Oil fired central heating?

Box Brownie

Box Brownie

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Hi all

Just a random question as we have been so used to gas.................but have been looking at possible moves and noticed one place that is oil fired but just for the heating.

So any insights on running costs etc would be welcome :)
 
Extortionate costs IME avoid, avoid, avoid. :police: :exit:
 
troutfisher said:
Just before you say no it might be worth checking out these energy saving grants that are around at the moment you never know.

www.gov.uk

[Withdrawn] Green Homes Grant: make energy improvements to your home (closed)

The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme provided grants to homeowners and landlords to make energy efficient improvements to homes.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
Click to expand...

Unfortunately here comes the crunch of those grants,

Primary measures
The voucher must be used to install at least 1 primary measure. This can be an insulation measure and/or a low carbon heating measure.

Insulation measures
The following insulation measures are covered by the voucher:

  • solid wall
  • ]under floor
  • cavity wall
  • loft
  • flat roof
  • room in roof
  • insulating a park home
Low carbon heat measures
The following low carbon heating measures are covered by the voucher:

  • air or ground source heat pump
  • solar thermal (liquid filled flat plate or evacuated tube collectors)
  • biomass boilers
Further information on these measures will be announced soon.

You cannot use the voucher to help pay for works that were carried out prior to the voucher being issued.

You cannot use the voucher to replace insulation or low carbon heating measures that are already installed in your home. However, you can use the voucher to ‘top up’ existing measures (for example, installing additional loft insulation up to the recommended level).


I own my own home, and desperately need a new modern boiler. However I don't want ground source, solar or a biomass boiler. I want a very high efficiency modern boiler to replace my failing ancient combination boiler. I cannot get any help whatsoever. Most of these grants will go to people with large properties that can probably afford it anyway.
 
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We have oil fired via a Rayburn in the kitchen. It's more economical than bulk liquid gas, bug much more expensive than mains gas.
 
Prices are quite low at the moment, about 20-30ppl. . Used to pay about £500 for 1000l
Thankfully I now get heating oil free through work, just topped up with 1900 litres on Monday. That will last us until next March I expect
We tend to use about 2500l a year. Just the two of us, 3 bed dormer bungalow. Shower runs of the boiler too, as well as the heating. We like to have it quite warm but generally only run the heating for a few hours in the morning and again for a few hours at night.


Buy in the summer, when it’s cheaper, don’t let it run down over winter.. so many people run out when it snowing and the oil companies charge a huge premium for emergency deliveries.
 
The other thing to be aware of is some companies will only deliver once they have examined the tank themselves to ensure it is bunded etc. So leave some time if you intend to shop around.
 
No bund needed if under 2500l, which most domestic tanks are.
 
Just keep your eye on the prices and has been said, buy in the warm months, I’ve not noticed my energy bills to be that dissimilar to when we had gas properties, you just have to be clever with it, and I guess it depends on the type of property you’re moving into.
 
Many thanks all for the thoughts and insights.

That particular property details mentioned that they had recently installed a new 2000litre tank.

Just one of many factors to consider........not least that though the town has FTTC, it is yet to include that area where the house is, plus that the exchange is a 'Market 1' i.e. BT is only supplier in the exchange = no competition = higher monthly prices for broadband.

Like all such things, lots to consider :thinking: :thinking: :thinking: :)
 
*Some* insurers will also load your premium for oil fired - if it escapes from the tank it gets very expensive very fast. Some won't though so shop around ;)

>> .not least that though the town has FTTC, it is yet to include that area where the house is, plus that the exchange is a 'Market 1' i.e. BT is only supplier in the exchange = no competition = higher monthly prices for broadband.

Ah, I know a little about that :D Good luck. Genuinely I believe houses should not be granted planning permission unless the developer lays fibre. It would solve a lot of problems fairly cheaply.
 
One thing that surprised me was when talking to a houseowner who had oil fired was the risk of theft - they had lost a tank full.
Seems like some sort of 'inside job' as it happened a few days after getting a delivery. Neighbours didn't pay any attention to the truck that parked up outside..
This was in rural Cornwall, but just something to be aware of, as she ended up paying a fair bit for a block-built house for her tank.
 
JonathanRyan said:
*Some* insurers will also load your premium for oil fired - if it escapes from the tank it gets very expensive very fast. Some won't though so shop around ;)

>> .not least that though the town has FTTC, it is yet to include that area where the house is, plus that the exchange is a 'Market 1' i.e. BT is only supplier in the exchange = no competition = higher monthly prices for broadband.

