½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

Hi
Sorry I can't help with LPG but electricity is about E0.748 per KWH for the first 1500 units, info from 'centralitalianhomes'
The following info I have copied from a previous post of mine

[url]www.magicalmarche.com[/url] at the top of the page select 'economics' scroll down and you will find a pdf file with lots of comprehensive detail re cost of living.

[url]www.centralitalianhomes.com[/url] select 'running costs' at bottom of page. Their electric costs have the decimal point in the wrong position.

[url]www.expatsinitaly.com[/url] lots of useful info on costs of living and other information about living in Italy.

Hope this helps

Stribs

Thanks...it's a start!

"We are most likely having geothermal/underfloor heating fitted"

I would be very interested to know how many KW of electricity this will consume. We looked into this technology and were told by various heating engineers that it will draw up to 5KW of electricity to power it at times. Obviously that isn't possible here as we have only 4.5kw for the whole house.

Were you told differently?

Penny.

How big is your house in terms of sq metres anyway?

I have to admit that 20 amps total (230v *20A = 4600kW) is the equivalent of one and a half UK plug sockets or effectively two thirds the equivalent of a single ring main in UK house. Depending on how many appliances you have running in your house you would likely experience 'brown outs' (dimming /flickering lights etc) when the pump started (see below) even if you could get a small heat pump.

Based on a ratio of 4:1 ie 1kW input of electricity equals 4kW of heat output you are talking around 20kW heat if you are inputting 5kW. In the UK, geothermal figures quoted on many technical websites suggest you need around 6-8 kW heat if you are heating a 120-150sq m house build to modern BS insulation standards. Obviously in Italy, insulation standards vary considerably but usually the climate is kinder. Even where we will live and the temperature drops to -12c on occasions that does not happen for days on end as can happen in the UK. Also bear in mind that Geothermal pumps and Underfloor heating are made for each other since both work best with water heated to around 40c. This is obviously more efficient than conventional radiators which need temperatures nearer 80c.

I stress I am not a heating engineer but I do have some electrical qualifications and I know that the biggest problem with electric motors etc is the initial load when a motor starts (Even desktop computers & hardrives can pull considerable ampage initiallywhen they start even if only for several milliseconds). Electronics & using capacitance to offeset the resistive loadings (leading and lagging etc) etc. can often reduce the initial loading (spike) on the supply when the motor starts up each time but large heat pumps like the ones you are talking about would probably require 3 phase (not possible in your case) and the supply company would probably ask you to disconnect it from the supply anyway.

There are a few web sites (UK based) that provide more details (unfortunately I am on my work PC and those sites are on my home 'favourites'). If you do a search around for 'ground source heat pumps' and 'KENSA' they may give you a 'starter for 10'. some sort of hybrid may MAY be possible with a lower power pump to 'pre-heat' the water and boosted by LPG unless If you have mains gas I would suggest that that is the way forward bearing in mind the initial cost of the pump, external excavations etc.

Thanks for the reply. It is interesting and shows they have a way to go with this technology yet to make it really "green". As I am sure you know, both electricity and gas are horrendously expensive here and we have a large house to heat so they are prohibitively so.

We have decided to get a 'Vulcano' fire which is closed in and heats the hot water and radiators, topped up by a solar panel which will heat the water in summer. There is a place near us that sell what they call 'gratis' which is compressed sawdust blocks for burning. They are very cheap, are compressed with steam (so no toxins) and seem to us a good way to heat until the wood we will be growing for coppicing is mature.

Ou r plumber did make an interesting comment though. We originally thought of using the Vulcano to provide underfloor heating (until we got the price!) but he said the water from the vulcano would have to be cooled as it is too hot for the underfloor heating! That seemed nuts to us so we decided on radiators.

Have just read an article in an ½ûÂþÌìÌà magazine re the cost of utilities in Italy. As has been stated they are horrendously expensive in comparison to the UK. A price increase is happening at the end of the year so it is only going to get worse. Only Denmark has higher electircity costs in Europe, UK was in 15th position with costs less than 1/2 those of Italy. Most have 3.3kw, you can opt for a higher level but pay more. The article stated the most economic means to heat house and water was the use of wood or pellet burners. You can get wood/pellet burning ranges here so one may be worth considering. I have never seen an AGA in Italy, I know they are incredibly reliable but servicing etc could be a problem in the future.
As a rough indication expect to pay Euro 0.70-0.80 per litre for GPL. The price does vary and is open to a certain amount of negotiation, but do not expect to pay much less.
Hope this is of some help.
Anne2

