# LPG central heating



## Broughtonblue (30 Aug 2019)

I'm thinking of buying a converted barn that runs its central heating and cooker off LPG, stored in a tank under the lawn. Do any of you have any personal knowledge, recommendations etc as to how it compares both in cost and efficiency compared to normal mains gas. Pros n cons?
Obviously theres a wealth of knowledge on google but is good to hear personal opinions


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## Levo-Lon (30 Aug 2019)

You often find in situations like this the local community have a "buy in bulk club" especially with heating oil.
So a group buy a larger quantity at a better price.
Then you get a organised delivery to x amount in the area which saves the suppliers haulage costs.
Check with vender if possible.. 
It will cost more than piped gas but shouldn't be a deal breaker.

Can you ask in the village, post office, village hall, pub ect?

I like barn conversion builds


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## Lozz360 (30 Aug 2019)

The calorific value of LPG is higher than mains gas, so be careful you don’t incinerate food you are grilling until you are used to it! As mentioned, slightly higher cost, and the minor inconvenience of ensuring it is topped up, there is little real difference. I would prefer it to any other fossil fuel alternative if I lived away from a piped gas service.


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## Cycleops (30 Aug 2019)

Cost is going to bring a fair bit more compared to piped gas but there are advantages. We use LPG down here for cooking and it's great. Here's an article about the pros and cons:

https://householdquotes.co.uk/lpg-gas-central-heating-costs/

It's a better option than oil or electric, and it's greatest advocate surely can't be wrong.


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## Brains (30 Aug 2019)

If the option of piped LNG is available, you will find this is easier and cheaper to install.

However if piped LNG is not available locally then tanked LPG is a much better option than heating oil or electricity


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## furball (31 Aug 2019)

The prices of lpg go up and down so you need to keep a close eye on tank levels and cost. It's a bit of a juggling act.


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## Globalti (31 Aug 2019)

You could save the cost of a full tank a year if, before moving into that barn, you got a builder to dry-line it with Celotex or Kingspan. That has the added advantage of making it really quiet, covering up the previous owner's hideous decor and allowing you to rewire, replumb and redecorate.


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## NorthernDave (31 Aug 2019)

A friend uses LPG and the only issues he has are there are only a couple of suppliers service his area, so no real competition on price, and despite him estimating when he'll need topping up, the supplier always tries to delay until the weather turns and prices rise - easily dealt with, but a bit sneaky.


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## Drago (31 Aug 2019)

Does the barn have any fireplaces or scope for a Rayburn or Aga? Got a Rayburn at my place in Voe and that keeps the whole house warm.


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## Brains (31 Aug 2019)

Drago said:


> Does the barn have any fireplaces or scope for a Rayburn or Aga? Got a Rayburn at my place in Voe and that keeps the whole house warm.



AGA's can run on Coal, LNG, LPG, Wood, Peat, Oil ....
The OP issue is not so much 'what' but 'how'

In a barn I'd recommend a wood burner as a second source of heat running on a different medium in any case.
(Any kid of the 70's who remembers the winter blackouts when all heating other than coal and wood stopped always would have a back up if possible)


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## Drago (31 Aug 2019)

I built a greenhouse in which to grow tasty vegetables.

Instead I filled it with firewood, which dries out beautifully in the summer ready for winter use. I reckon about 2-3 years worth stocked up, and at a pinch I could even cook on one of our 3 solid fuel burners. Even have one in the summer house so I can enjoy it in the winter.


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## Globalti (31 Aug 2019)

Yes I'm always mindful of the 70s and keen to have two sources of heating and cooking. 

Amazingly, African nations like Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Africa which benefited from the huge hydro-electric dams of the 60s are now running out of electricity because post-independence governments have ignored the need for maintenance and the turbines are failing. Failure of the seasonal rains worsens the problem. In SA one energy minister said the power cuts were the fault of the whites because they built the reservoirs too big to fill up! I think he was a relative of Diane Abbott...


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