Home Heating Enquiry.

4 Bed Bungalow in country area. Presently has solid fuel range heating radiators but it is not heating the house enough for elderly residents. Is it cheaper to run electric storage radiators or run oil heating? What are the advantages / disadvantages of electric storage and oil heating ? Thanks for any replies.

Moved from Miscellaneous Non-financial Questions

Bigger initial outlay with oil but it will work out cheaper in the long run

Gas is the most efficient source for heat, if that's not available then get something else that will burn. Generally electricity is the worst way to heat a space.

You will see that electricity comes in there top of the list cost per kWh. [broken link removed]

As a rule of thumb electric heating will cost 3 times oil or gas. Note nightsaver electricity is the same price as oil/gas but it may not work well in practice with elderly people requiring heat all day.

€2000 for installation of new outdoor oil boiler/burner/oil tank and all the necessary fittings and controls. It should be relatively easy to hook it into the existing rad system and leave the solid fuel connected to the hot water cylinder and one rad.

For what it's worth I have posted a running summary of our ESB costs for the past 10+ years and linked it from this explanatory post.

You may already have this covered, but I though I'd mention it.

Have you already ensured that the insulation is up to scratch, especially in a bungalow?

Min 260mm attic insulation - 100mm between the joists and 160mm laid across the joists.

Insulation in the walls - if cavity, then has it been blown in

All windows at least double glazed.

All draughts have been stemmed, e.g. external doors draught sealed, fireplaces blocked up if/when not being used.

Also you may consider (since it is easier to retrofit in a bungalow) ventilation with heat recovery (note: I am not talking about heat generation, just recovering the heat lost when ventilating the house). This is only if you want to go the full 9 yards.

You only need to heat the house with as much as is being lost. If you can stem any losses, then you may not need as much heat, and your range may be adequate.

Again, this may not be an issue if the house is fairly new, but thought I'd mention it.