made of concrete, or treated brick, either sat on a concrete slab, based on about 1.5T per 1000L ( inc tank ). You would be favourite roofing over the bund to keep rainwater out, as if the bund is full of water it cant contain the fuel. With the new regs these are 10 a penny, I gave a 5000L tank away a while back because It wasnt worth selling it,and the regs have moved over into the transport of empty tanks, by rights they should be cleaned and de-gassed etc..it's a ****ing nightmare.

Don't scrimp on the pipework install either, as the environment agengy will tear your trousers off in the event of a spill, a solenoid failed on a job a couple of years ago and about 100 gallons was lost, 25K cleanup operation, and that was when the site was still a site...i.e, no finished surface to rip up.

I don't understand why you're even considering switching from LPG to oil? Apart from a significant increase in the cost of an oil boiler compared to LPG they are also very inefficient by comparison and although the calorific value of oil is higher, this is offset by the much higher costs. Typically, oil costs around 38ppl in the south east at present and although this can change daily as both markets are commodity driven, any decent LPG supplier has frozen the gas price since last September through to this October. Typically, you'd pay around 26 to 31ppl for LPG which undermines any potential saving from the calorific value of oil and as others have said the payback period, if at all, would run into decades.

Hi,

thanks for your input.

it a difficult decision. our lpg costs at the moment are high.

the oil v lpg cost per litre is roughly the same but the calorific value of oil is a 25-30% higher. My thinking was to buy a condensing oil boiler to gain the best saving. but saying that by the time you have the cost of the boiler and tank (£2500 ish) against just buying a new condensing lpg boiler for about £1200 those additional costs will take a long time to recoup.

The decision i by no means made so any comments help.

also do you need a bunded tank in scotland, I have heard you only need a single skin tank, if so this is considerably cheaper.

Now what?????

Which LPG supplier are you using and what is the price? You also haven't factored in the higher servicing costs of oil boilers and whilst, admittedly I'm biased, we've been signing up oil customers in droves which is why I'm surprised you're considering switching the other way.

flatcapdriver.

interesting as you obviously work for a lpg supplier. current price is 31p which is roughly the same as oil.

servicing is maybe £50 a year more but my gas tank costs me £50 a year anyway.


if oil is 30% higher calorific value then surely its a straight 30% saving each year. A bit simplistic I know but if we need a new boiler anyway (current one 15 yrs old) then why not change, plus it looks like I don't need a bunded tank so then a tank is only £300-400

I need convincing???????

Which LPG supplier are you using and what is the price? You also haven't factored in the higher servicing costs of oil boilers and whilst, admittedly I'm biased, we've been signing up oil customers in droves which is why I'm surprised you're considering switching the other way.

Costs me £70 for an annual "oil boiler service" hardly bank breaking!

flatcapdriver.

interesting as you obviously work for a lpg supplier. current price is 31p which is roughly the same as oil.

servicing is maybe £50 a year more but my gas tank costs me £50 a year anyway.


if oil is 30% higher calorific value then surely its a straight 30% saving each year. A bit simplistic I know but if we need a new boiler anyway (current one 15 yrs old) then why not change, plus it looks like I don't need a bunded tank so then a tank is only £300-400

I need convincing???????

It's the up front costs associated with oil which really kill it particularly with the boiler costs and those combined with the environmental benefits and lower servicing costs make LPG attractive. Our last house had a brand new oil system installed and apart from the ugly tank and horrendous cost of oil last winter the system didn't seem to wake up that quickly.

Take a look at this site to help you decide which way to go. You still haven't let us know who your supplier is?

http://www.ruralfuel.co.uk/fuel-comparisons/fuel-comparison-chart.htm

my supplier is gaulds gas...

thanks for the link. interesting...

I'd change your LPG supplier first. Try Calor, they have an introductory rate of 26ppl which is fixed for the first year and their other customers have had their gas price fixed for 12 months.