Looking at moving into a new house. The heating done with LPG gas canisters. The big red ones. There is a bank of 4 of them installed. They fuel a Worcester combi boiler. How much are we realistically looking at for heating a 3 bed house.

The house does have a huge log burner and we can get logs. So we will try to use this and limit use of the boiler for heating.

Any experince stories would be appreciated! Thanks!

LOADS – absolutely loads – theres a reason calor will give you a free tank and boiler….

LPG is scary – we had a bulk LPG tank at one stage….. it was horrendous. electric oil heating suplementing your stove would have been preferable to the LPG we used.

We are on oil now.

I have a 3 bed house on LPG – but it is old (1850’s), solid walls (not insulated), bedrooms in eaves (minimal loft insulation), mostly double glazed – but still can feel draughty. I am in a rural part of central Scotland (maybe colder than where you are). I also have a combi boiler.

I pay £154 per month, but did pay £215 when there were others (and kids) in the house. I also have a couple of wood burners – but admit that I have the heating timed for 90 mins in the morning and 4 hours at night (the wood burners just supplement the evening heat, and keep me going during the day at weekends). The rest of the time it is on a base of 6c.

I am presently on a fixed tarif, you can shop around and get deals – but it isn’t as easy as it should be. If you change supplier the new supplier has to take on responsibility for the tank and pipes, this is fine in theory, but causes problems if the tank is old / badly placed etc.

I love the place that I live, and to live here LPG is the only option. If mains ever came out from the village I would of course grab it, but you just have to weigh up the benefits.

If you keep the cylinders it will cost a fortune and you’ll always be running out if you don’t keep a close eye on the levels!

If there isn’t space for a full size bulk tank you can get a mini-bulk tank which has fewer restrictions on where they are sited.

As said, we call it liquid gold…….. Ours is a 4000 litre under ground tank and it doesn’t last a whole year (4 bed barn), think it was about £2300 last time I filled it. We have an electric cooker so only us it for heating and hot water.

johnikgriff – Member
As said, we call it liquid gold…….. Ours is a 4000 litre under ground tank and it doesn’t last a whole year (4 bed barn), think it was about £2300 last time I filled it. We have an electric cooker so only us it for heating and hot water.

That’s very expensive. You’re paying almost 60p per litre. I pay 42p per litre…makes it comparable to normal gas/electric heating/hotwater.

I pay 42p per litre…makes it comparable to normal gas/electric heating/hotwater.

except that gas and electric are worlds apart in them selves….

Natural gas 4.8p/kWh 1 4.8p/kWh
Heating oil 60p per litre 10 kWh/ltr 6.0p/kWh
LPG (bulk) 50p per litre 6.6 kWh/ltr 7.6p/kWh
Electricity 14.5p/kWh 1 14.5p/kWh

and thats bulk – bottle LPG is more expensive yet – old prices as well but the matter still stands cheaper than leccy more expensive than standard gas or heating oil. your gas is 42p a litre my oil is 52pence a litre.

The canisters are £62 a go currently…. Or £124 for a pair as usually delivered.

I think …. you may be buying my house ?

At the moment 2 bottles are lasting 4-5 weeks for us, but we’re using the log burner a fair bit. the heating is only for an hour each morning till we get up.

We have exactly the same set up – 4 bottles, Worcestor boiler and log burner. House is a 3 bed 60s bungalow with cavity wall insulation and not-brilliant loft insulation.

System works in pairs (ie 2 cylinders then auto switchover into the second pair).

Cost is £125 delivered for a pair of cylinders. Last winter (very cold) we consumed four pairs a month for the coldest four months – ie £500 a month in gas.

This year (a) it’s warmer and (b) I have loads of wood for the log burner and it’s on every night with no heating on in the part of the house where it is.

We’re planning to do some work to the house next year, and insulating it within an inch of its life. And possibly having a bulk tank sunk in the ground (which will still be expensive, but way better than where we are now).

I meant in terms of monthly cost and usage. We have a 2200lt tank of which we use around 80% per year. 1700 litres has been the average over the past years.

As such, we pay around £60 a month for LPG and around £45 a month for electric.

My old ma has LPG via a bulk tank

Pretty sure she has to pay rent for the tank and about to get a smart meter fitted so they can see when it needs topping up

Very expensive fuel although she did get some money off by agreeing to stay with Calor for a couple of years.

so by comparible you mean about 1/3rd more expensive than mains gas then.