Home Heating Oil in a Terraced House

Dick Clerkin

Hi,

Hope this is the right forum for this.

I'm buying a house in an estate that is not connected to any gas network. The house has electric storage heaters and is terraced.

I'd prefer to have gas or oil, as I'm aware that Electric Storage heaters are expensive and not all that practical.

Has anyone any advice re the feasibility of putting oil in a terraced house? Are the home heating oil companies willing to bring the delivery tube / hose through the house? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

the_syco

Dick Clerkin wrote: »

Are the home heating oil companies willing to bring the delivery tube / hose through the house? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Yes, as this is how they fill the tanks up most of the time. But you wanting the (possibly oily) hose over your carpet; that's a different story!

fasttalkerchat

Some refuse to take the hose through the house. Smaller companies will do it but they charge more and you will have no comeback if damage is done.

makeorbrake

You might want to hold back - and experience the first heating season in the house first. Terraced houses - by default - should be so much more energy efficient as there is little heat loss via side walls.


Check doors & windows for (air) leaks and max out on attic insulation (it's a no brainer - as its a cheap fix and you will get a return on the few quid it costs to ensure loft insulation is full on.

StillWaters

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Some refuse to take the hose through the house. Smaller companies will do it but they charge more and you will have no comeback if damage is done.

I have a terraced house and have OFCH. I have never had a company refuse to supply me, and I have never paid more than their standard rate per litre.

Dick Clerkin

I'm not too bothered about carpet; wood floor/tiling and some plastic covering will do the trick. Plus it's a straight run through from the front to the back garden.

The house has a BER Rating of D2 which is pretty poor considering it's terraced. I'm thinking of building on a small extension to the kitchen so would make sense to sort the heating out in the same dig. Past experience has also told me that heating water through an electric immersion is expensive - is this correct?

Was just wondering what past experience is re home heating oil companies being prepared to go through the house

fasttalkerchat

StillWaters wrote: »

I have a terraced house and have OFCH. I have never had a company refuse to supply me, and I have never paid more than their standard rate per litre.

We had 2 companies refuse. One is Morgan Fuels, the other is a big local supplier. Basically they don't need the hassle. You will get supplied but in our experience not necessarily as quickly and at the cheapest price.

genfoley

In the 15 years I have been ordering oil nobody has ever refused. Yeah if its a wet day our wooden floors will get a bit dirty but nothing to write home about. Nobody has ever asked was our house terraced etc etc..deffo worth sticking with oil, you're held to ransom with gas prices etc going up and up, oil prices are seasonal plus you wont use much in the comfort of a terraced house. Wouldnt have it any other way. Good luck and dont be worried, people are only happy to take your money for oil

L1011

I have never had an issue with any firm bringing the pipe through the house nor have I ever considered a need to tell them in advance. Have solid floors everywhere downstairs (hardwood or tiles) though, so never had any oil stain issues.

The_Conductor

OP- I'd be more concerned about installing insulation- both attic and exposed walls, than I would be about getting rid of the electric rads. Even electric radiators and storage heaters have their place- to dismiss them out of hand isn't fair. The big issue here is the poor BER rating- if you managed to raise this- it would dampen any electric bills.

L1011

The BER rating may be being hauled down by the electric heating to begin with. Go through the report carefully and also make sure that its actually based on fact, not guesswork - the one I got for my house was done with massive guesswork and as a result is completely useless to make any assumptions from.

Jo King

Dick Clerkin wrote: »

Hi,

Hope this is the right forum for this.

I'm buying a house in an estate that is not connected to any gas network. The house has electric storage heaters and is terraced.

I'd prefer to have gas or oil, as I'm aware that Electric Storage heaters are expensive and not all that practical.

Has anyone any advice re the feasibility of putting oil in a terraced house? Are the home heating oil companies willing to bring the delivery tube / hose through the house? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

One thing I have seen done is to have a pipe running front to back through the house under the floorboards to the oil tank. The front has a socket for the delivery tube, so there is no dirt in the house.

murphym7

MYOB wrote: »

The BER rating may be being hauled down by the electric heating to begin with. Go through the report carefully and also make sure that its actually based on fact, not guesswork - the one I got for my house was done with massive guesswork and as a result is completely useless to make any assumptions from.

I find the BER rating very bizarre and inconsistent. My parents live in a semi detached house. Both houses got external insulation done recently. My old fella also beefed up the insulation in the roof and attic, replaced all the doors and windows. His neigbour did none of these things, still has 20 year old double glazing, but did get a new bolier. You can feel my parents house is way warmer, no draft's etc..... but the neighbours BER is 2 higher than my parents. All down to the condenser boiler your man got, think he has got a few more energy saver lightbulbs too I think. Doesnt make sense to me. Next door has the bolier on more because of the leaky windows, my old fella has it on less because of the new windows etc.......

hfallada

If you live in Dublin with OFCH how are you going to get oil without a hose going through the house??? Just be careful as a family friend was getting a fill of oil and driver didnt stay by the tank and was sitting in the truck. Her dog came in covered in oil and she discovered there was a layer of oil all over her garden. The driver didnt stop the oil at 1000 liters but kept it going and her garden had to be dug up

murphym7

hfallada wrote: »

If you live in Dublin with OFCH how are you going to get oil without a hose going through the house??? Just be careful as a family friend was getting a fill of oil and driver didnt stay by the tank and was sitting in the truck. Her dog came in covered in oil and she discovered there was a layer of oil all over her garden. The driver didnt stop the oil at 1000 liters but kept it going and her garden had to be dug up

That can happen if its a terraced house or otherwise.

fasttalkerchat

hfallada wrote: »

Just be careful as a family friend was getting a fill of oil and driver didnt stay by the tank and was sitting in the truck. Her dog came in covered in oil and she discovered there was a layer of oil all over her garden. The driver didnt stop the oil at 1000 liters but kept it going and her garden had to be dug up

That happened a friend before who ordered a fill of oil when moving into a new house. His mother also ordered another 500L days later and it all went into the one 900L tank.

Grass didn't grow for a year. Thankfully they still had work to do to the garden anyway.