Why do so many specifiers and businesses not replace old inefficient oil boilers with modern high-efficiency LPG boilers? Historically there have been a number of reasons. However, there have never been so many financial, social and operational benefits that an LPG heating solution can now offer, over oil. Keith Higginson, Calor’s commercial marketing manager, suggests that LPG could now be the most viable heating fuel for rural businesses. Calor is on a mission to set the story straight for LPG by revealing its advantages over oil, to off-mains gas businesses. Any business or heating consultant intent on reducing heating costs and lowering carbon output need look no further than the cost effective, environmentally friendly option of a modern LPG-based heating system. "Thanks to recent developments in technology certain LPG boilers solutions can now offer much higher ‘heating system’ efficiencies, and therefore, greater savings than new oil boilers," he said. "Before we consider these, let’s first tackle some of the reasons why LPG has too easily been dismissed in favour of oil. "Calor’s experience suggests that LPG has often not been the specifier’s first option when considering replacements options for an existing oil boiler. As a consequence LPG’s benefits are not even considered or compared. We have also found that when LPG was given consideration, it was regularly dismissed based on historical views about the product, rather than the modern energy solution that Calor can now offer.

1. Why do so many specifiers and businesses not replace old inefficient oil boilers with
modern high-efficiency LPG boilers? Historically there have been a number of reasons.
However, there have never been so many financial, social and operational benefits that
an LPG heating solution can now offer, over oil. Keith Higginson, Calor’s commercial
marketing manager, suggests that LPG could now be the most viable heating fuel for
rural businesses. Calor is on a mission to set the story straight for LPG by revealing its
advantages over oil, to off-mains gas businesses. Any business or heating consultant
intent on reducing heating costs and lowering carbon output need look no further than
the cost effective, environmentally friendly option of a modern LPG-based heating
system.

2. As a consequence LPG’s benefits are not even considered or compared. We have also
found that when LPG was given consideration, it was regularly dismissed based on
historical views about the product, rather than the modern energy solution that Calor can
now offer.
"Supply contract, tank and pipework installation, plus the physical heating solution, can
now all be offered in one simple end-to-end process. Calor can even arrange removal of
your existing oil tank and boiler. "With many old oil boilers running at below 50%
efficiency, the temptation has been to simply upgrade the appliance to a modern, high
efficiency, oil boiler and financially benefit from a sizable efficiency gain. However,
switching to certain LPG boiler systems can deliver even higher efficiency gains that more
than cover the costs associated with switching to a new fuel."
In conjunction with a specialist heating partner, Blades Low Carbon Systems, Calor has the
potential to propose LPG heating solutions that operate at even higher efficiencies than
new oil systems. Higher efficiencies result in lower year-on-year fuel costs and swifter
paybacks.
"Thanks to recent developments in technology certain LPG
boilers solutions can now offer much higher ‘heating system’
efficiencies, and therefore, greater savings than new oil
boilers," he said. "Before we consider these, let’s first tackle
some of the reasons why LPG has too easily been dismissed
in favour of oil. "Calor’s experience suggests that LPG has
often not been the specifier’s first option when considering
replacements options for an existing oil boiler.

3. Through Blades Calor can also provide access to finance -
subject to terms and conditions. An LPG boiler solution from
Calor and Blades can, in many circumstances, deliver fuel bills
reductions that more than cover both fuel switching and
lease costs – thereby easing a client’s monthly cash flow and
improving monthly profits. The savings are achieved by
delivering heightened efficiency to a building’s whole heating
system - without the need to replace the building’s existing
radiator system or pipe work.
Indeed, the savings occur within a fairly broad LPG price band, meaning that savings, to a
greater or lessor extent are still maintained in spite of price fluctuations. Oil prices
fluctuate significantly throughout the year compared to LPG prices, so switching to LPG
enables clients to budget more accurately. As already intimated, the overall running costs
of a system, its capital cost and true operating efficiency is more important than the price
of the fuel. Unlike many heating systems, a Blades system has designed-in elements that
both boost efficiency and ensure the system’s peak efficiency is maintained at all times.
"Many oil or LPG condensing boilers seldom run anywhere near their quoted efficiency
limits as they are not fully compatible with the building’s existing radiator system," added
Keith Higginson. "This is not the case with a Blades system installation which is designed
to run efficiently with old radiator systems. Indeed, when calculating operating efficiencies
and fuel savings, the Blades team always leans towards conservative estimates, so that
quoted fuel and carbon savings are achieved, if not bettered, in practice.

4. "Having established that an LPG system can actually be
cheaper than oil, CalorForce, Calor’s in-house engineering
and installation team, will be on hand to complete any
necessary work to switch from oil. Wherever your business
is based, CalorForce can manage the installation of the new
LPG installation and if required, we will arrange for the
removal of the old oil tank. The team will also take care of
the appliance installation and commissioning."
When an LPG supply contract is signed, the storage tank remains the property of
Calor, which is also liable for its insurance and continued maintenance. Calor also
offers variable direct debit payments to minimise administration, and will happily
install its ‘ThinkTank’ technology free of charge. ThinkTank is a remote tank
contents monitoring system that keeps an eye on your LPG level. Top-ups are
instigated by Calor so clients do not have to worry about ordering or running out of
fuel.