What is the cheapest form of central heating?

[bizzylizzy]

We are thinking of putting an offer in on a house we like. Trouble is, the house is heated by economy 7 and has a series of night storage heaters and plug in radiators. Mains gas is not an option , so that leaves propane and oil. As we also have to cost out puttting in tank, pipework, boiler and radiators, we want to work out what sort of offer to put in based on the amount of work that will need to be done. It is a standard sized 3/4 bedroomed house. Also, assuming we do the work, which is the cheaper system to run. Anyone out there who knows the A to Z of central heating? Thank you. bizzylizzy

[sft42]

Depends....you knew that was coming didn't you? I did some freelance work for calor studying the prices of central heating and a few years ago Oil was a fair bit cheaper than most others but now it's more or less on a par with gas...but gas has the drawback that you will not be able to install the system yourself (unless qualified to do so) so you may well find that if you can DIY the oil system then it will work out cheaper.

PS try and fit the largest tank you can afford (even if it means burying it in your garden or such like) and then bulk buy the oil...a standard fill is about 900 to 1200 litres but if you can buy a big tank or share a delivery with neighbours you can get it a penny or two cheaper per litre.

[incitatus]

on a slightly facetious note- as was common in the 19th century, cows can be used as a source of heat. you put your house above a cow shed and the bovine body heat sorts it out. they did this with greenhouses, and the cows are very cheap to run if you have a lawn.

[Hellion]

Have you considered the option of replacing the storage heaters for more modern, slimline ones, much more efficient than the big old ones and no more unsightly than a radiator. Also very cheap to run, and quiet, and a hell of a lot cheaper and less hassle to install. I had them in my last house and I have to say that they worked brilliantly.

[bizzylizzy]

Thanks for the response everyone. Had obviously considered cows, but couldn't find ones to match the decor!! The new slimline radiators sound good and certainly less trouble than putting in a new system. Trouble is, i always thought the trouble with this sort of system is that you have to plan so far in advance, and once they've run out of juice the place gets cold again. As self employed folk, we work very late into the night and early hours and wouldn't fancy a house that started to get cold again hours before we we'd finished work. Thanks for your help everyone, you've given me some food for thought. bizzylizzy

[KARL]

In my opinion a system with pumped circulating medium (usually water with anti-corrosion and perhaps also anti-freeze additives) through radiators is the best approach, always providing the radiators are positioned correctly: below windows and near any outer doors. I.e. they must form a circle at the outside walls (not near doors between halls and rooms). After this the only question is how you heat the medium (it could also be by electricity, e.g. off-peak, in a tank analogous to immersion heating) if desired. You can install everything yourselves, including mounting and plumbing in a gas boiler but the actual gas connection, testing and commissioning must be done by a registered fitter to be legal. If you are out in the country with woods of your own, you can even consider converting an old standard gas boiler with a good cast iron core to wood burning if you want to (remove gas element and steel base, build a fireplace of sorts and fit the boiler, complete with pump, above and funnel the flue through it).

[bizzylizzy]

Thanks Karl - a very thorough answer. We live in the UK. Our last cottage had a solid fuel boiler, which made it very difficult to go away during winter months. It was a huge pain to keep topped up with anthracite and declinkered. We vowed never again to have this system. We've been looking at buying a house to upgrade. One we've been looking at would need the whole of the central heating system replaced including the boiler. I think it's fairly close to mains gas. It's what I'd prefer frankly but I imagine it'll cost a fortune to convert. I'd be interested to know if anyone out there could give me a ball park figure on the cost of converting a house with say twenty radiators to gas in terms of the cost of a boiler and the cost of installation. One of the houses we're looking at already has an ancient oil fired system. It's interesting to know that you don't have to employ a Corgi fitter for the whole lot though. I've heard so many horror stories about people being charged a fortune for this work. Maybe I'll put up a post to ask if anyone knows of a reliable heating engineer in Somerset. The Taunton area specificially. Many thanks again for your anwer. bizzylizzy

[KARL]

I had a further answer to your message typed out but AB complained it was too long and now I don't have the time to re-type/edit it: In such cases AB wipes it out and you can't go back to adjust, it is all totally lost. This is, in my opinion, the worst feature of the site. Sorry, if I can I will come back later.

[KARL]

If you have mains gas this is certainly the most convenient fuel. Your heating requirements will (in addition to climate) depend on the heat retention characteristics of your house. In this is where draught exclusion and insulation (including walls and windows) becomes very important. You can have insulation pumped into any cavity including behind lath-and-plaster and it is well worth doing. The system I installed 30 years ago in our thoroughly insulated Victorian house still maintains a constant (24/7, no closed doors) temperature throughout the house of 18 minimum (nights) and 21 maximum (days) using the original gas boiler (on third pump now) with thermostatic radiator valves throughout and a room-stat fitted. We only time the water heating, not the space heating (on at all times but temperature controlled) - cost: �400 p.a. and we are several hundred miles north of Somerset. Design is easy but radiator sizes will depend on criteria (min outside tem, max required indoor temp and loss characteristics). Reckon on twin finned rads throughout, price them at somewhere like Plumb Centre including valves, add say 150m of pipe plus fittings, �1000 for a good condensing boiler complete with pump and controls. If you intend to buy in the work add say 150 hours at �25 and you have a rough total. You can in fact do nearly all the work yourselves if minded to. Don't forget to mix in anti-corrosion additive at the end - Fernox is probably the best (our rads are as good as new having had it from the outset, yes, I have looked inside).

[KARL]

P.S. I meant to add that old systems can be quite serviceable although it may be worth replacing the boiler and certainly introducing thermostatic valves plus roomstat if not present. Older systems may have far too small piping (microbore for example which renders all but the very smallest systems very slow to respond to demand). Equally, radiators may be too small to provide adequate heating except in the mildest weather (i.e. "moneysaving" under design which never fails to disappoint). If you drain, descale/desludge (different Fernox special additive again) and refill an old but satisfactorily designed system and it doesn't leak - then simply add anti-corrosive once the new boiler is in and you are away. I would happily advise you at every stage but, probably necessarily, this site rigorously maintains anonymity.

[bizzylizzy]

Thank you so much Karl for your ace answer. The property we were after was snapped up by a developer from under our noses. But your information has been very helpful because we are still looking for a renovation project. Now all you have to tell me is - whether we should buy now or wait to see if the predicted house price crash ever happens. We sold our own house and went into rental when the propert market was supposedly going to slow down. It didn't and as far as I can see, it's still going full steam ahead. Thanks again for your help and your time. bizzylizzy

[KARL]

Truthfully, I would only gamble on house prices going in one direction: up. Historically, owning a property is the best form of investment ordinary folk can get into - occasional dips in some areas of the country are always ironed out before long. Therefore, my advice would always be to buy as soon and as much as your finances will support (don't over-reach and risk having it taken from you). In my opinion, this form of saving/investment is far better than any pension fund but very few people can avoid putting money into pensions (systemic pressures) and too few can muster the discipline needed to manage their own money well. If any of my replies have been of use then it was time well spent and I am happy - best of luck.