Alternatives to gas/oil in period property after 2035

[Reallybadidea]

At the moment this is fairly idle musing, but we're looking at moving and many of the houses in our area are period, so there's a good chance we would look at moving into one.

My understanding is that alternatives to gas and oil boilers really need to be fitted in well-insulated properties because the water temperatures they generate are so much lower. But how is this going to work in period houses which are often poorly-insulated and often impossible to get up to a really good level? Is biomass the only alternative? And if you keep your boiler going past 2035 will oil just become increasingly difficult and expensive to get hold of as time goes on?

Really interested in thoughts/experiences of people currently living in these sorts of properties.

The only real alternative is bog standard electric heating, or a combination of say a whole house ASHP running continuously, & electric supplementary heaters in each room, maybe a log burner in the main space (but I imagine they will be frowned on too).

Compared to oil/gas, it will cost a fortune, and I dare say the societal expectation will be for you to essentially live in a cold house,and accept it.

Because of this & in spite of the bluster from the government, I think gas/oil will persist.

We have a 1930’s house which we’ve renovated. DH has literally taken it down to the walls (plaster off), floorboards up etc, and insulated (floors, walls, ceiling) it before he put everything back together. Along with new windows which are double glazed, I can’t believe how much of a difference it has made, in terms of actually being able to get and keep the house warm over winter (our first winter before it was done was bitterly cold).

So it can be done (appreciate we don’t have solid stone walls), but an average household would not want to live with the cost (or amount of disruption) it took to do it!

Perhaps some sort of solar heating? We have oil so will obviously need to sort that at some point.

To get to the required level of insulation for a heat pump to be effective, the Victorian terrace I am renting will need to either have the exterior or interior walls insulated.
Given that the front is stone, and is in a conservation area, the only option is internal wall insulation.
To do this, the cornices, door frames, skirting and window frames need removed/modified, insulation needs adding to the walls and then all of the cornicing etc reinstated/ replastered etc.
Oh and electrics will need moved.
10cm off every wall will make some of the rooms very small.

Perhaps there will be alternatives soon. If not, I'd not be buying a period house in the next ten years!

There was a v good q&a session on the Eddie Mair show on LBC just now that covered some of this.

Everyone is going to have to tackle insulation, draughtproofing and proper ventilation strategies to some extent.
The easiest swap is going to be for a straightforward electric boiler which will fit onto the existing wet heating system.
It's going to probably cost more in energy costs as electricity is more expensive than gas but the installation costs are significantly less and can utilise existing systems.
Unfortunately it's hard to generalise though as what works in one situation may not work in another - the current push for air source is as usual a bit short sighted as it isn't the solution for many properties and is going to be prohibitively expensive to install for most older properties. It is also going to cost more to run than forecast as unsurprisingly it costs more in more inefficient structures than in new builds.

@wonkylegs

Everyone is going to have to tackle insulation, draughtproofing and proper ventilation strategies to some extent. The easiest swap is going to be for a straightforward electric boiler which will fit onto the existing wet heating system. It's going to probably cost more in energy costs as electricity is more expensive than gas but the installation costs are significantly less and can utilise existing systems. Unfortunately it's hard to generalise though as what works in one situation may not work in another - the current push for air source is as usual a bit short sighted as it isn't the solution for many properties and is going to be prohibitively expensive to install for most older properties. It is also going to cost more to run than forecast as unsurprisingly it costs more in more inefficient structures than in new builds.

Quick maths on a drop in electric boiler, with average unit prices from google (electric: 14.37p per kWh; gas 3.8p per kWh), assuming 100% efficient electric boiler & 90% efficient gas.

Electric heating will be 3.3x the cost of gas.

And all the forecast's i've sen have the price differential between electricity and gas only going one way...

The Swaffham Prior Heat Scheme heatingswaffhamprior.co.uk/about/ is implementing a village ground source heat scheme to a Cambridgeshire village with a fair number of older properties.
It will be interesting to see how it works.

@hannahcolobus

I would definitely say you'd be better just getting the house insulated to a good enough standard that the newer options will work, as others have suggested above.

Also- I'm fully prepared for these deadlines to change. You might end up with more time than you think! But the sooner people are able to do it the better really.

The problem is that this simply cannot be done for a lot of houses. I have listed Tudor cottage- zero chance of getting permission to double glaze the windows, for example.

@Chasingsquirrels

The Swaffham Prior Heat Scheme heatingswaffhamprior.co.uk/about/ is implementing a village ground source heat scheme to a Cambridgeshire village with a fair number of older properties. It will be interesting to see how it works.

This is really interesting as it isn't too far from us!

@FurierTransform
I completely agree it's going to get more expensive but it's a realistic option for lots of properties compared with the other options.
The upfront costs of the other options make them harder for people to swallow than increased running costs even though in the long run they will be worse economically.

Will check out LBC too.

Also agreed about really old places. And what about listed buildings? I wouldn't want to buy a listed building now anyway, but surely they're going to be increasingly difficult to heat economically?

As I understand it they have broken ground for the heat extraction, and are currently digging up the village roads to lay pipes to distribute.

Interesting discussion. I live in a Victorian terrace and recently replaced my boiler having looked at other options and not found anything viable! I'm also in the process of buying a listed Victorian house 🙈🙈🙈

Yes in a stone built 120 year old house. It’s going to cost £17k to double glaze. I can’t imagine taking all the cornices down etc. Also houses need to breathe…

I wonder if the rules will relax about what you can do to listed buildings. I have a lot of lovely south facing roof space that I would not currently be allowed to put solar panels on, for instance.

God knows, another one with an ancient house on oil here. Timber framed, single skin walls, no under floor gap and a mixture of listed windows - most of which aren’t even historic or pretty. Loft is insulated but that’s all we can do apart from secondary glazing and heavy curtains.
Uk has always been known for protecting its heritage- hopefully there will be some support to save these lovely buildings. I’d never buy one this old again though, lovely as it is.

My boiler engineer told me at the last service that the big companies are looking at bio-fuel alternatives for oil boilers, which will only involve tweaks to existing boilers (valves etc).

This is something that worries me too as regards practicalities. I don't think there is a single solution. I do wonder if listed building control will need a revisit though as that is really limiting.

Heat pumps aren't for every house. Neither is solar. But they are options for some. As is electric and possibly hydrogen if/when that gets off the ground. Gas and oil will become more expensive, electric will become cheaper.

I don't worry about resale. A huge percentage of UK housing stock is inefficient. We are just doing what we can. Insulation really works. I think a poorly insulated modern house is worse.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

I wonder if the rules will relax about what you can do to listed buildings. I have a lot of lovely south facing roof space that I would not currently be allowed to put solar panels on, for instance.

Me too. Provided our roof is strong enough it is perfect. I'm waiting for solar tiles. I don't think they will be long.

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We are in a listed house and also oil central heating. I don’t think ashp would be a good option. We had gshp at our last house (very well insulated) and our electric bills were pretty high as you need electric to run the pump.
We currently use the coal fire but in time will hopefully get a couple of woodburners in the big rooms which will keep them warm, and rely on electric blankets and thick duvets in the bedrooms. Kitchen is quite small and easy enough to keep cosy now we have done all the draught proofing.
I don’t mind just wearing a jumper if it’s a bit cold though, maybe that’s what we should all be doing instead of aiming for houses warm enough to wander round in shorts and tshirts!

I would really like solar panels though, am hoping they become more affordable soon!

They are talking about forcing mortgage lenders on this so that they won't easily lend on leaky homes. First it will be voluntary (discounted mortgage if property is energy efficient) but will be mandatory if not enough progress is made.