getting rid of gas supply?

[Rosendula]

I had a thought today and was hoping you could help me think it through better so I can make a more informed decision.

We currently have a gas supply in our house, but I think we could manage without gas.

Heating
We don't use our gas fire at all. The central heating could be replaced with electric heaters (oil filled radiators?) which would give us more control over the temperature in each room. I think these would probably cost more to run on an hour/hour basis, but in truth, we wouldn't have them all on at the same temperature in every room all day, like we do now.

Cooking
Currently use gas, but not I'm opposed to using electric.

Water
We currently have a choice. We have an immersion and a gas boiler. The boiler heats the water and stores it in the immersion. Or, we can turn the boiler off and switch the electric supply on for the immersion.

So in terms of living, it's certainly do-able. In terms of financial cost, I've read on several sites that cooking with electric costs more than gas and I'm guessing the answer would be similar if I asked about running heaters or heating a tank of water, but with the rising cost of gas I don't know how true that still is. Also, if I had the gas supply disconnected I would save £91.40 a year standing charge. Plus, I was thinking that instead of having a heater in the kitchen I could use the cooker as a heater (it's on a lot anyway). With a ring heating the kitchen, anything I place on it like a kettle or a pan of food isn't using more electricity, just the same as what's already being used (I can't boil a kettle on my radiator, if that helps clarify what I'm trying to say). Plus, instead of having a gas radiator doing no good at all at the bottom of the stairs, I could have a 'leccy one on the landing at the top, which would help warm all the upstairs rooms, including the freezing cold, damp toilet room. And the living room heater could be moved about to where we are sitting instead of being permanently blocked off by the sofa as is the case now.

From an envirnomental perspective, I don't know a lot about it. I have read that gas is 'cleaner' than electric (unfortunately we have to chase the cheapest suppliers), but as with finances, surely the fact that I could use less would offset this? Plus, with electricity there is more potential for things like solar panels when I can afford them in the future.

I can think of so many arguments as to why I should get rid of my gas supply, but I think my mind is being jaded by 'new idea syndrome'. If anyone is still awake after reading all of that, I would appreciate your thoughts. Am I being silly?

[TheGoodEarth]

Heating with electric is waaaaay more expensive than gas. Gas is the most efficient and environmentally friendly non renewable form of energy we have at the moment. What are your concerns with gas? If it is just financial then it would be better to draft proof and insulate as much as you can afford to reduce the need for heating in the first place. Also think of upgrading to a modern energy efficient combi boiler which can save you hundreds of pounds a year. Then carefully manage when your heating comes on with timers. Immersions are a very expensive way to heat water. A really well insulated house shouldn't need radiators on upstairs as enough heat should rise from downstairs.

[MuddyWitch]

Rosey, we took the decision to have the gas removed from this house in 2003, (just after I'd bought a new gas cooker!) We have a solar panel for Summer hot water & an imersion for Winter, but as we have a multi-fuel (wood burner with choices) stove as our central heating & hot water 'boiler' we haven't use the imersion in the last three Winters.

Pros:

1)We have a free wood supply so all our hot water & heat is relitivly cheap. We only have to pay for the 'smokeless' stuff that has to be burnt 9-5 Mon-Fri (seperate story). Our heating & hot water cost us £450 for the YEAR.

2) Wood ash is lovely for the garden.

3)We 'bathe in Sun beams' as my daughter once put it.

4)No gas 'standing charge'.

Cons:

1) Electricty bill are higher (about £450 per year) but we choose to pay a little more for genuinely green leccy, so we could cut that to around £350-400 if we sold our souls.

2) 'Smokeless' ash is REALLY horible stuff & has to be cooled & then go to land fill.

3) Morning showers mean leccy shower, so I bathe in the evening but it takes planning & thought, (something I doubt will be a problem for you!)

4) The f***ing gas people charged us £50 to remove the meter (THEIR meter ) & that is not only normal but perfectly leagle

5) The electric cooker is fine in terms of the oven, but Hubby (who does all the cooking) misses the gas hob (& is known to use the camping one on occasions!)

