Oil fired central heating vs electric radiators (in an old listed building)

[ritatherockfairy]

Inspired by another thread.

We live in an old (500 years) cottage. It is listed - so double glazing, solar power and possibly ground source heating are not options. At the moment our central heating, hot water and cooker are all oil-fired. During the summer, the costs aren't too bad but as soon as our ancient central heating system fires up we burn through a 1,000 litre tank of oil every 6-8 weeks. We clearly need to upgrade the heating and already have oil filled electric heaters in the kids bedrooms to avoid having to run central heating all day. Has anyone else in this position gone with electric radiators as an alternative?

I have lived in a house with oil fired central heating and you're right it does get expensive. I take it that you are not on mains gas, if your neighbours are all oil too is it possible to form a group and try and negotiate a discount for bulk supplies? We've moved far away now but I know that most of the houses in the vicinity of our hold house have formed a group and are able to obtain a discount.
Some electric heaters are quite cheap to run so that maybe a better option

That's a lot of oil in a short period. Would it be possible to upgrade/renew your boiler? It doesn't sound very efficient. We use about 1400 litres a year!
Have you got an open fire or a woodburner? A woodburner or multi fuel stove pumps out a lot of heat. Can you put in secondary glazing, thick curtains, draft excluders? (If you haven't already).
Oil filled radiators are fine in the short term, but your electric bill will suffer. Don't get storage heaters, you will freeze in a house like that.

What insulation do you have in the roof? Can the walls be insulated more? Are there draughts?

Your oil usage is obscene (not blaming you); that has to be possible to improve.

Agree with pp that’s an obscene amount of oil. We have a grade 2 listed farmhouse so obviously no double glazing, cob walls , thatch and put in oil central heating ( 6 bedrooms) . We do have a wood burner in one of the lounges but still only fill a tank of oil approx 1200 litres twice a year.

is there a cellar? Or are the floors laid on earth?

Have you (mostly) blocked the fireplaces and added extractor fans in kitchen and bathroom?

How well-insulated is the loft?

Have you draught-proofed?

After doing everything else, you could dry-line the external walls, adding insulation slabs. It will be as effective as cavity wall insulation. It will make your rooms a bit smaller.

Have you not been inundated with calls over recent years about grants to upgrade your boiler!?

Anyhow, we have a massive listed house that's about the same age. 1000l tank gets filled twice a year (October and March).

During winter we have the heating on for a few hours in the morning and evening. In summer its just on as and when we feel a bit chilly. The rest of the day during winter we try and just live in/keep one room toasty warm with a We keep doors shut, curtains over draughty doors, hit water bottles and cosy blankets. We do have access to free wood which makes the difference cost wise for the woodburner.

We have quite a large house and we have air source heat pumps. Not ground source. I cannot see why you cannot investigate these for an old house. We had oil. We didn’t use as much as you but we like s warm house and I never close curtains! We also have the kitchen in an oak orsngery that’s glass on two sides with a glass roof. No, I dint wear a coat all day, it’s warm all day and I don’t have a hot water bottle!

However we have masses of insulation where we can.

We burned that much oil when we moved in (200l a week in the winter). Old listed house, high ceilings. We now burn about 2000l a year.

New boiler (££). Removed elderly rayburn with hot water now from boiler. Insulated attic and flat roofed extension. New thermal curtains throughout including on doors. Wood burner.

I know a few people with electric heaters. They hate them.

Basically, it won't be cheap to reduce your oil consumption and if your house is listed much of the government help disappears. We reckon payback on the investment in 5 years, quicker if oil prices go back up.

Thanks everyone - interesting comments.

We had the roof replaced this year so we're as well insulated as we can be in that department and it has made a difference. We run two wood burners through the winter and have secondary glazing where we can. We have a cellar but most of the floors are on (damp) earth. Initially we did a lot of draught proofing but found that resulted in problems with mould and condensation. We're already in a local oil buying group.

I suspect the boiler may be the main issue - everything runs off an elderly Rayburn. Once we get over the financial shock of the roof, the boiler is the next priority. I'm wondering if tanking the cellar might be worthwhile as well - although mainly for damp rather than cold.

We have a 5 bed house with oil heating, and use about 2000L pa, with the heating on all day in the winter.
But we have a new boiler, and we replaced all the radiators when we moved 4 years ago. It made a huge difference!

Double check there are no leaks and you can find your jumpers, we got two winters from 500l of oil in an admittedly well insulated place. This year it looks like we will just get one winter from 500l plus about a ton of coal in a larger virtually uninsulated place. Neither had modern boilers.

Don't, whatever you do, dry-line the external or the internal walls! That would stop a building bring able to breathe so that moisture would be trapped in the walls, and cause decay to the walls. It would change the appearance and cost a huge amount to put right again.

If the outside of the walls are exposed to the open air, and if the inside of the walls are protected from warm, moist internal air adding to the condensation and damp, how will water become trapped in the walls?

Have you considered a wood boiler (pellet or log). Fuel is much cheaper than oil, though you need space to store it. The Renewable Heat Incentive will likely pay back the cost of your boiler plus some extra over 7 years. We have one and are about to fit another in the house we're renovating next door. Costs us around £800 a year in fuel for a smallish 2 bed stone house with double glazing and mediocre roof insulation.