[QUOTE=Tekkytyke]
Obviously in Italy, insulation standards vary considerably but usually the climate is kinder. Even where we will live and the temperature drops to -12c on occasions that does not happen for days on end as can happen in the UK.
[/QUOTE]

I have to disagree, it can get extremely cold in Italy and can remain so for weeks at a time especially if you are in a hilly area and obviously more so if you are in or near mountains.
I think most people who move to Italy on a permanent basis are surprised at the extremes of temperature experienced throughout the year. This is probably emphasised in winter by the fact that few can afford to heat their houses to the same level that they would have done in the UK.
Regards
Anne2

[QUOTE=anne2]I have to disagree, it can get extremely cold in Italy and can remain so for weeks at a time especially if you are in a hilly area and obviously more so if you are in or near mountains.
I think most people who move to Italy on a permanent basis are surprised at the extremes of temperature experienced throughout the year. This is probably emphasised in winter by the fact that few can afford to heat their houses to the same level that they would have done in the UK.
Regards
Anne2[/QUOTE]
Tend to agree with you Anne, last winter was an eye opener for a lot of people, they also fail to take into account these houses seem to be designed to COOL quickly rather than retain heat, never mind ehh, wood pile filled again ready to slip into winter with a selection of fleeces and shrinking into one room ;) :)

Penny

Thanks for the response. I was aware that the two biggest running costs are likely to be heating/electrical and car insurance but I was a little surprised at the price Anne2 told me LPG costs per litre especially as Italy leads Europe on LPG car conversions and garage outlets.
I understand an AGA will use an average of 60ltrs per week and so we are not going to get much change out of £250 per month for our heating cooking costs etc averaged over a year. We are doing all we can to minimise this with the new roof having maximum insulation double glazing etc.

Incidentally putting Heat Pumps in perspective - Are you aware that 1:4 ratio of energy input to output far exceeds the best gas boilers available? Condensing boilers. long recognised as the most efficient type manage around only 90-95% efficiency - less than 1:1
(NO I don't sell geothermal pumps but believe they ARE the best way forward provided you can get the electricity supply and have no mains gas)
Have you any idea of the cost per kWh of electricity as AGA have launched a heat store cooker that uses a 13A plug and requires only 220kWh per week to run. It also impacts our geothermal costs. At a cost of 80p per litre for LPG otherwise it could be a close run thing! NOBODY seems to be able to tell me how much electricity costs - perhaps people open their bill with their eyes shut?

Where are you based? We are South of Macerata in Le Marche and have been told that there is a sort of 'climate dividing line' just north of Ancona where they get the Veneto/colder weather whilst where we are get slightly milder and shorter winters. That said, our friends were waste deep in snow this February where we will be and it lasted for days on end! Still if we were moving just for climate we'd go to live in the Canaries.... Ughh!!

Stribs thanks for the info. However I'm now CONFUSED...when you say that the decimal point is in the wrong position on the centralitalianhomes website they say that it is as follows:

First 1500 kWh ---> cents/kWh ---> € 7.48
1501-2100kWh ---> cents/kWh ---> € 22.97
2101-3000kWh ---> cents/kWh ---> € 12.64
>3001 kWh ---> cents/kWh ---> € 9.12

Given that your figure suggests that each KWh up to 1500 would be .748 euros that suggests it is 3 times more expensive than LPG at 80p per litre . (I base this on the fact that an AGA on LPG uses 60 litres per week and the 13amp equivalent uses 220 kWh per week -Both requiring the same energy input level.)

It also makes it approximately seven times more expensive than the UK which I find hard to believe
Other people suggest that electricity is approximately 2 to 2.5 times more expensive than in the UK which would put the figure nearer 0.22 -0.27 euros which ties in with the second band in the table above. Are you sure you've got this right?

Anne

Thanks for the info. AGA do export to Italy but only through an authorised dealer somewhere in northern Tuscany/Lunigiana. They have a network of installers/and service people in Italy so it can be done. However I have to weigh up the pros and cons in terms of using electricity ( they make one that runs on a 13 amp plug using 220 kWh LX per week) or an LPG one using 60 litres per week. I cannot for the life of me find the cost in euros per kWh in Italy as all the information I have had is conflicting - ranging from 10 times UK price to the same price...neither of which I believe! :confused:

[QUOTE=Tekkytyke] I was a little surprised at the price Anne2 told me LPG costs per litre especially as Italy leads Europe on LPG car conversions and garage outlets.
[/QUOTE]
It may be surprising but it's true. The rates were taken from our bills over the last few years! I do not quite know why having GPL delivered to your house for essential household purposes should cost so much more than the forecourt garage prices for cars, but it does. Perhaps there is some subsidy to encourage more drivers to switch over to GPL motoring?

