fuel prices

[Gasbag<IMG src="http:forums.livingfrance.comimagesline.gif"><BR><EM>gasbag<EM><BR>]

hi there,

i'm the new boy here so please excuse me if my behaviour isn't up to scratch!

i was wondering if anyone could tell me the cheapest form of central heating and water heating as my family and i are planning to move to the vendee region this summer?

i'm a british gas engineer so pretty familiar with heating systems but only natural gas or lpg.

hoping someone can help???!!!

many thanks adam.

[Dave&Olive]

if you search or read past posts you will find a lot of posts on this subject..

       not much gas in france , wood is the cheapest, seems lpg is most expensive, and most use elec water heaters. oil prices on there way up so things might change..

hope this helps

         Dave

[Gasbag<IMG src="http:forums.livingfrance.comimagesline.gif"><BR><EM>gasbag<EM><BR>]

cheers dave

i'll do some more research thro' the forums and see what i come up with

thanks for your help

adam.

 

[Patf]

Central heating isn't as common in France as it is in UK. The winters tend to be shorter, though this last winter was an exception. We have gas - the type like calor gas with a large tank outside - and one efficient gas stove heats our open plan living area. No central heating. The cost was about 1 euro per kg last year. Cheapest fuel is wood but that's more labour intensive. Pat.

[Teamedup]

I think it depends where you live as well. We don't have short winters and need heating for a full six months. I have also learned from this board that the Dordogne can have very cold and damp winters, much to my surprise.

Also wood is very expensive where I live and we have managed to get our bills right down since gaz de france came to our bit of our village. Such a big country, so many variables.

[Dave&Olive]

glad some of you pro`s come to help him ,

gas engineer might be a bit of an asset to the forum for us diy er`s

         dave

[Boghound]

The cheapest fuel for central heating, which is common in France, in the Vendee is not wood...unless you have your own supply it is on par with electric. Heat pumps are the cheapest...then town gas...then oil.....then electric...then wood... then LPG. These partities are from the French Governments own findings for 2003 to 2004.

[Boghound]

Found it!

Comparative costs of heating, from Minister for Economics and Industry:

Fuel: €3.81
Town Gas: €4.25
Propane Gas: €9.14
Electricity: €10.75

All per 100KW, date of original post, April 2003

[Coco]

Unfortunately now that fuel position will have moved higher up the list.  In August 2003 we bought oil at 37.5 cents a litre.  Three weeks ago we paid 56.5 cents!!!

[Boghound]

[quote]Unfortunately now that fuel position will have moved higher up the list. In August 2003 we bought oil at 37.5 cents a litre. Three weeks ago we paid 56.5 cents!!![/quote]

SNAP!!!!!! So did I Coco. We have oil as a "back-up" to a Pompes a chaleur....it broke my heart.....still recovering from the shock.....it's all down to the two B**t***s Blair & Bush.

[Teamedup]

You have raised an interesting point Boghound, two in fact. 

First one, why does a pompe a chaleur system need a backup? I had rather hoped that it wouldn't.

 And, if France was top dog these days, do you really think that everything would be tickety boo in the world? If you do, you have far greater faith in french ambition in such circumstances than I have.

[Boghound]

The pompes a chaleur needs a back up because mine is eau/eau...and when the external temp reaches -5 it trips out and the oil cuts in because it starts to use more energy extracting heat from the underground supply then it can cope with....it services 23 radiators!

I don't understand your last paragraph!

Excluding the oil situation in China...Bush/Blair have caused worldwide unrest in the oil industry due to the crazy situation in Iraq...kicking a hornet's nest springs to mind. I didn't mention the French but they do seem to raise oil prices faster then anyone else.

[Teamedup]

Thanks re the pompe a chaleur, I didn't know that and something to bear in mind.

I just meant that if France was 'the' super power of the moment,I don't think that things would be better, just different. Can't see whoever is top dog ever, giving a toss about the planet or anyone on it.

[Boghound]

Oh, how I whole heartedly agree TU.

Depending on the "heat" source..you often don't need a back up..it's just that mine does! B*gg*r.

[Anton Redman]

[quote]SNAP!!!!!! So did I Coco. We have oil as a "back-up" to a Pompes a chaleur....it broke my heart .....still recovering from the shock.....it's all down to the two B**t***s Blair & Bush.[/quote]

Much as I would love to blame B & B for everything I suspect growing demand in China is what is causing genuine increases.

[Val_2]

And on the petrol side of things, it has gone up here by 4centimes per litre in less than one week which if you run five vehicles is a lot of extra money to find. We certainly don't go out for leisure drives much at the moment and I feel this will affect people choosing to come over in their cars for holidays this year if it continues to keep rising with a hell of a lot of knock-on effects to everyone.

[Gasbag<IMG src="http:forums.livingfrance.comimagesline.gif"><BR><EM>gasbag<EM><BR>]

hey guys and gals, seems i've touched on a touchy subject as far as prices go!!!

boghound, could you tell me what you mean by heat pumps, is this the type of of heating where you use the earth's natural heat source??

[Coco]

I'd never heard of the heat pumps until about 8 months ago and now the idea seems to be cropping up all over the place.  A Swedish plumber friend of ours was talking about them on Friday night (apparently they're very popular in Sweden).  Surely though, they must have quite expensive set-up costs?

[Boghound]

[quote]hey guys and gals, seems i've touched on a touchy subject as far as prices go!!! boghound, could you tell me what you mean by heat pumps, is this the type of of heating where you use the earth's nat...[/quote]

Yes. They have been around for years. Ours is 30 years old and made by Ciat of France. They are very popular in the States/Canada...where you can reverse flow and use them as air conditioners in the summer.

I already mentioned China as one of the reasons for the increase in oil prices but it is really being fuelled by a "jittery" trading market. The high price is because the producers are trying to slow down demand to build stocks back up again, and are pumping at full capacity at the moment.

[gjp23]

All the usual suspects appear here!  BUT, we met with our architect last week and raised 'alternative' fuels.  Solar was dismissed very quickly (despite residing in the comparatively sunny Lot et Garonne) due to very high installation costs, but geo-thermal seems to be a definitie runner.  I await some comparative estimates with interest.

Does anyone have any info on geo thermal to start me off?

Thanks.

[Boghound]

[quote]All the usual suspects appear here! BUT, we met with our architect last week and raised 'alternative' fuels. Solar was dismissed very quickly (despite residing in the comparatively sunny Lot et Garo...[/quote]

Do a search on the Web...you will be amazed at results! The insolation of solar panels for hot water heating is not that much in comparison to the cost of an electric water heater. A neighbour of mine has just had it done..and like most French..dislikes spending money...so he must have thought it was beneficial.

I have an eau/eau pompe a chaleur which is supposed to be the most efficient but you need a good water source.

[gjp23]

Thanks for the tip Boghound, although I'll limit my search in the first instance to English language web sites!!