New Gas Connection over 40 meters

[jonawal]

Hi all - i'm about to move into a new house that currently has oil central heating - however, it needs a new oil tank and boiler - before I spend c.£5k I wanted to consider installing gas as an alternative.

Gas is in the road outside the house but the house is 70 meters up a private road -Fulcrum and others have quoted £5k to install gas at the house if i dig the trench,£10k if they do it.

National Grid want £500 just to quote as its over 40m on private land. As an alternative they've quoted £750 to put a boundary meter 40m up the drive - my gse would then have to run the last 30m - however, he is worried about loss of pressure - do you think this is a feasable route and if so what meter should i ask for and what piping should my gse be running ?

The house is 1950s,5 bed, 3,000 sqft and the gas would be running a new boiler and cooker.

Or should I be paying the £500 for a National Grid quotation to run the gas the whole way to the house.

If the cost is c.£5k is this worth it over staying with oil - if I have to put in new boilers for both options and a new oil 2,500 litre oil tank say £2k then effectively the gas pipe would only be costing me an additional £3k.

Advice much appreciated

 

[Jimbob]

Yes I can see why your engineer would be worried about pressure drop. That would be quite a run. The only way you might be able to do it is if you had a medium pressure meter installed midway, but you would require an extra regulator and maybe meter outside the house which would all incur extra cost. If its only an extra £500, I'd go for that option

 

[Jimbob]

Sorry I misread. £500 gets you the quotation. If its only £750 to get half way up your drive, then I would assume the cost of going to the house would be alot more reasonable than £5000? I wouldn't pay that. I would just use that extra money and have a heat pump or biomass fitted.

 

[Ermintrude]

Sorry I misread. £500 gets you the quotation. If its only £750 to get half way up your drive, then I would assume the cost of going to the house would be alot more reasonable than £5000? I wouldn't pay that. I would just use that extra money and have a heat pump or biomass fitted.

If your off gas stay off! Get solar, ground pumps, even a thermal well. Anerobic digester, bio mass. The list is endless. Try and use as much as the free fuel stuff as possible. (Gas is always on the up along with oil.) sun always been free along with ground and air. you will have to use electricity but if you have a good pv system to boot you could be sitting pretty. cooker can go on propane.

Expect to pay 10-15k in short term.... Be off grid as much as possible!

 

[Reg Man]

The cost of connecting up to mains gas will probably not be worth the payback. As the others have touched on, have a look at air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps. If you can get biomass solid fuel that might also be an option or supplement to heat pumps.

 

[SimonJohns]

I'd go gas

Have the meter on the boundary for £750

Don't get a domestic engineer. Get a commercial. Have a 2" or 3" mdpe pipe rub from the meter to the house and it will more than suffice IMO

Gas is far cheaper than anything else. And it works.


I don't like renewables or green energy. It can be riddled with issues and with gas it will always be there and cheaper to repair if it goes wrong

Where in the world are you.

BTW you will still have to dig the trench to your house for the gas pipe. Just wont cost you 5k to get it put it.

 

[Jimbob]

The issues are only really from young products in our market and mis informed untrained installers in my experience. It will soon be the norm when all installers/specifier/suppliers are used to it all like in other country's.

I would usually say go with natural gas as £/kw it is the cheapest (currently) and the systems are simple, but if connection costs are that high, that would definitely steer me towards heat pumps or maybe biomass

Anyway to the OP, were not trying to sell, just listing alternative that we would consider if we were in the same situation.

 

[SimonG]

I'd stay with oil, but then I'm biased

Simon John's idea is well worth a look I would say.

 

[jtsplumbing]

Think I would go for the gas option, ask what they would charge for connection, if you dug the trench ! (You may even be able to supply the pipe) then think about a couple of solar panels to help with hot water

 

[Reg Man]

Simon John. That is quite a good idea.

 

[jonawal]

Simon John. That is quite a good idea.

Thanks everyone - have to say i'm liking Simons Johns view as well - I'm in Warwick, Midlands does anyone know of a commercial plumber I could contact to ask to make the 30m connection from boundary meter to house ?

