Oil Central Heating (or electric?)

[pixiepoo]

Hi all,


Looking for a bit of advice. I live in an electric-only cottage in a village with no mains gas, it has been refurbished and insulated etc and now I am the point where I need to decide what heating we have going forward (we have nothing at the moment, just wood burner)


I don’t know whether to install an oil tank/boiler and wet system radiators or invest in oil-filled electric radiators.


I know there are pros and cons with both, but the main thing I’m looking for is programmable heating.


With regards to the oil, we would be fitting everything ourselves (radiators/pipes/tank) and just get the boiler commissioned.


What would you do?

 

[Burnerman]

Oil every time for me....so long as you have the correct positioning for your tank, of course.
John

 

[simond]

If you are intending to get it commissioned only, line up a technician first - before buying the stuff. You may find it difficult to get someone to sign off your work. Many registered installers won't sign off DIY supplied/installed boilers and tanks, myself included.

Worth pointing out many DIY installed tanks and boilers can't be signed off without remedial work but that's another can of worms.

 

[pixiepoo]

Simond - thanks for the heads up, I will make sure to do this before buying anything but will do as much or as little as we can to keep costs down. Assuming we could install the radiator and internal pipe work or would you, as a technician, need to do that also?

Any particular condensing oil boilers to be wary of/recommend?

 

[leakydave]

My preference are Grant boilers...

http://www.grantuk.com/products/oil-fired-condensing-boilers/

... and no, I don't work for them.

 

[PullerGas]

Fitted a few of these over the years, get yourself on the right tariff & they're great. Mind you with the current low oil prices, the running costs of an il system makes it a no brainier.

These are store age electric boilers & some Energy Companies were offering good tariffs for this type of unit;
http://www.heatwell.co.uk/our-products/electric-combi-storage-boiler/

Here's my recommendation for an oil boiler;
http://www.hounsfieldboilers.co.uk

HTH

 

[Tipper]

If it helps you make a decision just compare the cost per kW of alternative fuels. Eg electricity about 18p/kW, gas about 4p and oil currently about 5p. Note that oil changes rapidly due to the spot market and rises in winter too. Gas is more stable but affected by world prices and electricity is effectively second had energy generated at about 36% efficiency at tge power stations compared with burning fuel at the pount of use at towards 98%.

However have you considered an air source heat pump combined with under floor heating? You can even get paid per kW for using it under government incentives.

 

[PullerGas]

If it helps you make a decision just compare the cost per kW of alternative fuels. Eg electricity about 18p/kW, gas about 4p and oil currently about 5p. Note that oil changes rapidly due to the spot market and rises in winter too. Gas is more stable but affected by world prices and electricity is effectively second had energy generated at about 36% efficiency at tge power stations compared with burning fuel at the pount of use at towards 98%.

However have you considered an air source heat pump combined with under floor heating? You can even get paid per kW for using it under government incentives.

ASHP & UFH is a good shout mate, but it depends on the property, the level of insulation & the homeowners lifestyle. To get the best COP from a ASHP, you need to run it at lower temperatures & with a retro UFH system that can rarely be the case.

While Gas is out of the question in this case, historically oil is high maintenance, installation cost & a volatile price structure.
Some energy companies would offer a very competitive tariff in comparison to the one you've given.

Then there's LPG to consider, while never sold on its cost efficiency, depending on your lifestyle - it maybe an option??!!!

 

[muggles]

I went for oil when refurbishing my own electric-only property. I use Hounsfield boilers.

As an installer I'd be happy for you to fit the radiators, pipework, controls etc but would want to install the tank base, the boiler, and the pipe connecting the two

 

[Tipper]

Not forgetting that positioning of the oil tank must be done with regard to risk of external fire damage and leakage of oil into water courses.

 

[Diyisfun]

Have you thought of LPG, you can use the cooker on that.

 

[muggles]

Have you thought of LPG, you can use the cooker on that.

The siting regs for LPG bulk tanks are much more stringent than for oil tanks, and LPG cylinders are terribly expensive

 

[pixiepoo]

Thanks for all the tips - I will definitely take a look at the Hounsfield and Grant boilers. Is there a way to work out what output I would need? Just purely to compare prices.

Also we have an immersion heater tank for the hot water in the house. Would it best to keep this and just use the boiler for central heating?

I've only had gas combi boilers in the past so i'm not clued up about how these oil boilers deal with hot water.

 

[robgil6]

Fella down then road from me fitted an electric combi boiler, he reckons its great.

 

[PullerGas]

Have you thought of LPG, you can use the cooker on that.

Hrrrrmmmm!!!