Gas or oil

joec26

Rebuilding & doing a major renovation on a 1400 sq metre bungalow. This will have a high level of insulation, & new quality floors/windows & doors. I am on the natural gas pipeline, but heard that gas is expensive? I like the option of being able to switch oil supplier at each fill if necessary. I am a single person & only use heat for a few hours a day (max 3). I would consider an oil or gas powered stove instead of solid fuel, for convenience. I dislike the whiff of oil, I have smelt from oil stoves. What do people think?

Wearb

Should be no smell from oil if appliance is set-up properly and serviced regularly. There will be very little difference between the two products at that usage.
If it were me and on a natural gas pipeline, I would swing ever so slightly towards gas.

Dtp1979

Absolutely Nat gas 100%

G2ECE

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Absolutely Nat gas 100%

+1, far superior, put in gas hob while yer at it.

Effects

Don't bother with a gas hob. Get an induction one.

agusta

joec26 wrote: »

Rebuilding & doing a major renovation on a 1400 sq metre bungalow. This will have a high level of insulation, & new quality floors/windows & doors. I am on the natural gas pipeline, but heard that gas is expensive? I like the option of being able to switch oil supplier at each fill if necessary. I am a single person & only use heat for a few hours a day (max 3). I would consider an oil or gas powered stove instead of solid fuel, for convenience. I dislike the whiff of oil, I have smelt from oil stoves. What do people think?

Quite a large bungalow 15069sq ft:),since you have natural gas at your door it would be the best choice.
ps, i presume you mean 1400 sq ft

joec26

Effects wrote: »

Don't bother with a gas hob. Get an induction one.

Thanks; Someone else said that. Easier to clean?

joec26

agusta wrote: »

Quite a large bungalow 15069sq ft:),since you have natural gas at your door it would be the best choice.
ps, i presume you mean 1400 sq ft

OH! 140 sq metres. Not a hotel!

joec26

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Absolutely Nat gas 100%

Why principally?!

joec26

G2ECE wrote: »

+1, far superior, put in gas hob while yer at it.

In what ways? Thanks, Joe

Dtp1979

joec26 wrote: »

Why principally?!

It's cheaper to run, cleaner, no oil to be stolen and gas boilers modulate, oil boilers do not

whizbang

You will probably pay more in standing charges on gas, so that makes it more inefficient. But generally a gas boiler will be inside the house, it sounds like you would be putting an oil boiler outside, so then oil would be less efficient, but its very minor eitherways.

keladam

Hi, just wondering what you eventually went for & how it's working for you?

Heroditas

whizbang wrote: »

You will probably pay more in standing charges on gas, so that makes it more inefficient. But generally a gas boiler will be inside the house, it sounds like you would be putting an oil boiler outside, so then oil would be less efficient, but its very minor eitherways.

While there are indeed standing charges associated with having a natural gas supply, the cost per kWh for gas is lower than oil for a typical home.
If the homeowner is using less than around 5000kWh per annum, then oil works out cheaper, based on oil prices from April this year

Useful link on the SEAI site comparing different fuels

Irish Steve

Slightly off the main topic, but sort of related.

A long time ago, in another country not too far away, we had a situation were there were power cuts on a regular basis, which in some cases could and did mean 8 hours on some days with no power. As a result of that period of time, I made a decision that we would never again be dependant on a single fuel system, we were in a rented house that was all electric.

So, since that time, even though there are sometimes cost implications, we've always had both gas and electricity, and I've made sure that the gas hob in particular could be used if there was no electricity, and that we had at least one alternative heating source so that if there's no electricity, we can as a minimum heat some water, prepare basic hot food, and heat one room.

The issue with many heating and cooking systems is that they are still dependent on electricity to operate valves, pumps and the like, and if for some reason there's no electricity, that can mean no hot water or heating. For families that have very young or elderly members, that can be an issue.

So, while the issue of gas or oil is relevant, and things like gas or electric hobs, or heating, are all issues, the equally significant issue is making sure that of one of the services is not available for some reason (strike, dispute, system damage or adverse weather are some of the reasons) the house can still be kept going to some degree. For us, that means an electric oven, and gas hob, the heating is oil, and there's a gas fire that doesn't need electricity to make it work in two of the main rooms, so even if the power is out completely, we're able to keep at least 2 rooms warm, and provide the basics in terms of boiling a kettle, and some form of hot food.

Serious power cuts don't happen very often in most parts of Ireland, but the few that we've had did serve to remind me that it was the right decision, we're not massively remote (Ashbourne, in Meath), but on one occasion, a storm took out a power line, and it was 18 hours before ESB could restore it. I was very happy at that time that we were not all electric.

So, while you have a choice to make between gas and oil, don't overlook the other implications of the thoughts here, it may change your possible choices.

In terms of gas or oil, gas is a lot simpler in terms of installation, oil has to have a storage tank, and easy access to that tank for the supplier to be able to refill it, which in a lot of modern estates can be a significant issue, there's an estate near us that has oil heating in quite a few houses, and the only way to fill the tank is for the supplier to drag the hose through the house. If their last delivery was to a non residential location, that can result in there being dirt or oil (or both or worse) on the hose, getting it off again can be difficult, and if the hose has to go through the house, I leave it to your imagination how much damage can be done by a 2" diameter rubber hose that doesn't bend easily being dragged through a house, and possibly over carpets and furniture.

Sorry if this seems a slightly heavy or negative post, but I've seen way too many problems caused by a lack of proper thought and design on what seems initially to be a very simple issue.

Heroditas

Is there not a pump in your central heating system? If so, how does your heating work if you have no electricity?

Irish Steve

Heroditas wrote: »

Is there not a pump in your central heating system? If so, how does your heating work if you have no electricity?

There's 2 gas fires in the main living rooms that can be used if there's no electricity to run the pumps etc, but due to other issues that are nothing to do with this thread, I do have an alternative electricity supply system (30 Kva 3 phase diesel (gas oil) standby generator) as well, but that came a number of years after the initial decision to have alternative multiple fuel supplies, it went in as a part of a large computer system that had to be available for a client even if ESB wasn't. The computer has long gone, but the generator hasn't, as it's also now become an essential part of a flood protection system that we needed due to some "issues" with the local authority, but we won't go there in this thread.