Really appreciate the advise everyone

 

[Reg Man]

Go on the gas safe register web site and put in post code and search for commercial qualified in pipe work.

 

[PETE 123]

Or sell your house?

 

[lame plumber]

problem with airsource or gs pumps is your house. if its not insulated etc, they wont give enough heat out and your electric bill will just soar. they aerent the panacea they are said to be if your property isn set up for them. However, consider the solar water heating route to save cash. oil can be mixed in to solar in this way easily. bought in a coop with your neighbours or other group oil prices can also be controlled quite successfully.

 

[Gray0689]

If you had the room I'd go for a grant spirotec condensing wood pellet boiler be better in long run and with a £2500 grant available and the rhi will be out eventually if be cheaper in long run imho

 

[lame plumber]

until wood pellets cost more than oil per Kw

taken from energy saving trust site!

[h=3]Wood-fuelled boilers[/h]Pellet price of 4.20 p/kWh based on bulk delivery.
Assumes average wood-fuelled boiler efficiency of 80% (from CERT)
You will not always see financial savings when replacing some fuels with wood fuel. This is because wood heating can be more expensive than using gas. However as wood fuel is a renewable fuel you can still greatly reduce the carbon footprint of your house

 

[Chalked]

For me it would be gas. Reliable and easy to maintain. Don't forget to make allowance in your costs for the fact that on mains gas your house coud be worth a bit more and is definitely more saleable.

 

[Gray0689]

until wood pellets cost more than oil per Kw

Can't see that happening in distant future

 

[lame plumber]

getting close already and the government will only increase vat on them once its taken off

 

[jonawal]

If i went with gas and paid the cheaper £750 for National Grid to lay a 32mm pipe (I presume) from the main, 40m to a u6 boundary meter what pipe would my commercial plumber have to lay over the remining 30m to my house - 32mm or 64mm - to ensure that i have enough pressure.

I live in Warwick - can any recommend a commercial pipework plumber who could do the last 30m connection for me please ??

many thanks for helping

 

[Dotty]

Depends on the amount of gas required by your appliance(s).

Some commercial guys have domestic as well so can do the whole job for you.

 

[Sparkgap]

If i went with gas and paid the cheaper £750 for National Grid to lay a 32mm pipe (I presume) from the main, 40m to a u6 boundary meter what pipe would my commercial plumber have to lay over the remining 30m to my house - 32mm or 64mm - to ensure that i have enough pressure.

I live in Warwick - can any recommend a commercial pipework plumber who could do the last 30m connection for me please ??

many thanks for helping

Rough estimate of 40kW demand for the house, you'd probably have too much pressure drop with 32mm so go for 63mmPE.
Depends on what the route to the house is like but you could either mole the pipe through if digging a trench is going to be an issue, or you could hire a mini digger and do it yourself! Just needs gas bod to drop in the pipe.
Avoid GS and AS heat pumps for older properties, you might as well run electric heating! And don't get me started on biomass boilers :56:

 

[Reg Man]

until wood pellets cost more than oil per Kw

taken from energy saving trust site!

Wood-fuelled boilers

Pellet price of 4.20 p/kWh based on bulk delivery.
Assumes average wood-fuelled boiler efficiency of 80% (from CERT)
You will not always see financial savings when replacing some fuels with wood fuel. This is because wood heating can be more expensive than using gas. However as wood fuel is a renewable fuel you can still greatly reduce the carbon footprint of your house

Your right there Lame. Did you know the cost of fuel is determined not by production alone, but by demand. For instance the cost of producing diesel is cheaper than petrol, but because of demand diesel is more expensive at the pump.

 

[Ermintrude]

If in Warwick drive down to rugby road in Leamington, massive calor stockpile , just half inch few cylinders.

Try Mercia. Avoid reams! Call in at spa plumbing and heating at bottom of Leamington they could probably recommend.

Also when fulcrum lads turn up ( probably carillon) offer the lads doing the digging a cash payment for installing 63mm ? U may have to buy in pipe but fusion welding and iron for kiosk all in a days work.... Get your installer on board first tho. He might object to others laying and testing sub main; as its his name.