Heating in my house.. What should I do?

riseabdn

without a doubt, look to ensure your insulation is up to spec first.  Then, should you opt to install an alternative system it wont be over sized for you needs.  Particularly so with an air source heat pump.

Have a look at this website which has info on the cost of heating fuel.

the cost of running an air source heat pump depends on the area of the country and the design of the system, but assuming the MCS minimum H-SPD of 3.0 and a unit cost of 13p/kWh, your unit rate for heat is 4.3p/kWh.

In the north east of Scotland where we are, most ASHP systems bring heating costs to be competitive with mains gas.

Be wary of central electric boilers, they work fine if you have access to a 24 hour low rate tariff (such as the Scottish Hydro "THTC"), you will have oil equivalent rates, but really this needs be coupled with a large accumulator tank.

depending on the LPG suppliers in your area, they have a habit of filling your tank just after a price rise.  you also lose the option to change suppliers as the supplier often own the tank.

Oil has more price flexibility however the price is linked to road diesel & aviation fuel.

My advise, insulate then go heat pump or oil depending on your preference for capital cost vs. running costs.

Most modern ASHP units like the Panasonic ones we work with supply their name plate rated output easily down to -15C whilst still maintaining a positive COP so unless you buy a cheap heat pump, or one not installed by an MCS accredited installer, you need not worry about loss of heat in cold weather.

All the best,
Stuart

Member 649918

Insulation is key for minimizing energy consumption. I recently called Ritz Plumbing, a great rooter in culver city because of an incident. My next project is to do an insulation retrofit.