Gas vs Electric in a Motorhome, which costs less?

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Gas vs Electric in a Motorhome, which costs less? | Winter van life

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Күн бұрын

With the ever increasing energy prices we thought it was time to do back to back winter testing of mains hookup compared to a refillable LPG Gaslow system, Will it be cheaper to use the campsites electric @£0.53 pence per KWH or LPG @89.9 pence per litre?
We are now seeing more campsites adopting Electric payment meters on their pitches as they are subject to the same increases in energy costs.
For this test we have a Adria Sonic I600SP, a pretty well insulated Motorhome with Truma Combi 4E heating system, during the nights the average temp was -4 degrees Celsius and the days were about 4 degrees.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments about the test.
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Пікірлер: 65

@asaandthemarchharepart2903 Жыл бұрын

Interesting test Jon. I thought gas would of been better, but was not expecting it to be such a massive difference. One hell of a difference, wow. Take care and safe travels both X

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks, yes I was surprised how much electric we used.

@lizhayward2503 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing that info Jon. It'll definitely help when I eventually go Motorhome shopping. Seems like having a mix of energy sources for full-timing is a good idea. 👍

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Hi Liz, thanks for watching and commenting yes even though electric is more expensive it is still good to have another option. We also have diesel heating in addition to what we already have to give us another fuel source.

@LeisureBit Жыл бұрын

Really shocking the price of electric at the moment and more and more sites seem to be going to meter understandably - interesting on the gas use amount too. All the best, David 👍

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting David, yeah the cost is high considering they want everyone to go electric, at the moment it seems that fossil fuels are actually cheaper for our usage case. Yes the gas usage was a lot less than I thought considering the fridge was on gas and we were cooking using the gas as well.

@davidmarek72 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for doing this Jon.

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

No worries! It was an interesting result, I would of said that the electric would have been cheaper before I did the test. 75% of the power use was the Truma Combi running on "EL2(1800W)", even if you select 1800W the Truma will automatically step down to 900 watts when it gets close to the temperature you have selected, the problem with this in low temperatures is it then means the Truma is just pulling 900W all day and night.

@HelenandMartinsTreks Жыл бұрын

Very interesting John thanks for sharing this Helen and Martin

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Ah thanks guys, we are loving your European series of videos, im guessing you don't need too much heating down there at the minute? 😜

@HelenandMartinsTreks Жыл бұрын

@@lifebeyondbricks Sadly we are now back as we ran out of days - hence our interest in heating 😂. There are three more vids in the que though. Best wishes H and M

@paulvose3177 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for that Jon, really interesting and useful information. We will definitely switch over to gas when we are on a metered campsite now.

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting, glad the video was of some assistance.

@tonyflanagan5682 Жыл бұрын

Interesting comparison thanks John

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting, I was surprised myself with the results.

@Happyinmyautotrail Жыл бұрын

This is interesting and there seems to be a trend of KZfaqrs getting rid of gas. I can’t help thinking it’s a mistake. Summer fab with lots of solar. Winter pah with nothing. Gas works soooo well in a motorhome. Everything works better on gas.

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting, 😂😂😂 Yes there does seem to be an overwhelming trend at the moment, I think a lot of it is due to DIY and Self builds are much less complex if you don't include Gas as you should be Gas qualified to install any gas component (there are a lot of safety standards that MUST be adhered to). It makes sense to not have gas if you chase the sun to Southern Europe in the winter months but for us it doesn't make sense. I would always say if you spend extended periods of time in your van it definitely makes life less stressful to have multiple energy sources. When it comes to heating a motorhome you can't argue with the efficiency of LPG, most fossil fuels in fact are so energy dense there isn't much that compares to them even now with all the tech that is out there.

@Happyinmyautotrail Жыл бұрын

@@lifebeyondbricks completely agree. We wild camped in Scotland over Christmas and new year. Freezing cold with 60mph wind, park up stick the gas on and toasty warm in less than 5 mins. It’s such a fab resource and we are still on the same 13kg bottle 3 months later. We do use calor at the moment but are considering whether it’s worth it for us to change to refillable. But I’d never not have gas at all.

@RollingwithTheRobsons Жыл бұрын

That was a great video there John. Some people would say if they have solar etc they can survive in the summer with that. Issue is you have to spend quite a bit of money on a standard motorhome to get it ot that point. In the winter not much chance really using electric all the time unless again spent insance amount of money on lithiums, B to B, etc

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting mate, I think as long as you have a minimum of 120Watt solar panel and decent AGM 100ah leisure battery it is doable in summer, the only issue is heating you just can't supply enough energy from the batteries and then replace the energy used, Our new Ecotree lithium is 230AH but that is only 2.9KWH of energy storage so could run the heating for 1:20 hours in theory, and I Agree it was well expensive. 😜

@kevinhughes9801 Жыл бұрын

Nice one thanks John

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it, I didn't expect quite that KWH usage on electric to be fair.

