News From OilFiredUp
RSS
Bad News for Drums of Pitversie Residents
4th December 2004
Residents of Drums of Pitversie development in the beautiful village of Abernethy, are paying over the odds for space and water heating, following developer Richmond Homes decision to opt for Calor LPG, Oilfiredup.com can reveal.
Research undertaken by independent energy consultants, Salkent Associates and made available through OFTEC, show that over the past 7 years, oil has typically proven considerably cheaper than LPG.
According to Salkent, heating an average 3 bedroom home with oil would have cost £498 compared with a cost of £950 to heat the same home with LPG. That means that LPG customers living in a typical 3 bedroom house will pay over £10,000 more over the typical 20 year lifespan of a central heating system, than an oil heating customer, living in a similar property.
Bad news for LPG customers and bad news for Drums of Pitversie residents… where house prices start at £385,750.
The situation is of course further compounded by the fact that LPG boilers are typically less efficient than oil fired equivalents. More efficient boilers mean lower fuel bills… which means more bad news for Pitversie residents.
According to the independent, government sponsored SEDBUK website, the UK’s most efficient central heating boiler is the oil fired Grant Vortex 36 Floorstanding Condensing Boiler, with a SAP Seasonal Efficiency Rating of 97%. The most efficient LPG boiler by contrast is the Vaillant Ecomax 6132E with a SAP Seasonal Efficiency Rating of 93.3%.
And of course, unlike oil which is available from hundreds of oil distributors throughout the UK, LPG customers cannot share the benefits of a highly competitive market, with hundreds of fuel suppliers continually vying for their business.
Indeed, for Drums of Pitversie residents, things have been made even worse by Richmond Homes decision to enter into a long term supply agreement with Calor.
As a result, a centrally located LPG storage tank has been installed on their estate, owned and maintained by Calor which provides a metered supply of LPG to residents’ homes. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, Drums of Pitversie residents will have little choice but to buy high cost home heating fuel from Calor.
However, despite Richmond Homes decision to opt for high cost LPG, most homeowners in rural areas continue to opt for oil. They appreciate the benefits of having a safe and secure of fuel on their premises which unlike highly flammable LPG, isn’t even flammable at normal temperatures. And of course they additionally appreciate the benefits of a meaningful choice of suppliers, a wide range of highly efficient oil fired appliances and the nationwide support provided by a network of independently, professionally accredited OFTEC Registered Installers.
