Costs for a new gas installation can start at around £300 for a domestic property and can rise up to hundreds of thousands of pounds for larger commercial or industrial sites. Here are some suggestions from the 1Gas team to help keep costs down.
1) Be sure you know your maximum demand of gas
Installing a new gas pipe that is too big or too small could be more costly in the long run. If you order a new connection and meter that is bigger than you need, you may be wasting money unnecessarily. Costs increase significantly when bigger pipe diameter sizes are required. They start at 32mm, 63mm, and 100mm. A pipe which is too small may restrict the volume of gas you can access. Upgrading a gas pipe later will be disruptive and more expensive than getting it right first time. Ask your manufacturer or plumber for help working out your peak demand if you’re not sure.
2) Consider an internal meter position
Not all gas meters can be fitted inside a building, especially for higher pressure gas mains sites or where there is no space or safe position. However, if a meter can be internal, it may save money on not forking out for a gas meter box. Small meter boxes can start at £30 or so. Much larger meter housings can cost many thousands of pounds.
3) Dig the trench on your own land
On private property, a customer may dig their own land and excavate a tench for gas pipes to be laid in. For longer distances, this can offer a considerable cost saving so it may be worth exploring this idea.
4) Consider a meter position nearer the site boundary
The cost of connecting gas to a property is made up from many items. Distance, size of pipe, size of meter, technical difficulties, ground conditions can all vary the price. In certain circumstances terminating a gas connection in a stand alone meter housing on the site boundary can reduce the total distance of pipe we will be connecting, and subsequently lower the cost. It is generally accepted that the cost per metre of a plumber installing outlet pipework, is lower than the cost per metre of service pipe which connects from the mains to a meter.
5) Shop around
Like any business transaction, compare the market. At 1Gas, if we’re not cheapest we will try and match or beat our competitors. In most cases… we can. We try to make sure both our service and our prices are competitive.