As for the electricity pricing here is the list from ENEL, I think it dates from late 2002, prices are going up at the end of the year so you will need to allow for the increase. I cannot remember the % increase but it works out at an average of 47 Euros per annum.

Tariff D2 - residential rate (non-residents pay more) and for 3.3kW.
First 900kWh = 0.0577 euro/kWh
901 - 1800kWh = 0.0770
1801 - 2640 kWh = 0.1232
2641 - 3540kWh = 0.2165
3541 - 4440 kWh = 0.1972
4440 kWh + = 0.1232
There is also a fixed annual rate of Euro 1.92 and a cost of Euro/kW per anno of Euro 6.2400.

For Tariff UD4 ie 4.5kW
First 1500kWh = 0.0788 euro/kWh
1501 - 2100kWh = 0.2337
2101 - 3000kWh = 0.1304
3000kWh+ = 0.0952
Fixwd annual fee of Euro 83.64

I have double checked and all the decimal points and figures are correct!!!
ENEL's website is [url]www.prontoenel.it[/url] it may give more presice & up-to-date info.

Hope this helps. Happy calculating.
Regards
Anne2

[QUOTE=Tekkytyke]
NOBODY seems to be able to tell me how much electricity costs - perhaps people open their bill with their eyes shut?
[/QUOTE]

Like ½ûÂþÌìÌà bank statements bills from ENEL need some form of special decoder to fully understand their content! They could hardly be called 'user friendly' - meters are read just once a year and the rest of the time, unless you phone in your reading within three days of the next bill being issued, are based on estimates of your annual consumption. Most of us have probably just given up trying to understand, true of many other things over here, don't question just do!!!
Regards
Anne2

[QUOTE=Tekkytyke]Anne

I cannot for the life of me find the cost in euros per kWh in Italy as all the information I have had is conflicting - ranging from 10 times UK price to the same price...neither of which I believe! :confused:[/QUOTE]

Try here:
[url]http://www.enel.it/sportello_online/elettricita/tariffeelettriche/tariffe_per_la_casa/[/url]

We have just paid out first electricity bill and we are on D3 tariff (because we are non resident) and the cost per kw is quoted as 0.133700 per kw.
There is also an 'imposta erariale' at 0.004700 and 'addizionale enti locali' at 0.020400.

As well as 'quota fissa' at 4.69, dirito fisso of 48.11 IVA of 7.12, addebito deposito cauzionale of 15.49 and imposta di bollo su contratto of 14.62 the total amount (and we were only there for 12 days of the said period) came to 108.46 Euros and we had used just 64 kwh.

If anyone could tell me what the charges are for, i'd be grateful.
Im assuming there is a standing charge and a fee for changing the bill into our name in there (but have to admit I dont understand the other parts)

Best wishes, lesley

Oops, forgot to say... thankfully the meter somehow 'reads itself' and sends the info to ENEL so the 64 kwh we know is correct as we kept looking at the meter to see just what was happening whilst we were there - sad or what :D

Lesley & Brian

Hi Tekkytyke,

our house (when finished) will be about 480mq. Don't just think about the electric in terms of how many kwh something consumes (obviously that affects the cost) but also what supply can you actually have. We were told by ENEL that because of the type of supply to the house, we can only have 5KW maximum. If anything you have uses more than that you will constantly trip the electric which is a real pain.

We are in Montefalcone Appennino near Amandola. I dont know who told you it is warmer here than north of Ancona but I can assure you it is VERY cold here in winter. The nearer to the mountains you are the colder it is. Most people could not afford to heat their houses in the winter to the same temperature as in the UK. We wear lots of fleeces and two pairs of socks (and that's sometimes just in bed!). The snow lasted almost 8 weeks this winter!

This is the biggest reason we are not going to use gas or oil - it's just too expensive. I loved the idea of the Heat Pump but the reality is we will never have the kind of electrical supply to support it here.

Where is your house?