Hope this helps, if you want to ask me anything, feel free.

Just one point: if you are doing this for 'green' reasons and will need to rely on electricity instead, remember most electricity is from gas fired power stations.

MW

[Rosendula]

I came up with the idea while I was dealing with finances, so that's the angle I approached it from, but I had wondered about the environmental impact. Completely getting rid of the gas is not something I've even thought of before, so there was a lot to think about. We have draught-proofed as much as we can so far, and I'm always looking for new draughts to combat. Unfortunately, upgrading boilers and things are out because we live in a council house and we get what we're given (but just because it's there it doesn't mean I have to use it). Unfortunately we don't have a free supply of wood, and I don't think the council will take out their crappy fire so we can install a woodburner (and rigging it up to heat the water sounds a bit complicated/expensive at my current levels of intellect/finances, lol)

Thank you for taking the time to read and answer :) Like I say, it's a brand new idea for me, so all input is very welcome.

[MuddyWitch]

Unless you have the meter removed you'll still have to pay the standing charge. So I doubt you'd be any better off

When I win the lottery I'll buy you a 'solar' house!

MW

[crowsashes]

just thought id add my perspective.... seems as i only have gas heating and have to rely on electric for cooking and heating the kitchen.

electric is WAY more expensive in terms of heating than gas. so i agree with previous posts, before removing the supply seriously insulate your house even more if possible ( unless youve done that of course!)

i have to cook on electric- electric cookers may have improved a fair bit ( but youd pay a lot for it) but on mine the rings take ages to heat up and just as long to cool down... not so great with kiddies.

leaving a ring on the cooker would cost you a fortune... you want to see the price shoot up on my energy meter!

i have standard electric oven ... pretty rubbish for anything but rubbish food .... it cooks a pizza well thats about it! but then that could just be my cooker!

i too have been known to whip out a camping stove to do stir-frys etc even firing up a BBQ to cook dinner on rather than use it during the summer, just because electric is just ***** for cooking on.

also you have to think of other possibilities .... power cut.... you'd loose everything even your ability to cook/heat up the house etc. with a separate gas supply at least you could theoretically make a brew still pull a full roast out even if it was by candle light.

obviously i dont know if you have a wood stove etc. but thats just my take on it

[Graye]

I don't know for definite but it strikes me that it's a very expensive way to save the cost of the gas standing charge - new cooker, new radiators, electricity costing more than gas, etc, etc.

I notice you say the gas heating keeps all the rooms at the same temperature. Could you look at having individual temperature controls on the radiators?

Personally I like having a gas hob, it's far more adjustable. I'm not bothered one way or other about the oven, mine is an electric combi oven/grill/microwave but I think gas would be quicker and more economical - I just don't have room for a traditional oven.

Hopefully some one will come up with some proper comparisons. I would be interested to see them!

[Big Al]

I's think long and hard before you do away with the gas. We had an electric powercut recently, only about 30 minutes but we had no heating ( gas condensing combi boiler) no cooking and no light. Of course I am prepared as we have outdoor cooking methods, a lot of candles and no gas fire although the hole in the wall is still there so I have burnt stuff there before today.

I cook every day and our leccy only went up by about 2 units a day over using complete gas for cooking. As for the standing charge on the gas, it's crap to think you will need to pay a SC even if you don't use the gas. All you do is sign up for a gas supply that has no standing charge and thus you pay a slightly higher unit cost but if you don't use the gas then you won't have the cost of the higher tarif.

As has been said, the cost of removing the gas in the forms of new cooker / hob / radiators etc probably isn't worth the effort.

A year gone May I bought an electric hob and oven combo. a rated but a cheap version ant that cost me £479 plus another £100 to put the electric supply in. How much do you spend on your gas in an average year ?