@TheMattK2011 Жыл бұрын

Same outcome I had, even two years ago heating by LPG at 80p a L was cheaper that electric at 17p per KwH. Luckily LPG has not increased in price as much as other fuels :) but the lack of availability near me is the problem now. Good video thank you.

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting, Yeah fossil fuels are just so energy dense when compared to electric some of the problem is the Truma combi heating elements are just an add on to an existing Gas heater, all the heating manufacturers for motorhomes in fact have designed the systems around Gas or diesel. Yes we found even 3 years ago before LPG was removed from many fuel stations wasn't always easy to find, funnily enough though around Shrewsbury (where we are based at the moment) we are very lucky to have an LPG station at the end of our road, and then in Telford the main motorway services has it. Good to see that Morrisons plan to still keep their LPG refilling and Gasit, Gaslow now offer refilling as well.

@TheMattK2011 Жыл бұрын

@@lifebeyondbricks Luckily it's still easy to get LPG in Europe and that's where we will be spending our time from October onwards :) another benefit of using LPG instead of electricity is the power output, in my case with a 6E, 6kw output instead of 1.8Kw in electrical mode, give very rapid heatup :)

@BentleyOnTour Жыл бұрын

Hi Jon, really interesting comparison. I came to the same conclusion when looking to stay at campsites, who I think charge way too much for electric, often £5-£7 per night higher than a non electric pitch. I use 6kg bottles still which I can get locally for £25. They will last me 12 nights, so around £2 per night. Doing non electric pitches is therefore 1/3 of the cost! All the best, Martin (talked to you at NEC. Tall bloke. Toyah😁)

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting Martin, yes I remember you. Enjoyed your trip to Stonehenge, didn't realise they had motorhome bays, as a longstanding English heritage member we will have to go and visit when we are back down south. When we first moved onto our motorhome we stayed at droveLee campsite next to Titchfeild Abbey and they have had electric meters for years we were doing £5 a night back then as the Truma wasn't working on gas.

@BentleyOnTour Жыл бұрын

@Life Beyond Bricks Ooh dead chuffed that you watched my Stonehenge video 😁. Yes good parking for motorhomes. Noted the Drove Lee camp site for future. If you are this way again go to Old Sarum. Well worth a visit 😆😉. Take care

@dorismosley2107 Жыл бұрын

We went to Braemar campsite for three nights last weekend where they now meter the electric ⚡️ we worked out it was £7 to £10 per day in -3ish, we switched it to gas to the Alde heating up to temperature when we got back to camp each day. The cost of the electric was much lower than 50p per unit or we would have been more like £10 to £13. The campsite charges themselves have also gone up so it’s double whammy I’m afraid. Good thing it’s only costly for the electric at this time of year, roll on the sunshine and free solar power 😊 Next time we will defiantly take plenty of gas and try that for cost comparison.

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting Doris, That's interesting, I am keen to test a motorhome with Alde heating as I thought they would be far more efficient than the Truma running on mains hookup as the Heating elements are directly in the radiator fluid so your findings are definitely food for thought. You are right, during the summer months we are totally self sufficient as we don't need the heating, or we could just case the sun into Europe during the winter months 😜

@wheelersinthewild Жыл бұрын

Jon thank you for sharing, we’re busy right now trying to figure what it will cost when we go full time, we’ll be be upgrading our camper to a motorhome of a similar size and type so that’s really interesting to know, I knew electric would be expensive but the cost of gas wasn’t as bad a thought and obviously far cheaper than what we’re paying to heat the house at the moment, our bills have trebled and set to go up even more. Campsite looks nice, surprised at how many are there, are they all occupied or do they have a whole season pitch they’re leaving their vans on? Hope your both well and the kitty cats too. xx

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting, Glad the video helped even I was surprised with the results. Our Adria I would say is quite well insulated but as soon as the outside temperature goes below 5 degrees celcuis it is always a battle to keep the cold out. There is lots you can do in a motorhome to keep more heat in, insulated internal cab curtains help hugely as most motorhomes loose a massive amount of heat from the cab area. Most of the units on site are seasonal pitches so they are not allowed to have the heating on or electric hooked up whilst not occupied, The campsite are in the process of installing meters on all pitches as the cost of electric has increased so much. Us and the Cats are all good thanks.

@wheelersinthewild Жыл бұрын

@@lifebeyondbricks Thanks Jon will bear that in mind about cab curtains, we want a European motorhome because they seem to be better insulated and winterised. xx

@evelynspanner2963 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting, thanks.

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting, Glad you enjoyed it.

@Tintin1902 Жыл бұрын

We’re burning through a lot more gas than that at the moment - probably the same quantity in 4 days not six (one 11kg Gaslow bottle ~20litres). But we have a standard Thetford 3-way fridge so maybe that’s the difference. And we drink a lot of tea so boil the kettle a lot 😂

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting Joel, Yeah that is the same fridge type as ours just from a different manufacturer (ours is Dometic) sometimes people refer to them as heat absorption as that is the technology used to get the cooling effect however I probably should of said three way fridge 😂, your gas usage may be totally normal as many external factors can effect the amount of gas used.

