Ungeared Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 I'm about to move into a house, it's not a new house, in fact it's 60 years old, as it's new to me it's a bit of a blank canvas and I want to put into place as many cost saving bits from the start, proper insulation, wood burning stove, good quality windows and an Aga for cooking although I will have electric facilities for back up, however, as I want to connect rads to the Aga I won't need a gas supply and the house currently has one, can I have the gas supply completely cut off? As I don't want any sort of standing charge if I'm never going to use it, sorry if the question is an obvious one, I'm sure someone here will know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkins Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Maybe best to keep it in case you decide to sell one day. We buy gas from Ebico and have no standing charges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griptool Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Keep the supply but get the supplier to remove the meter if you want, also if you want to save money forget about the aga they cost a fortune to run. Get a nice gas cooker instead . . . . Shit where's the fecking meter gone!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuG III Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 What is the Aga going to run on? Do you know how much energy an Aga uses? Are you sure fitting some nice windows is going to make the house snug enough that a stove will provide all your heating? Do you know how much of a ball ache it is to light a fire every day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 What is the Aga going to run on? Do you know how much energy an Aga uses? Are you sure fitting some nice windows is going to make the house snug enough that a stove will provide all your heating? Do you know how much of a ball ache it is to light a fire every day? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aga_cooker Now learnt what an aga is. Energy consumption looks .... interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hecto Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 I have a gas meter but do not use gas. At the beginning of this year EON started standing charges, so I looked into this. EON wanted either £50 or £60 to remove the gas meter. I ended up moving to Scottish Power who do not have standing charges on some deals, so I still have the gas meter if I need it. . At the time Scottish Power had an online fixed price until september 2014 electricity deal which for my usage was cheaper than all the other suppliers. I found this when comparing on the Uswitch electricity/gas price comparison website. It is also worth looking at Quidco / Topcashback websites to see if you can get some cashback when changing supplier. I got £40 something back when useing topcashback to move to Scottish Power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 I would keep it all. Gas companies can charge thousands to put you back on the mains. Even tens of thousands if you are in a rural location. By removing the mains supply you may be taking many thousands off the price of your property. The meter is the same - not thousands but it can be hundreds. Why you would want to do this is beyond me, especially if it is only to save a small amount of money per quarter. Seems nuts to me personally, no offence. Edit: A relative of mine lives in Mumbles on a road that is about 50 yards from a mains gas supply. The gas board wanted about 30K to put her road of about 5 or 6 bungalows onto the mains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Could get a get a rayburn solid http://www.rayburn-web.co.uk/products/rayburn-solid-fuel-wood-series.aspx Wood burning cooking and central heating .......my uncles got one.... but hes got several acres of wood ....he also switches to part coal in the winter ... its a big house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ungeared Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 Thanks for the replies, to answer a few questions, I am more geared towards finding a supplier who won't have a standing charge, so won't have the gas cut off, capped or terminated, I also put Aga, but should have said Rayburn as well as you can still get solid fuelled ones,as I will have a free supply of wood. As I stated earlier, I will have a secondary form of cooking and have lived a few winters without gas central heating, just using an open fire, so lighting one up each day is not a problem. Having cavity wall insulation, proper insulation in the loft and decent windows will not heat the house, however, it wil go a long way to retaining some of the heat, this is not about being in tin foil hat mode, it's more about simplistic living, a bit more self-sufficiency and giving less of my money away. The house is walking distance to the market town high street, I have down graded my car which is far more economical and in a lower taxation bracket, I have a sizable veggie plot and have taken my money out the banking organisations, every little helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuG III Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 Well, seems like you know what you're letting yourself in for. Hope it works for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartimandua51 Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 Thanks for the replies, to answer a few questions, I am more geared towards finding a supplier who won't have a standing charge, so won't have the gas cut off, capped or terminated, I also put Aga, but should have said Rayburn as well as you can still get solid fuelled ones,as I will have a free supply of wood. As I stated earlier, I will have a secondary form of cooking and have lived a few winters without gas central heating, just using an open fire, so lighting one up each day is not a problem. I lived with a solid fuel Rayburn providing central heating & hot water for 4 years. If I'd had the option of mains gas I'd have installed a gas hob like a shot - while Rayburns are wonderful at roasts (with a bit of skill and learning - you can't turn them up or down at will!) and stews they are a PITA for things like boiling peas. If you want to keep them in at night you'll need to get some coal in unless you fancy re-stoking with wood at 3.00am, or freezing for two hours of a January morning while the beast groans into action. Remember, you're heating up half a ton of cast iron before it gets to your radiators - open fires start chucking heat out much faster. But you can learn to live with them without open warfare - at least a state of armed neutrality can prevail! Don't forget you'll need the chimney swept at least twice a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxe Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 We also have a Rayburn. I keep saying this, but don't underestimate the amount of wood you need. You need to really like cutting, splitting and stacking wood, and you need to have space to do it. In winter, we will go through a barrow of wood a day. - heating, hot water, most of the cooking. If you are getting wood delivered, go back to gas, it will be cheaper and easier. Other things that are hard - going away in the winter. You will have no heating at all 12 hours after the last load, not great for pipes and the like. We sweep the chimney and boiler tubes once a month. I would get a gas hob, and a small gas boiler. You won't want to be firing the Rayburn in the summer, and a gas hob is very useful. It is also handy to have something in the house that can deliver heat at the touch of a button, not 12 hours after ignition... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starla Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 I'm about to move into a house, it's not a new house, in fact it's 60 years old, as it's new to me it's a bit of a blank canvas and I want to put into place as many cost saving bits from the start, proper insulation, wood burning stove, good quality windows and an Aga for cooking although I will have electric facilities for back up, however, as I want to connect rads to the Aga I won't need a gas supply and the house currently has one, can I have the gas supply completely cut off? As I don't want any sort of standing charge if I'm never going to use it, sorry if the question is an obvious one, I'm sure someone here will know I know nothing about gas supplies, just offering my congrats as I think this means you have escaped the land of friendly bombs where there isn't the grass to graze a cow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ungeared Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 I know nothing about gas supplies, just offering my congrats as I think this means you have escaped the land of friendly bombs where there isn't the grass to graze a cow. Thanks Starla, you're right, maybe 3 weeks away from my escape, to be honest any sort of lifestyle whether it's gas or wood to keep me warm is better than living in this concrete ghetto :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuG III Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Ungeared, maybe check out the MSE forum called "LPG and Solid Fuels" or something. Lots of solid fuel people there who will be able to advise on the feasibility of what you're suggesting. I spent december with no central heating, lighting a fire every night, it was a colossal chore and was very glad to get my GCH back even though it cost me nigh 6 weeks wages. Glad to hear you're escaping a concrete prison though, really do wish you the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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