Ah, I know a little about that :D Good luck. Genuinely I believe houses should not be granted planning permission unless the developer lays fibre. It would solve a lot of problems fairly cheaply.
Click to expand...

Re: insurance ~ a good point to factor in to any change to household costs!

As for fibre~ this house is not that new late 80's but yes I agree with you in that all new developments should have mitigation in the infrastructure to allow for fibre connectivity.

stevewestern said:
One thing that surprised me was when talking to a houseowner who had oil fired was the risk of theft - they had lost a tank full.
Seems like some sort of 'inside job' as it happened a few days after getting a delivery. Neighbours didn't pay any attention to the truck that parked up outside..
This was in rural Cornwall, but just something to be aware of, as she ended up paying a fair bit for a block-built house for her tank.
Click to expand...

AFAIK this town(village) does not have mains gas anywhere. The house in question is the last of two at the end of a cul de sac therefore restricted access with any vehicle movements much easier to observe & monitor.
 
Box Brownie said:
Just one of many factors to consider........not least that though the town has FTTC, it is yet to include that area where the house is, plus that the exchange is a 'Market 1' i.e. BT is only supplier in the exchange = no competition = higher monthly prices for broadband.
Click to expand...


When we moved out to deepest darkest Wiltshire, there were 2 veto's.

Wife said it must be gas CH
I said it must have FTTC as a minimum

Fortunately, the one place we both really liked (this place) has gas and FTTC
 
I am sure I saw a report recently which said that the UK Govt have announced new developments from 2025 would no longer be permitted to have gas central heating boilers. It seems better insulation, heat pumps & underfloor heating is the way forward....
 
I had oil as primary hot water/.heating/range cooker in an 1840 Welsh Farmhouse between 2001 and 2012. The range cooker had a separate hot water/heating circuit and was in effect the boiler) Firstly if the building is leaky it will be very expensive!! When oil prices shot up mid-2000's at some time, I decided to really sort things out, upgraded roof insulation, replaced all remaining single glazed windows, fitted evacuated tubes for hot water on the roof and installed a second large woodburner in the dining room with a back boiler. Our subsequent oil costs halved, and as the oil price dropped slightly fell even more, though we did burn quite a lot more wood.

With the evacuated tubes (and cooking on an electric stove) in the summer, we hardly ever needed to boost the hot water over the summer months (Apr-Sep), but when I put the tubes in, I put in an extra large hot water tank, held 3 days worth of hot water!

I also built my own heating controller circuit using a PLC and temperature sensors on the pipes, such that the range would only fire the hot water/central heating when the temperature of the water from the back boiler (in the woodburner) was low enough.

Although I spent quite a bit to reduce the oil consumption the payback was quite quick (3 years). Oil can be ok, but you need the rest of the infrastructure to be up to scratch (especially insulation) to stop it hemorrhaging pound notes, and on the whole the oil price tends to only go one way.
 
Ask the current owner to see a couple of years of bills - the price per litre goes up and down so look at how many litres they used not just the price.

Ask to see the most recent service record and then call the company and check they're happy to keep looking after it.
Servicing is a pain - ours broke down the week we moved in - in November. The previous owner hadn't had it serviced for >3 years and the engineer had retired.
In Norfolk there are far fewer oil engineers than gas - they have to take separate qualifications etc.
I was getting appointments in January from everyone because they hadn't touched it before and didn't really want the work when they had breakdowns and servicing for their own customers.
In the end the oil supply company hooked me up with a contactor - he told me it was a good job it had packed in as when he fired it up it was pumping CO into the house.
All fixed for a very fair price but absolutely no fun.

Oil theft is a problem in rural areas - being isolated isn't much of a deterrent - they drive up in a transit etc. with a tank in the back and pump it all out in quite short order.

Running out of oil is a major pain, it used to be a hassle ringing around and trying to get the best price, joining a village syndicate etc but the internet has put most of that to rest.

When we renovated we insulated and laid underfloor. We replaced the oil with an Air Source Heatpump - it has it's pros and cons but I was very glad to see the back of the old oil boiler and the tank.
 
Jelster said:
When we moved out to deepest darkest Wiltshire, there were 2 veto's.

Wife said it must be gas CH
I said it must have FTTC as a minimum

Fortunately, the one place we both really liked (this place) has gas and FTTC
Click to expand...