As this has been the hardest thing for me to get use to was how cold the homes were in the winter and i live in Calabria there are many ways to save money on heating costs and hot water. Do your homes have fireplaces? If so or if willing they have these thermal fireplaces that you buy, and with glasspanel that when building a fire inside of them has a boiler underneath so that the firewood goes into the pipes to make hotwater. It can also be attached to your radiators but this system only works in a smaller type home.
We do not have city gas and we were paying over 2500 euro yearly to heat up our villa and that is only having the heat on 2 hours in the AM and a few at night. As I wrote in another thread there is also a machine that you can put outside if covered which by using SANZO burns and also brings in hotwater and heat. Another one is a machine that looks like a burner that you fill with pelletts and this is the latest thing out in ITaly.

Hello

We are quite close to you actually at Ripe San Ginesio. I have to admit the nearer you get to the coast the warmer it seems to be. I know they had really bad snow this year but a number of people told us it is a very rare event for it to be so deep and so long lasting at that level. The temperature difference between North of Ancona and South of Ancona is 'relative' - locals we know say there is a sort of dividing line where the wetter weather arrives earlier and stays longer (one to two weeks) North of an invisible dividing line. I know what you are saying about cold though. We stayed a couple of days in an unheated room (except we got hold of a portable Calor Gas fire) and it was freezing at night and that was late February. All I can say is our place is a humble abode -only about 125-150 sq metres. We are having double glazing /new roof with maximum insulation available and fitting an AGA in the kitchen (probably) which will cost a small fortune in LPG gas during the winter months and we will probably switch it off during the hottest part of the summer. The Geothermal heating was suggested by our Geometra who did not think it would be a problem but who knows? He will probably have changed his mind when we go out the week after next to finalise things. We are not quite as rural and idyllic as we are buying to move permanently in our retirement so wanted practicality. We are just off the SS78 and the local Winery and a few small industrial units are quite close (although more or less out of sight) . I believe we will probably bite the bullet and apply for 6kW supply and hope we get it. If all goes horribly wrong I suppose we could always get a wood burning thermocucine. We have budgeted around £250 sterling average per month for our heating/lighting and electrics (fridge tv etc). Are you suggesting that won't be enough - Oh! and we have an 'escape' plan as we intend to go on holiday or 3 or 4 weeks of the coldest part of winter.

One thing - an 'on demand' heater for water is supposed to be good. The heat exchangers are far more efficient than they used to be so the flow rates are much higher. We intend to use the pre heated water (from the Geothermal heating) if we can to reduce the amount that the heater will have to boost the temperature by.

On the other hand -You may find me in a few years outside the church in Amandola with a begging bowl :-)

Tekkytyke
Sorry if I got you confused.
I started a thread some while ago entitled 'Electricty costs' querying the costs, I had a reply saying it was 0.748 E per unit, I thought that this was high but without any other facts I assumed it to be right.
I'm glad you started this thread as I may find out for sure.

Cheers
Stribs

Stribs

No problem

I did get my agent to e-mail me with details and he came up with the following..

The tariff is composed of:
* an annual fixed charge (euro/anno charged monthly)
* an annual fixed charge per unit of power (charged monthly)
* an amount per kilowatt hour (price of the energy and components A,
UC, and MCT)

To obtain the final amount in the bill you have to add:
* tax of Euro 0.0047 euro/KWh
* additional local council tax of 0.0204 for non-residents
* VAT

Tariff D3 for more than 3 kW or for any power for non-residents:

a) Components of the basic tariff
Fixed charge Euro/year 26.40
Charge for power supplied Euro/kW per year 15.48
Price of the energy Euro per kWh .1209

b) Components A, U and MCT Euro/kWh .0117

I did work it all out. Suffice to say I won't be getting an electric AGA. I was also surprised at the price of LPG gas (very expensive). :eek: Although the Geothermal is very competitive we are likely to opt for a pellet stove with boiler as pellets work out at 23.6cents per kg (inc IVA and delivery) and the boiler we are considering uses 10kg per day average (Ecologica Idro). They are clean and very sophisticated (90-93% efficient) although could be prone to breakdowns as they are rather complicated with remote controls etc. We have found the best combination is going to be either Geothermal with pellet stove in living room or a pellet boiler,+ solar heating to top up water in winter and heat water in summer plus a wood burning range. We will also use a two zone induction hob/combination microwave in summer when we can't be bothered/it's too hot :cool: to light the oven indoors (assuming we don't cook outside or eat out somewhere). We are also looking into one of those new domestic 1.5kW wind turbines :) (Swift I think) that cost around £1500 and attach to the side of the house. That depends on whether we get planning permission or not although they are quite small and very quiet apparently. We won't bother with that though until we move permanently.

This way we minimise the electricity used and eliminate LPG altogether :)

The pellit stove is the newest and latest thing everyone is buying. Great system and can be connected to all radiators.

