“It’s brilliant how quickly the water heats now”

A Cookstown man has been talking up the benefits of natural gas after he recently made the big switch from oil in the Adair Avenue area of the town.

 

Colin Wilson’s interest in the heating system was piqued after he received a flyer from SGN Natural Gas through the letterbox, with details of a special offer extended to all new customers. That flyer proved to be the beginning of a journey which would eventually lead to a generational transition to natural gas.

 

He said: “Changing heating systems has always been in the back of my mind, but I’ve never been in any particular rush to do it. That changed when I got the flyer through the door offering a £500 discount off the installation price of natural gas heating in my home – it made me do a bit more investigating before contacting SGN Natural Gas themselves.

 

“I phoned and got put in touch with the sales rep, Danielle, who was able to answer all of my questions perfectly and informed me of other details I wasn’t aware of. I then decided that this sounded ideal, and we pressed on with installation.”

 

Colin worked in the control room of Lafarge Cement in the County Tyrone town before his retirement in June of last year. It was following this that he and his wife first started to weigh up the pros and cons of different forms of heating.

 

He explained: “It’s not too long since I got a condensing oil boiler installed, but we started to look at the long-term benefits of natural gas and explored how much we might be able to save over a period of time. It will take a while using it to gauge the difference, but it’s definitely a much cleaner system. Oil prices are also quite volatile, which is always a worry.”

 

Oil and solid fuel use are prevalent in the west of Northern Ireland, and SGN Natural Gas is slowly making a difference by introducing a much cleaner, more environmentally friendly fossil fuel in natural gas. But for Colin, there is one thing that really stands out – the hot water!

 

He said: “The really big difference between oil and gas for me is the time it takes to heat the water. I remember waiting for what felt like an age for it to heat up with oil, and now with natural gas it’s almost instantaneous. No need for an immersion heater either – just turn the tap on and you’re flying. I have a new shower installed too and it’s ideal with the gas.”

 

Colin remarked: “I can’t take too much credit for the garden as my wife has been keeping herself busy in it this last while. The extra space made available after the oil tank was removed has also made a big difference – it’s remarkable how much room they actually take up.” 

 

Natural gas has so many benefits, and Colin was eager to sum up his experience with SGN Natural Gas while recommending gas to others who may be on the fence with just one word: “convenience.”