For those reasons alone, even though the house seems to have a lot to offer, it may be a 'non runner'.......will have think on it??? It is in Dorset and for viewing would be about 5 hours of driving :thinking:
 
AMcUK said:
Ask the current owner to see a couple of years of bills - the price per litre goes up and down so look at how many litres they used not just the price.

Ask to see the most recent service record and then call the company and check they're happy to keep looking after it.
Servicing is a pain - ours broke down the week we moved in - in November. The previous owner hadn't had it serviced for >3 years and the engineer had retired.
In Norfolk there are far fewer oil engineers than gas - they have to take separate qualifications etc.
I was getting appointments in January from everyone because they hadn't touched it before and didn't really want the work when they had breakdowns and servicing for their own customers.
In the end the oil supply company hooked me up with a contactor - he told me it was a good job it had packed in as when he fired it up it was pumping CO into the house.
All fixed for a very fair price but absolutely no fun.

Oil theft is a problem in rural areas - being isolated isn't much of a deterrent - they drive up in a transit etc. with a tank in the back and pump it all out in quite short order.

Running out of oil is a major pain, it used to be a hassle ringing around and trying to get the best price, joining a village syndicate etc but the internet has put most of that to rest.

When we renovated we insulated and laid underfloor. We replaced the oil with an Air Source Heatpump - it has it's pros and cons but I was very glad to see the back of the old oil boiler and the tank.
Click to expand...

Apart from it being oil, the same questions I would ask of any vendor.

As for heat efficiency of house I think there is an EPC on the agents webpage, which should be quite informative.

PS with the ongoing "drive" to improve energy usage efficiency and to reduce consumption of direct usage of fossil fuels......maybe it does not matter that oil is currently used provided that usage is reduced over time???
 
broc said:
I am sure I saw a report recently which said that the UK Govt have announced new developments from 2025 would no longer be permitted to have gas central heating boilers. It seems better insulation, heat pumps & underfloor heating is the way forward....
Click to expand...
It’s true but it’s only relevant to new builds, you can still replace the gas boiler on existing systems or even have a completely new install in an older property.

Heat pumps will become much more prevalent at some point I’m sure but I’ve seen some horrendous figures quoted for running costs where they aren’t used or managed properly, (something like £300 plus per month.) You really have to know what you’re doing when it’s installed and commissioned so a decent installer is a must. Also a company that will give advice on how to use it efficiently when it’s up and running.

We’re actually in the process of buying a property with oil heating. The current owner told us it costs him about £500 a year to run, but it’s a very well insulated house, a fairly recently installed system and he always tops up the tank in the summer months when the oil is at its cheapest. On those figures our heating/hot water bills should be a third less than what we’re paying for gas at our current house.
 
Box Brownie said:
For those reasons alone, even though the house seems to have a lot to offer, it may be a 'non runner'.......will have think on it??? It is in Dorset and for viewing would be about 5 hours of driving :thinking:
Click to expand...
I'm on the Dorset/Wilts border in Mere, the next village along (Zeals) has no gas, as we looked at a place there as well. Most of the villages along the A350 & A30 seem to have gas, but those a bit further out don't. Saying that, Zeals is just a couple of minutes off the A303, so it really is a Post Code Lottery ;)
 
Box Brownie said:
As for heat efficiency of house I think there is an EPC on the agents webpage, which should be quite informative.
Click to expand...
EPC is only useful to an extent. We have a house that is earlier than 1850. When we renovated we had to meet modern building regulations for all the work - massive amounts of expensive insulation and a specialist report on the construction methods to show the things we were doing were better than the Part L1B minimum.
When they finally announced the renewable heat incentive scheme I was supposed to pay for an EPC to qualify.
However when I mentioned all the insulation to an assessor quoting for the job he cheerfully told me he would have to deem the efficiency on the age of the property and assume the construction methods - i.e. uninsulated solid walls. Even with photographic evidence he couldn't take into account the insulation he couldn't see himself on a site visit. That affected the grant available and with the cost of the inspection it wasn't worth applying.
 
Stayed in a place recently that had an oil fired boiler, I thought it was a bit smelly.
My late Ma had an LPG tank, worked out fairly expensive although Calor gave good incentives to keep buying from them.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Stayed in a place recently that had an oil fired boiler, I thought it was a bit smelly.
My late Ma had an LPG tank, worked out fairly expensive although Calor gave good incentives to keep buying from them.
Click to expand...

If it smells something is wrong. Either a kero leak or the burner is coked up usually.
 
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