Gas coming... should I?

[Roger465]

Morning all, been a while… hope everybody’s surviving

Here in N Ireland, oil-fired central heating is I think much more common than in England, where I lived before. In Gloucestershire, you didn’t even think about it – gas was everywhere. Here I have oil, as gas hasn’t been available.

But I’ve just had a flyer through the door, telling me it’ll be piped into this development in the Spring. So… should I go for it? My oil boiler (not a combi) is just 4 years old, and cost about £2500 back in 2017. My oil tank is pretty old (potentially dating since 1994, though I don’t know for certain) and I’ve recently thought about having it replaced to avoid any possibility of splitting and leaks.

Obviously there will be considerable up front costs – but, if we put them aside, how does gas compare with oil price-wise?

Other considerations are:

1. Installation – we have a block-paved driveway out the front, then the garage, and the current boiler is right at the back of the garage. Do you think they can get a pipe under that without destroying everything? Or the footpath along the main road runs along just behind the house, only feet from the back of the garage where the boiler is, but is about 4’ higher up than my garden, behind a retaining wall – do you think they’d go in that way?

2. Would I have to pay somebody else to dispose of the oil tank and its contents?

3. Is there any market for used boilers? As I say, 4 years old, serviced every year…

I assume the new boiler would directly replace the existing one, eg connecting up to the pump and control system etc.

Thanks

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

1. Installation – we have a block-paved driveway out the front, then the garage, and the current boiler is right at the back of the garage. Do you think they can get a pipe under that without destroying everything? Or the footpath along the main road runs along just behind the house, only feet from the back of the garage where the boiler is, but is about 4’ higher up than my garden, behind a retaining wall – do you think they’d go in that way?

They can use a mole, between holes dug every 5m or so.

 

[BlueLoo]

If it's subsidised, maybe.
If not, no.

I doubt you will hit the payback before gas is made illegal anyway.

Save your dosh for the next, next heating fad.

Or do a cost benefit exercise.

 

[muggles]

If it's subsidised, maybe.
If not, no.

I doubt you will hit the payback before gas is made illegal anyway.

Gas isn't going to be made illegal.

 

[muggles]

Not sure about oil vs gas prices over there, but on this side of the water running costs are broadly similar. If you can get a new gas boiler supplied and fitted, along with the gas supply, for a similar price to a new oil tank then it may be worth considering but otherwise probably not. Unless you really really want to get rid of the oil tank in your garden of course! Be aware that a new tank may not be able to go where the existing one is, due to updated regulations, so that might be a consideration

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Not sure about oil vs gas prices over there, but on this side of the water running costs are broadly similar. If you can get a new gas boiler supplied and fitted, along with the gas supply, for a similar price to a new oil tank then it may be worth considering but otherwise probably not. Unless you really really want to get rid of the oil tank in your garden of course! Be aware that a new tank may not be able to go where the existing one is, due to updated regulations, so that might be a consideration

Gas also has the advantage of continuity of supply, no deliveries need to be organised and I would guess at a gas boiler being more reliable, need less attention and being more economical to run..

 

[BlueLoo]

Russia says hi....

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021...upplies-to-europe-as-temperatures-drop-a75881

 

[Agile]

There is still some scope for the politicians to extend the use of gas supplies.

They can encourage adding hydrogen at about 20% volume to the existing gas supplies. This will reduce CO2 output from burning gas.

If the hydrogen is made from water using green generated electricity then this will be very beneficial for a few years and avoid significant capital expenditure.

But the only long term solution is nuclear generation which the politicians have avoided in the UK because of those who do not understand how it works.

 

[BlueLoo]

Gas isn't going to be made illegal.

Using it most certainly is.
Gas boilers are not going to be allowed in new builds.

It's a depreciating industry.

 

[Roger465]

Gas also has the advantage of continuity of supply, no deliveries need to be organised and I would guess at a gas boiler being more reliable, need less attention and being more economical to run..

Yeah those issues are certainly on my mind...

Russia says hi....

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021...upplies-to-europe-as-temperatures-drop-a75881

- and that too, I guess

 

[muggles]

Using it most certainly is.

No, it isn't. It's not being supplied to new homes from 2025 (at the current target, although back when I was an apprentice we were being told it would be gone by 2015 so I'll believe that when I see it) but it will continue to be used in existing homes until at least 2040. Even then, there are no plans to make its use illegal. At worst it'll be withdrawn, or replaced with hydrogen.

 

[BlueLoo]

No, it isn't. It's not being supplied to new homes from 2025 (at the current target, although back when I was an apprentice we were being told it would be gone by 2015 so I'll believe that when I see it) but it will continue to be used in existing homes until at least 2040. Even then, there are no plans to make its use illegal. At worst it'll be withdrawn, or replaced with hydrogen.

Rubbish-Peat-wood-Coal-Oil-Gas are all hydrocarbons and are all banned, limited in use, or heavily regulated in domestic use and that's only ever going one way.

Yes, semantics, pedantics, Gas isn't going to be "illegal" but the choke hold on it's use will have the same affect.

I see no point in switching one fossil fuel for another. Especially so when the investment in the original is so new.

The infrastructure for the OP should be good for another decade at least. Longer perhaps than the service life of a Gas boiler.

The impact and cost of the laying down of the gas isn't isn't insignificant either.

I'd be looking elsewhere tbh.

Invest in some positive energy engineering. Get the house assisted by solar if possible. Get long term improvements by insulation and air control investments. Keep the oil burner, but use the money you'd spend on gas switch over to prepare you for the future.

Should you decide to go Gas in the future, i would be surprised if a tap-in wouldn't be possible.

If one looks at the energy horizon, it is clear that a move away from all hydrocarbon heating is inevitable.
My belief is that the government will push for electric heating as the norm in the future. Be that passive (heat pumps) or active (ir heating, etc).

 

[denso13]

So… should I go for it?

Possibly, remember is isn't all about recouping the costs. It is costs versus benefits and gas is beneficial from a users/owners point of view.

You could see it as an investment in your home, if it was all about recouping costs then you probably wouldn't invest much in your home, or buy a new car.

 

[lostinthelight]

There would have to be a pretty radical improvement in PV panels or one would need a massive array and batteries for solar to be viable in the UK, my 3.3kwh setup has only produced 22kw so far this month

 

[BlueLoo]

There would have to be a pretty radical improvement in PV panels or one would need a massive array and batteries for solar to be viable in the UK, my 3.3kwh setup has only produced 22kw so far this month

Which way is your house facing?

But yea, it's only part of a holistic solution.

It's why i believe it'll all go electric eventually.