Yes.. My mindset was still in England. My agent said "why not use wood" so I spent the entire weekend on the internet!!. The pellet boilers look fantastic with ash residue only needing emptying every month or so and the fact that the thing is programmable. Apart from loading it every few days it works like a gas boiler except it looks nicer. Wherabouts are you in Italy? How much do you pay for pellets and do you get them in 15kg bags or tanker and 'blower' pipe?
BTW do you know of any good Wood ovens? Most are very fussy with tiles etc as decoration and many look like they are a throwback to the '70s. We have found one made by a company called Sideros which looks OK and another made in England by Broseley but I do not know if they sell in Italy. We could get a Rayburn but they are quite expensive and you cannot connect them to a sealed system apparently. Also since we want to use a 'heat store' with mains pressure hot water via heat exchanger it is ruled out.

No dont use the wood. The pellet is the best and does not have a bad smell to them either. We unfortunely bought a similiar machine, but has to be stored on the outside of the house as we burn Sanza, which is stuff made from the grindings of oil. Has a bit of a crummy smell and of course cannot be used where their are homes all attached to each other. We use 30 kilo sacks. I know the pellits to warm up a smallish apt or home you need 1-2 sacks a day but not sure how big your sacks are. They are a bit expensive but in the long run burn slower then sanza. I think they are running 22 euro a quintale but not sure. I am located in Altomonte which is in Calabria in the pr. of Cosenza

The big stores have little wood burners, had the name calor, bit confusing really. Very pretty enamal with a hot plate on the top. Have know idea how good they are. Anyone?

[QUOTE=trullomartinafranca]The big stores have little wood burners, had the name calor, bit confusing really. Very pretty enamal with a hot plate on the top. Have know idea how good they are. Anyone?[/QUOTE]

You dont happend to have the name of that in ½ûÂþÌìÌà as I know more about them if you give me the name in ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ. I know sounds odd.

I was thinking along the lines of a Sideros Sogno Nero (www. Sideros.com) which looks (although is nothing like build wise) an AGA/Rayburn but costs a lot less i.e. 1200 euros approx (compared to 6000 euros for a Rayburn fitted and 10000 euros for an AGA -10% of my restore budget)

Does anyone know the going rate for split logs for stoves per ton?

Thinking of pellets they come in different qualities. It is usually important to note the level of humidity. We have been recommended to buy Austrian ones as they are considered to be the best quality with the highest calorific value and least ash ie the cleanest burn. You should be able to get these best quality ones for around €3.6 per 15Kg bag. If you are lucky you may be able to run a boiler from a pellet store - we don't have that much space in our cantina and our boiler has a 185Kg reservoir. If you intend to have the Idro in a living room I hope you will be able to hear it in operation before deciding. A local builders' merchant sells them and heats their showroom with one - the serpentine mechanism which delivers pellets is a loud clicking. Does the model provide enough for your whole house? I would see what your idraulico recommends and also visit all the local showrooms. Several of the leading companies have pellet stoves and some also run radiators and domestic hot water eg Calimax, Palazetti, MCZ, Wamsler and Edilkamin. They all have extensive websites and new models all the time. Some very fine pellet boilers are produced by Holz, Windhager etc but servicing or parts might be more difficult than an italian ones such as Lavia. Rather like steam engine technology and beautifully enamelled.

On wood burning ovens there are many brands and models. Again many builders merchants have catalogues of the leading brands and sometimes some on display. We have been told our fuel costs will be 1/4 of GPL and after four years the installation will have paid for itself. I would seriously consider this and take your time selecting. Feel free to PM if you want more info. We will be away until mid November warming ourselves for the first time with our new central heating system.

Thanks for the tip about noise levels - we will check that out before deciding what model to get(although as an ex-musician I am as 'deaf as a post' now anyway). Unfortunately, although Pellet stoves and boilers are plentiful, nobody seems to have got round to developing a pellet fired range cooker yet so we will have to use wood to cook with as we are avoiding LPG at all costs. We are hoping that with solar vacuum tube collectors heating a large heat store cylinder, the boiler will only be in action sparingly.

[QUOTE=Tekkytyke]

Does anyone know the going rate for split logs for stoves per ton?[/QUOTE]

In rural Le Marche, currently €13.50 per quintale, with 10 quint. to the tonne

It depends which wood you use as some run 16-17 a quintale.

Thanks for that

This is Bob not The Blonde
I am wondering if fuel oil is as expensive as LPG in Italy. Also is it readily available?

