Mad to get Oil central heating

T

Thrifty

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Hi,

Just want to get peoples opinions on this. have recently bought an old house in a village. Had a woodburning stove in Kitchen and a few radiators dotted around the house but not in all rooms. I wanted to get in oil heating as the woodburning stove does not really warm the other rooms and i need the space in the kitchen where the stove was to put in a cooker. There's no gas in the area. now i'm a little worried about oil given all the glommy predictions about cost. What are peoples opinions on this? Am i mad to be getting in oil when i hear on the radio people are going back to solid fuel. i work all day so i like a little heating in morning and evening.
 
There are other options such as wood pellet burners, which function like an oil/gas burner in that it can be programmed to come on at particular times. See this thread and links therein for more info.
 
Hi,

thanks for the tip. i thought pellet burners were like stoves and that i would have to get up in the morning to start it. I'm getting some info from sustainable Ireland on this but any other info that anyone can give would be greatly appreciated.
 
Unfortunately we're pretty much damned whichever fossil fuel we use.

Gas and coal are to an extent substitute products for oil, and therefore tend to move upwards/downwards in tandem with the oil price.

So in your situation I'd say just go with the oil - is cleaner and more efficient than any of your alternatives.

Plus the price is bound to go down when we establish peace and democracy in Iraq :rolleyes:
 
Sherman said:
Plus the price is bound to go down when we establish peace and democracy in Iraq :rolleyes:
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It isn't really just as simple as that, demand from India and China and reducing supplies of the black stuff are major factors as well.
 
I just found this interesting article written in 1995 about the future of oil production and oil reserve discoveries.

It's interesting that the author, L. F. (Buzz) Ivanhoe, (unfortunate name which might lead me to question the article slightly) stated that:

It is reluctantly concluded that there is strong evidence that the restricted Hubbert Curve for the world's total EUR of oil may first peak about the year 2000, Fig. 4, after which it may fluctuate along a horizontal production line (restricted by Saudi Arabia/OPEC) before inevitable decline towards a low baseline after year 2050
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He also went on to say that:

The critical date is the inflection point (peak) after which global public demand will substantially exceed available supply from the then few oil exporters. A sudden global crude shortage of 5% could bring back the gasoline lines of the 1970s-to the American public's surprise and dismay.
Thus, the question is not whether, but when, the foreseeable permanent oil crunch will occur. This next paralysing and permanent oil shock will not be solved by any redistribution patterns or by economic cleverness, because it will be a consequence of pending and inexorable depletion of the world's inexpensive conventional crude oil supply.
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I'm not proposing this article as the consensus within the industry or as a scientifically researched paper but, in my opinion, it points towards the reality of what we can expect in the next 50 years - oil supplies will start to dry up. Once again my own personal view is that traders and buyers in the oil market are factoring this view into their current pricing more so now than they were say 5 years ago.

After all that I'd say go for the wood pellet burner

efm
 
So does that include gas as well. We have gas installed in the new house and just wondering am i as screwed as someone who has oil, both pricewise and envoirmentally wise and future wise!!?? What are these wood pellet burners and are they costly to get installed?
 
Thanks for all suggestions. Had read a similar article about oil but had figured that perhaps 10 years down the line there would be more eco and pocket friendly alternatives i could then switch to. Am certainly looking into the pellet burner option. Will depend on a few things including cost, the size of the burner and space needed for storage of pellets, where i can get them locally etc. But if i do go down that road will try and give you some feedback in case anybody else is considering it.
 
They use wood pellets (formed from dried, compressed wood pulp) as fuel instead of oil or gas. I don't know a great deal about them to be honest, I only did some cursory looking about a while ago. I like the idea of a renewable energy source that doesn't add to carbon emmissions (the buring does emit carbons but this is balanced by those absorbed by the growing of the materials). I've not idea what the running or installation costs are.
 
Heinbloed had some interesting insight into the whole oil/ gas versus wood pellet burning stoves, some time back. Where is he??
 
Carpenter said:
Heinbloed had some interesting insight into the whole oil/ gas versus wood pellet burning stoves, some time back. Where is he??
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He'd be wanting you in a "passive house" - no heating bills, more insulation insulation than you can shake a stick at, 5 layers of glass on the windows etc.
 
Nice one Betsy Og! Who could forget the direct vs. indirect plumbing system debate...ahhh those truly were the days!
 
I personally think that the wood pellet option does look to be a very attractive proposition for the coming years. Unfortunately like anything good, it comes at a cost. The wood pellet stoves which include a boiler are priced from about 4k up to 7k. A wood pellet boiler can be between 7 and 12k for a domestic installation. Plus maybe another €700 - €1k for a large wood pellet storage and hopper system. The wood pellets have to be kept dry which will always be a challenge in our damp environment, but I have seen one of these storage systems and they seem to do the job quite well.
Compared to a standard boiler outlay of say 1500 then the initial outlay is considerable.

Most calculations seem to indicate that savings will be made on an annual basis though in terms of fuel usage.
At the end of the day, if you are building a new house and planning to stay in it for some time, it's an investment in the future. The capital outlay is financed through low cost mortgage finance. It should add value to your house for future purchasers, by having a sustainable renewable energy souce heating the house. The house should in theory perform well in the future energy rating directive for buildings to be introduced from Jan 2006, although it is not yet known how this will actually be measured in practice.

The SEI is a great source of information about renewable energy sources and the steps Ireland and Irish companies are taking in this direction.
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There is a whole other argument about the government and their lack of visible financial support for renewable energy for the consumer, especially when compared to practically every other european government. But that's another story !!

On the oil situation, I think even at present it is already publicised, that the daily oil demand in barrels, is greater then the number of barrels being produced from source. If this is the case then it would appear that the peak has already been passed. However like all these facts, is it really the case and will the consumer be really the last to know or find out the real truth.

AndyH
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