Daydream thread continues.....

Itismehonest

lostinrates wrote: »

Yeah, well.......or not worth it.

Never, ever again, Nope, no way. I'll freeze another year rather than go the pellet route again.

Any idea what heating system you'll go with, LIR?

ferretkeeper

Sorry LIR, I haven't read all the previous posts, but I gathered you'd had some sort of renewables issues, I don't want to make you go over it all again but briefly what probs have you had?

lostinrates

ferretkeeper wrote: »

Sorry LIR, I haven't read all the previous posts, but I gathered you'd had some sort of renewables issues, I don't want to make you go over it all again but briefly what probs have you had?

We'll...briefly,....it doesn't work. More fundamentally worrying is that the MCS and the bodies they deal with for complaints seem inept. It's one thing to have a bad experience with one company, but when the industry body cannot pull its finger out its a concern on a different scale.

This is no borderline issue, we have had independent reports done, the problems are many and range from the capability of the specific unit for the requirements we have to fitting issues and safety issues (ours had a fire in it). The company the,selves, sadly, have been foundt o be dishonest (we have recordings of them in our home:D ).

While we want to reach a solution through arbitration realistically its doubtful that it will happen, we expect it now to go to court.

lostinrates

Itismehonest wrote: »

Any idea what heating system you'll go with, LIR?

No, not yet.

The architect has gone back to the drawing board on it. The cheapest short term would be to bung oil back in, but over the long term it doesn't make sense if we can get a heat pump to work in some form.

Itismehonest

I see the Elfin Safety Exec. put out a warning at the end of last year because the stored pellets give off Carbon Monoxide.
This is, obviously, a bigger problem for those who store in larger volume or who work in the industry but an Irish domestic user died. There have also been a number of fatalities on the Continent across the years.
I'm presuming that the problem is surmountable by proper storage, cleaning & the use of good quality pellets (just as with other appliance CO problems) but it's something I've not even seen mentioned by the people flogging the systems online.

Denmark, who have used the systems for donkeys years, have a different sort of problem. They now have to import 90% of the pellets used. I'm not sure if this has had any effect on price/quality but it's certainly made it less of a green option than when they used local products.

ferretkeeper

My neighbour had a similar problem with a ground source heat pump, they went two winters with no heating (2010-11, flipping cold here for weeks), the person who installed was not qualified/at all familiar with the type, ground pipes were too small diameter therefore pump going like clappers and conked out, cost a fortune in electric, immersion went etc etc

They got it resolved in court last year and used the settlement money to put in an air source heat pump, seems to be ok but I didn't think good enough CofE here for that to be effective???

I really want to do something passive solar here, we've got a little porch on the west side of the house and it is warm all day from about midday - I can leave the inner door open and it warms the living room, it's got to be do-able here retrofit in some form or other...

But the woodburning appliances sound good to me, esp as we have some rome to grow coppice wood for ourselves and Wales isn't short on trees.

I do know of a VERY reputable company in mid Wales doing several types of renewables who really knew their stuff re pellet boilers but I had meetings/visits with several other companies and I was telling them what I needed, where it was to be installed and how it would link in with our existing heating system (electric boiler, don't go there :eek:)

There are some proper cowboys out there and it's hard not to be caught out, just had a sparky round this afternoon putting right a simple problem on a new installation because the people were rushing my job and turning up intermittently, fuses weren't even labelled correctly and half the sockets up and down are on a different circuit. I wish I had learned to trust my instincts with people sooner!

rhiwfield

ferretkeeper wrote: »

My neighbour had a similar problem with a ground source heat pump, they went two winters with no heating (2010-11, flipping cold here for weeks), the person who installed was not qualified/at all familiar with the type, ground pipes were too small diameter therefore pump going like clappers and conked out, cost a fortune in electric, immersion went etc etc

They got it resolved in court last year and used the settlement money to put in an air source heat pump, seems to be ok but I didn't think good enough CofE here for that to be effective???

I really want to do something passive solar here, we've got a little porch on the west side of the house and it is warm all day from about midday - I can leave the inner door open and it warms the living room, it's got to be do-able here retrofit in some form or other...

But the woodburning appliances sound good to me, esp as we have some rome to grow coppice wood for ourselves and Wales isn't short on trees.

I do know of a VERY reputable company in mid Wales doing several types of renewables who really knew their stuff re pellet boilers but I had meetings/visits with several other companies and I was telling them what I needed, where it was to be installed and how it would link in with our existing heating system (electric boiler, don't go there :eek:)

There are some proper cowboys out there and it's hard not to be caught out, just had a sparky round this afternoon putting right a simple problem on a new installation because the people were rushing my job and turning up intermittently, fuses weren't even labelled correctly and half the sockets up and down are on a different circuit. I wish I had learned to trust my instincts with people sooner!

FK, I looked at passive solar, particularly solar air heating and it might be worth your while looking at transpired solar walls. I believe Tata are making these for commercial premises and there is a study on currently to see how effective they are in residential properties. In due course these may qualify for RHI.

And DIY solar air heaters can be done for little money or you can buy a commercial one

But right now the westerly sun is nicely heating the lounge for the evening

Rummer

rozeepozee wrote: »

CTC, It is very expensive, but hopefully, as they are long term investments, worth it. Our tenants appreciate it, I hope. It's not just a means to earn money for us. We want to provide a good standard of living for the people who are good enough to allow us to live the life we do.

I found this really heartwarming

Tough day today and like many here I would like a wee mind break. It is tiring juggling things and just when I think I am getting places something else is thrown into the mix. Nothing serious has happened just an endless stream of problems that all need solving and my energy reserves are running low!

I think this weekend I am going to take some time out from the mental treadmill and try to focus on the bigger picture to see what I can do to make things better overall.

On the positive side I did tackle a big job today and it all went well, in fact better than expected

lostinrates

The pony who had passed her vetting yesterday failed today, on the blood test today (very bad liver readings)


Because I got quite stressed about it all (I think its just too soon for me after special girl) we've decided to not look again until after summer. Probably.

Itismehonest

lostinrates wrote: »

The pony who had passed her vetting yesterday failed today, on the blood test today (very bad liver readings)


Because I got quite stressed about it all (I think its just too soon for me after special girl) we've decided to not look again until after summer. Probably.

Wise - all things considered, I think, LIR.