@swdman1234 Жыл бұрын

I’ve got the Safefill 10 kg bottles and love them. My Bailey also has Alde heating so I’ve no idea which is the most efficient. However I prefer the quality of the heat from the Alde. Loved the “B” roll and drone shots. Where was Tash? Cuddling the girls no doubt. I find ours are like little hot water bottles.

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Yeah Safefill are a brilliant option, I would prefer the Alde system to be fair so if I find a Sonic supreme 710SL I would seriously consider it as that has the Alde system.

@DA11NOON Жыл бұрын

Thanks that was a great vlog 😀

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it

@garrystacey7018 Жыл бұрын

Interesting video thank for sharing 👍

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks

@denisecafferky2248 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting.

@PK_Blinder Жыл бұрын

It's shocking how much electricity charges are now. I'm full-time and still run as much as I can on gas. You're gas costs are quite high aswell. Here in Cannock its 73p a litre and can be as low as 68p... 👍

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting, When it comes to heating comparisons LPG is just too energy dense for electric to win, I will have a look at some of the very latest heat pumps to see if their efficiency is any greater as I am interested. I wish gas was that cheap in our area.

@PK_Blinder Жыл бұрын

@@lifebeyondbricks I you ever pass Wolverhampton just off Junction 2 of the M54 is Carvers...

@bonehead2412 7 ай бұрын

Gas for heating and fridge on eletric what ive been doing at the camp site 35p kw every 2 week i use 2 gaslow bottles

@lifebeyondbricks 19 күн бұрын

Thanks for watching, yeah that's quite a good way to do it, although we were paying a lot more than 0.35pKWh

@deanwilsher8189 Жыл бұрын

Interesting info. Thank you. Have you looked at diesel heaters. Heard good things about them.

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting, yeah we have a diesel heater as well which works well, we mostly use it when we are touring and can't easily get refillable LPG. Would like to do a cost comparison using the diesel heater but it has warmed up now so probably won't be able to replicate the same test conditions, obviously diesel is hugely more energy dense than LPG so you get more heat from less fuel but diesel is more expensive and it feeds from the main fuel tank so can't use red so it would be a very interesting test.

@deanwilsher8189 Жыл бұрын

@@lifebeyondbricks Appreciate your reply. Lpg refillable is undoubtedly the cheapest option but seems to be harder and harder to find refill points. All the best.

@karlospappy8908 Жыл бұрын

Interesting vlog Jon, how much more expensive would bottled gas have been? so glad my new van comes with a tank after Calor's latest debacle. I've switched to using the gas hob at home as much as possible rather than one of the ovens or grill as they are electric. Ridge Monkey has come in to it's own when there are only the 2 of us. Cheers K.

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks Karlos, The Calor announcement has certainly caused a bit of a stir, a 13kg exchange/refill is about £47 so double the price of refillable (for my test would of worked out about £9 a day as I used just over 1 13kg bottle). It is a shame that electric has become so expensive because in terms of the planet would be much better if we could stop burning as much fossil fuel, but that said they are stupendously energy dense.

@HeidiPriest Жыл бұрын

Thats crazy on electric

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting, Yeah I think part of the problem is the Truma Heating elements are just an add on to an existing system that was designed for gas so not very efficient and it doesn't help with the cost per KWH going up so much.

@michaelfuller1669 Жыл бұрын

Lpg in Northamptonshire at morrisons is79.9 litre

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Nice, I would prefer to pay less but very lucky that we don't have to travel far to fill up.

@maryt2422 Жыл бұрын

I have a T6 camper with a small gas locker currently using campergaz 907 bottles. Only use for cooking but wondering what to do if they stop supplying cannisters same as Calor

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and commenting Mary, I don't think Campinggaz will get rid of their refillable bottles as they are still very profitable with the boom in campervan sales and they are still used at home for BBQ's, I think for Calor it was a no brainer as the smaller 3kg bottles were very seldomly used. There are a few underslung refillable tanks available for the T6 so I think you will always have an option.

@johnWest19657 Жыл бұрын

50 p kWh.? Thought it was 34p ?

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

Yeah that's what we get charged by the campsite, I think £0.34 is the average cost of supply to residential properties so I guess campsites get charged more as they are not residential.

@johnWest19657 Жыл бұрын

@@lifebeyondbricks think the campsite is robbing you,!! We stayed at a campsite last week and it was 34p kWh

@lifebeyondbricks Жыл бұрын

@@johnWest19657 That's good to know what you have been charged, I have heard of KWH charges a lot higher than what we are paying so I guess it vary's, to be fair to the campsite they have only just started charging us so as we have been there through the winter I suspect we have used about a million KWH so far that we haven't been charged for so don't mind paying for the odd day at that rate, but we will be coming off grid so to speak from now on and only using gas. 😜