HI if you mean gas olio, yes there is plenty and is the second biggest method for heating homes in Italy. Can anyone tell me what nat. gas is as I want to buy a dryer in the UK and they said the dryer only takes natural gas. Do we have that here in ITaly.

nat. gas.... natural gas is town gas or mains piped gas.... fuel oil despite being readily available is the most expensive and most probably the most polluting form of heating....its a dirtier form of diesel.... i doubt anyone has an electric central heating system but if they did this would be the most expensive to run..... the cheapest of all the main types or normal run of the mill systems is natural gas or town gas...however you refer to it and coming in only slightly cheaper than fuel oil is the lpg type gas which is delivered and requires a tank....

...the italian consumer watchdog... a bit of a joke here really ...but anyway...at least they occaisionally publish a figure or two has worked out that we will all be paying a further e240 per year in running costs for the house this year...ie heating and cooking.... lights etc... if you can do the sums....the comapnies here are putting up prices by 5 % gas/electric... so it gives you a good idea of what a normal houshold spends each year....

... i wouldnt like to say what the gas oil price has arrived at.... diesel here has gone up by 20 % and now pretty well costs about the sterling equivalent of £1.00 per liter....

... in all i think you will find that if you can afford to install some of these more up to date duel forms of energy to help offset some of the running costs it is very nearly getting to the stage where they will pay for themselves in a reasonable amount of time.... an esential here is efficient outside shutters...ours are aluminium and seal shut with a leaver shutting out all wind and middle efficient double glazing...not the largest gap but the next one down.... this will save you a lot on the heating costs...

we spent our first winter here without modern windows and to be honest it was the coldest house i have ever lived in...with central heating based on gas oil we spent over e2000 on fuel and were never warm... and burnt something like 40 quintales of wood.... in a fireplace ...

when spring came our first job was windows... we chose aluminium for maintenance ease.... they cold and heat really gets at wooden fittings.... and they are also cheaper than wood... they do come in other shades rather than the gold ones you see on many houses and the wood effect ones ...which we havent used have got to almost the real wood look without the hassle..... next we converted the central heating system furnace to gas... town gas....it was a modern furnace and we just had the burner changed.... .. and finally put a wood burning stove which has a heating capacity of 300 m cube...

so now winters are comfortable...heating costs are down to italian normal size ... and at least when we spend all the money we actually feel warm..... just about...

as a final point we lit the wood burning stove at the beginning of the month.... evenings have got cooler and houses here generally feel cold quite quickly.... all the tiles and marble etc.... maybe a result of the difference in temps also as when you are used to the hot sunny days the sudden arrival of temps below 20/25 are sometimes a bit of a shock... we keep it running night and day... not at excessive heat ...but have found that to get a house warm at all hear takes about three days.... and once you build up the heat level in the walls ...in our case some being close to a metre wide... they tend to loose that cold ... we will burn about 30 odd quintale over winter ... along with central heating... but wood is easy to come buy... cost about e300 ... . for that amount and it always makes you feel warm.. so my question is how many of you have your heating systems on....how warm do you feel and are you surprised that in italy ...if this is your first time here in autumn/winter how soon or late you have started it .... and maybe what you think you will be paying this winter to keep comfortable...

I totally agree with you. These new modern ways are the best way to heat your homes as we use to spend over 2000 euro a year to heat our home and were always cold because of course you cant leave it on all day! Or would pay 3 or 4 times more that amount.
Question: if i bought a gas dryer from the UK that takes nat. gas is there a kit to buy to change it over to the gas they use here? As i know these kits exist. I can send you the website of where i found the gas dryer for more info..thanks for any answers.

Thanks for the Info Adriatica, shall be looking for an alternative.
Bob

bella... natural gas equals mains piped gas... so there should be no problems on the type of gas....your only problem would be on the pressure its delivered at ...and for that i am not technically qualified to answer... there will most probably be no difference... but i think this would be an important thing to check.... i know you can buy kits here for converting from lpg to town gas and vica versa.... and that is dependant on the size of the jets which is all to do with the pressure... cant you find the same machine here and feel safe then with your choice...

We dont have nat. gas in our town so you either have to get a bombalone or buy the small metal tank ones which i believe is propane? They have dryers here but they are electric and from past experiences do not work like the ones in the UK or the States so I think I will need a kit before buying one from the UK.
Here is the link of the dryer i was interested in..any input Thanks

[url]http://www.tradingpost-appliances.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=659&cat=27&page=1[/url]