ᐅ Replacing an oil heating system—what are the alternatives?

Hello
We have just viewed a house that we would like to buy. It was built in 2000. However, the house has an oil heating system, which I would like to replace. My question is: which type of heating would you recommend? Gas could be an issue since there is a connection in the street but not at the house. What about pellets or a heat pump? Also, what costs should we expect for removing and disposing of the oil heating system, plus installing the new heating system?
We are also considering installing underfloor heating in all rooms. What would that roughly cost for about 120 sqm (1,300 sq ft)?
Thank you very much for your help

I would keep the oil heating system running as long as possible, at least until all renovation work is completed. That way, you can determine the actual heating demand (required flow temperature, maximum heating load, consumption) over the course of a winter and plan the new heating system accordingly. Especially if insulation measures are still planned, it’s best to complete those before replacing the heating system.

Gas or wood are likely the most practical options, unless you are actually installing underfloor heating everywhere or other low-temperature radiators and the house is or will be well insulated. Then a heat pump could also be considered.

I’m not familiar with retrofitting underfloor heating, but it’s certainly not an easy task in an existing building: removing floors, redoing or milling screed. For a building from 2000, that doesn’t seem practical.

When replacing heating systems, there are usually subsidies available, so it’s worth researching that as well.

Hello, thank you for your reply. We still need to take action because the seller is asking for about 500,000 for the house. It was built in 2000, the plot size is 380 m² (4,090 ft²), and the living area is 130 m² (1,400 ft²). The tenants who lived there before paid around 1,200€ per year for heating oil.

Well, for a building from 2000, probably no insulation measures are really worthwhile.

Replacing the oil heating system is something I would also consider in the mid-term.
A heat pump is likely not an option without underfloor heating or replacing all radiators with low-temperature models.

Renewing the screed throughout the house is not necessarily required for underfloor heating. There are retrofit systems with a 2 cm (0.8 inch) installation height. However, I wouldn’t install that across the entire area.

I would go for gas when the heating system needs to be replaced.
Pellets only make sense financially in new builds with KfW Efficiency House 55 or 40 standards. Otherwise, it’s not cost-effective. You’re looking at roughly 12,000 (currency not specified) for a new system, and you have space for pellets thanks to the removable oil tanks.

Connecting to the gas network depends on the network operator. It should cost around 1,000–2,000 (currency not specified).
Dismantling the plastic oil tank: 500–1,000 (currency not specified).
New gas heating system: about 7,000–8,000 (currency not specified).
Solar thermal system: 5,000–7,000 (currency not specified) for heating support.
You can get around 2,500 (currency not specified) from BAFA and 1,200 (currency not specified) KfW grant. Possibly additional subsidies from local authorities or state banks, etc.

A new oil heating system usually costs around 1,500 (currency not specified) more than gas heating, so it’s about the same overall.

Hi, what exactly do you mean by saying that not a single insulation measure is worthwhile there? Because it is too old?

Hello, with heating costs of 1200 euros per year, it’s never really worth it; a well-maintained oil heating system runs quite well! I had it replaced back then anyway, but only as a medium-term solution. First, I had gas piping installed in the house, and that was it! After the oil heating system broke down after about 4 years, I had it removed. The steel 5000-liter (1320-gallon) oil tank cost 480 euros back in 2012, including disposal with an invoice. I dismantled the heating system myself and had a scrap dealer pick it up. The gas heating system cost 7500 euros, and consumption decreased by about 15-20%. Gas is clean, well established on the market, free of initial problems, and reasonably priced.

Regards