Backup heating this winter

tedtooth

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and have only just started looking through, however I want to start off with a biggie!

My parents still live in the family home, a 3 bed Victorian house with high ceilings and poor insulation. The current source of heating is a large wood burner with a back boiler, running radiators plumbed in microbore pipework and also heating the hot water. There is a secondary woodburner which just heats the living room.

We have done quite a bit of work to try and improve the effiency of this system, all radiators have been flushed through to try and improve performance. We have put in loft insulation last winter, but the actual loft space is fairly small so little difference is made. All but 2 small windows have been double glazed, and thick insulating curtains are used throughout.

The past couple of winters the house temperature has been fairly low, and my dad is having to keep the fires stoked constantly to keep the house habitable. The advantage of this system however is cost, he worked in the timber industry for 45 years, so has an inexhaustable source of free or low cost firewood, and he has been reluctant to look down any other options. Average electricity bills are around £200 per quarter.

To gear up for winter, I am researching various options to try and help out and reduce the load. My Dad has looked at getting a couple of gel filled electric heaters for the main living spaces however I am not convinced. I would like to get a better solution, maybe going down the air source heat pump or a gas boiler route. The gas supply was removed from the house 20 years ago, but I'm sure there wouldn't be too much of a problem to reinstall it, aside from digging up my mum's beloved garden! Also my parents would appreciate minimal upheaval to the house, they have done a lot of redecoration over the past couple of years and don't want to do it all over again.

Lastly, to make things even easier, I am over in Australia with a pregnant fiancee trying to please everyone! I am a qualified electrician and electrical engineer, although I am working currently in retail management.

Please someone help me through this minefield!!

hethmar

What a good son Firstly, what do the parents want? It doesnt sound a lot of fun at the moment for them. They seem to have a mish mash of appliances and sources of heat and yet are still cold.

My OH fits woodburners and he has always told customers that using one with a back boiler isnt a great option.

If your parents are getting older, do they really want to be carrying loads of wood into the house all the time?

Persuade them to get the gas reinstated and have full CH - it will be so much easier for them. The two woodburners (the boiler will be disconnected) can then be used as back up heat in the very cold weather, so dad still feels he is getting his bargain wood

albyota

Hi tedtooth, welcome to the forum,
Your best bet is to see what the costs of getting the gas reconnected, as for the moment, gas is the cheaper in running costs, if getting gas to the premises is too costly, then, and only then, consider a heat pump, but if to provide whole house heating and hot water, I would suggest the high temperature (up to 80 degrees) Daikin altherma HT, but to give you an idea of costs circa £8.5K, whereas a gas boiler would cost £1,500ish fitted, plus the cost of the gas reconnection, I personally wouldn't advise oil or LPG, but these do work for some people so don't rule them out if there is room for tank/s, alternatively, if he wants to continue burning wood, I would suggest taking out the existing hot water cylinder and replacing with a DPS 300L vented thermal store and connect the back boiler to it along with a Mitsubishi Ecodan heat pump. If on a low budget, I'm afraid direct electric or night storage would be the lowest capital cost.

Igol

Insulation, insulation, insulation.

Theres little point in chucking money at new systems until the place is insulated and the heat is staying put to do some good.

Once thats sorted then start looking at other options.

You havent mentioned the walls and what about doors and pipe lagging?

YORKSHIRELASS

Do they have cavity wall insulation? They may be able to get this free or low cost. The energy saving trust would be a good place to start.

I can see your good intentions but I just wonder whether they see it all as a hassle and would rather stay as they are. I have been through similar issues with my own parents!

My Mum and Dad have electric storage heaters which are fine generally but when the weather gets really cold - as last winter - they both admitted that the house wasnt really warm enough. They live in a privately rented house and refuse to buy additional electric heaters because of their electric bills. My parents have never had central heating and dont like the idea!

If I was in your position I would be more worried about the practicalities and safety issues of running heating on woodburners. It sounds like a lot of work for your Dad.

tedtooth

Thanks to everyone for your quick replies.

To clarify on a couple of issues, they did look at getting cavity wall insulation but they have had issues with damp in the house already and are worried about insulation making issues worse. I may work on them if it's going to make a big difference, but I'm tempted to agree with them thinking a lack of air space between the walls will cause damp. All outside doors are fairly new, and all have draught excluders on.

My Mum was looking for an easy solution, since she would like to leave shortly, but she has been planning to leave for a few years and hasn't got anywhere yet. I think that they may stay longer if they are more comfortable, hence why I am now trying to help out.

I had thought the gas option would probably be the best, just trying to convince them that the outlay and extra running cost is worth the hassle. Any extra facts to argue my case would be much appreciated.

hethmar

Can you get someone like Age Concern to nip round and see them?

Oh and get over to the gas and electric heating board to get some expert back up:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13