LPG or Oil

[wcavanagh]

Getting on well with my cottage renovation project, most of the radiators are in place now, and the heating circuit is almost complete.

So starting to get quotes to supply and fit a Boiler.

I am rural so my main choices are Oil or LPG.

Supply and install of a 2500L oil tank is looking about £1700 from the early quote.

As this is now the time to decide any thoughts of oil or LPG?

The boiler recommended is best part of £2k its a Grant Combi.

Cheers

 

[mickyg]

maybe consider ashp

 

[wcavanagh]

This cottage will be given to my mum and dad to retire to summer next year, so I need something that is easy for them to run, without too much hassle.

 

[Woody12]

I was in the same situation a year or so ago regarding oil or LPG.

Oil works out cheaper and you aren't "tied in" with a supplier.

Tank wise, I'd advise to go for a metal tank. Plastic ones are known to split over time.

 

[wcavanagh]

Many thanks

 

[Tibbot]

If you must have a combi go with LPG. With the possible exception of the old style Heatlaves, oil combi's are not fit for purpose. Only ever buy a regular boiler if using oil.

 

[andytw]

LPG gives you the option to cook with it.

andytw

 

[dcawkwell]

If the cottage is small say 2 bed you can run it off lpg combi running
on 4 47kg propane bottle. Two running and two full ones with auto changeover. It will also do an lpg range cooker and an lpg gas fire too
if required.

It will be a bit more expensive to run than a bulk tank. But can have the boiler installed
with changeover from anywhere approx from £1200-1300 last time I priced it up. Depends on the choice of boiler. Much cheaper than £1500+£2500 for oil tank and boiler. £2700 buys an awful lot of lpg bottles.

Look at air source heat pump but only as a partial heat source it won't do the very cold weather. Air conditioning also works well and cools in the summer. You can have a 3kw model that will do a sizeable room for about £500-600 for the unit excluding the install.

 

[Richardthe3rd]

As others have said, the best option would be an air source heat pump(ASHP).
These can take two forms; one being a split unit with an external unit & an internal hydro unit, air to water. The other being the air to air split unit, again you have an outdoor unit & the indoor air blower type unit.
With either systems I'd recommend a supplementary form of heating, a multi fuel stove for example.

ASHPs are now quite common, with the later type being the cheapest KW/£ installation wise of any heating system & outwith extreme cold weather you can run them 300% cheaper than any other electric type heating. For the former type system; it's a low temperature heating system so best suited for underfloor heating or larger radiators(30-40% larger than normal).

Certainly in 2014 oil or LPG would be the very last consideration.
HTH

 

[Tibbot]

Some good advice there, but the OP has stated that most rads in place and CH circuit almost complete.

If it were my home and because I don't mind the work, I'd fit solid fuel CH. Still available (Parkray or Trianco), not as efficient (gravity HW) but totally reliable, no need for any fuel tanks, lasts for decades, no condensing b******s and anthracite is cheaper than oil, LPG & electric. Then add solar panels for HW in summer.

 

[Richardthe3rd]

Perhaps the radiators that are fitted maybe oversized, perhaps not? A simple check of the Heatloss calcs would confirm one way or another. It's difficult to advise on the optimum form of heating when the information is limited.
If we know the size of property & the amount of insulation/U Values of the fabric of the building.

There's many consideration in heating design.

 

[Richardthe3rd]

Some good advice there, but the OP has stated that most rads in place and CH circuit almost complete.

If it were my home and because I don't mind the work, I'd fit solid fuel CH. Still available (Parkray or Trianco), not as efficient (gravity HW) but totally reliable, no need for any fuel tanks, lasts for decades, no condensing b******s and anthracite is cheaper than oil, LPG & electric. Then add solar panels for HW in summer.

For any rural area in the UK a multi-fuel type stove or boiler is a good idea........

 

[GavThePlumber]

Some good advice there..

There really isn't, it sounds like he has read some mcs literature, but has no real world idea how it actually performs.

 

[Richardthe3rd]

Some good advice there..

There really isn't, it sounds like he has read some mcs literature, but has no real world idea how it actually performs.

Sorry to disappoint Gav but I've extensive experience in all kind of heating installation, including geothermal & all types of ASHPs. And MCS literature is limited, outdated & focused mainly on the bigger manufacturers in the renewables sector of the industry. Thanks for affording us your limited knowledge & have a lucrative year, changing tap washers.........

 

[wcavanagh]

Thanks all, the cottage is quite large, it is two semi detached knocked together into one large place.

I have gone for Rad's as this is the preference of my parents, and as this is our chance to build exactly what they want I see no reason not too.

They only use one bathroom at a time, hence the Combi, I am insulating the whole cottage to a very high standard, putting 70mm KingSpan IWI on all external walls, will have over 300mm of loft insulation, and having the roof spray foam insulated. Treble glazing installed also. So keen to keep heat in.

We have a 8Kw Multi in the living room, so they will use that a fair bit as this will be the main room then live in, the heating system is almost secondary to this.

I get a good discount through work on oil, so was thinking a large tank, etc. Just one of the plumbers said LPG is better, but looking at it you have to hire the tank, etc...

The oil boilers I am looking at at 93% so thats not a bad return.