If you want to have a go then switch off the gas supply at the meter and see how you would do without it now. As you work through the problems it will show you if you can be bothered with all the hassle and upset of changing to one fuel only.

For what it's worth I'd say no, don't do it.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

If it is just for cooking, bottled gas comes with no standing charge and converting your existing cooker should be straightforward enough: you may have been supplied with the spare injectors when you bought it, but, if not, they are easy enough to buy. We have LPG for the hob only and get through about three bottles of propane (69 kg total, costing about €60) per year. Otherwise we have electric ovens and the Godin stove, on which we do most of the winter cooking and which does CH and hot water. We have solar for summer hot water.

[Rosendula]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Like I said, it was the beginnings of an idea I had, and your replies have helped me think it through more.

I had worked out the cost of buying portable heaters and new cooker, and if they had cost the same to run as gas, the amount I saved on the standing charges would have paid for them in 5 years. But if, as you say, electricity still costs a lot more than gas despite the recent price increases, then it's not going to be worth it even in the long run.

I had considered power cuts - at the moment, if the gas stops we've no heating, so that would just change to 'if the electric stops', and as my son is a 3rd year apprentice electrician working for a company owned by the council, if the problem was in our home, it shouldn't be a problem for too long. Obviously if it was a regional thing, that would be different, but we do have lots and lots of candles and camping equipment so I'm sure we would survive.

But having read your answers and given it more thought I've decided I'm not going to do it. We have insulated and draught-proofed up to our eye-balls, and we turn things off when we're not using them, at the wall where we can, so our bills are not particularly high, it was just the standing charge and something at the back of my mind telling me one day we might get off the grid (pipe dream. No-one here enjoys DIY enough to take on such big projects).

What I will look into are the temperature controls on radiators. I had always assumed what comes with the radiator is what you're stuck with, but surely they can be changed. So I'll look into that.

Thanks again for your help everyone

[Flo]

You can get gas tariffs with no standing charge if you look around. That's probably something worth considering.

[Rosendula]

Thanks Flo, I'll mention that to OH as he's the one in charge of choosing gas and electric companies. :)

[Flo]

Sheesh, he's not frugal is he if he can't find a tariff with no standing charge.

Tell him dual fuel, no standing charge, manage it on-line, direct debit payment. That should reduce your bill by a country mile because you also get to put your own meter readings in before the bill comes in so no more estimated bills.

[Rosendula]

He might already know about the no-tariff thing, but he hasn't mentioned it to me so it's worth me saying something.

When British Gas introduced their very first price cap, he signed up for it, and we saved lots compared to other people whose bills kept going up and up. When the price cap finished, he immediately jumped to another supplier where the rates were cheaper. He spent loads of time researching it, so I'm confident he got us the best deal at the time, I just don't know the fine detail. I do know he gets discounts for dual fuel and direct debit payment, and he does manage it all online. We also got a nice little cashback bonus and a load of Nectar points. He won't hang around if there's a better deal out there.

One thing we didn't know when our price cap finished is that if you don't like the new rates, you can put it in writing that you don't accept them and you get your fuel at the old rates for a while (3 months??) until you find a new supplier.

[Milims]

We have draught-proofed as much as we can so far, and I'm always looking for new draughts to combat. Unfortunately, upgrading boilers and things are out because we live in a council house and we get what we're given

Not ncessarily - have a look at warmfront grants: http://www.eaga.com/products-and-servic ... warm-front and see if you are entiteld to one - I'd say you are as you have a wee one in the house. Speak to your councils housing dept too they may already have a siliar scheme in place. If not - I'm pretty sure that no council would turn down the chance of someone else doing their job for them! If you do get a grant you can have your loft insulated, cavity wall insulation, draught proofing and when the time is right a new energy efficient boiler. Basically the grant is awarded and kept for you until you need it, so you could have your loft insulated now and if your boiler breaks down next year you can have that replaced then! I've had 2 of these grants because they are granted to the house not the person. Essentially they are to ensure that as many houses as possible are energy efficient.