Heating for Barn on Moor for Holiday Use

GigiBee

Hi

We are in the process of converting a barn on the edge of Bodmin Moor and have got to the point where we have make a decision on the type of heating system to use. The barn will be primarily used for holidays and so will have relatively long periods during the winter where it is unihabited. To try and reduce the damp we have tanked the walls and plan to try and maintain a minimum internal temperature of 12C.

As there is no mains gas we are currently thinking of using an electric system with storage heaters on economy 7 to cope with the unihabited periods together with a wood burning stove with backboiler to boost the heating and hot water when we are there. For hot water we were considering an immersion heater or something similar that could work fairly easily with top up from the woodburner.

We have consider oil and LPG but the housing of boilers and tanks are offputting. We have looked at greener options such as solar (the roof faces east/west so not ideal) but the payback versus outlay doesn't seem to stack up. Ground source is no good as there is rock just below the topsoil. Heat pumps possible but not very pretty.

Would really welcome input and suggestions on this.
Thanks

Itismehonest

Slightly OT but if the place is to be uninhabited for long periods you are probably going to find it really hard to get insurance.

Heating-wise it's really down to personal preference.
The moors in the SW can be pretty cold & bleak in winter &, depending on the size & construction of the barn, you will need something that can keep a good background heat but also something which can really power up for when you are there or it may take days for the building to get warm.
Although much better than it used to be, the electricity supply on the moors can still go down during bad weather & being in the sticks you need to be prepared to be the last on the list to be fixed.
A range of heating is usually best. Don't forget the cooking, too. When the power is down, unless you have a generator on site it pays to have some other means to cook & heat water.

Cardew

If the barn has an inherent dampness problem, heating it to 12C or 22C will not solve the issue.

You should be able to let the internal temperature drop to 2C - or lower if you have drained down all the water.

Gloomendoom

I disagree about not heating to 12°C.

A couple of years ago we installed a modern heating system in the local church (c.1340.) It cost us a lot of money but we were advised by English Heritage (IIRC) that keeping the temperature of the building at not less than 12°C year round would help preserve the fabric of the building and minimise damp problems that were rife before the current gas fired system was installed. It seems to be working.

chris1973

Unless the barn is extremely well insulated, then storage heaters will probably be able to maintain the 12c, but won't be much use for main heating. I have storage heaters in a small rented property and some nights its bloody freezing, and this isn't a barn nor does it have a damp problem. Storage heaters work well in small houses and modern flats nestled in the collective heat and shelter of built up areas, and snuggled amongst other heated houses and flats, but they aren't much cop when it comes to completly detached and poorly insulated ancient farm buildings on open, wind swept moors. I know!, i've rented loads of them!.

If you have storage heaters, then you are also faced with paying over the odds for peak rate electricity, so any other daytime Electric heating that you use to top up the main heating (such as when the property is rented) will be using Electricity which costs around 1.5 to 3 times the rate as those on a non E7 standard tariff.

Solar produced Electricity, won't provide enough continuous power for multiple Electric Heaters, and besides, who wants their Electric Heating on in July when the Sun is the Strongest and the days are longest and warmest?. The time when the peak amount of heating requried is December!, when the Sun is the Weakest and its going dark at 3.30pm, the output from your expensive panels will be minimal and certainly won't be enough to run even a halogen heater on a dark December afternoon.

Personally, i'd be putting some of those thousands of pounds that you had earmarked for Solar Panels, into sorting out the damp problem, getting decent double glazing, and making the building as insulated and cosy as money can buy!, after all you are running a business and word of mouth is your best advertising, and ultimately nobody is going to recommend a property they were freezing cold in, and where they were left lying on damp clammy bedclothes every night due to the buildings' internal damp issues.

Also budget for a decent dehumidifier too, stopping the dampness coming back will help make the building fell warmer. It doesn't matter how much heat you pump into the building, if the damp and humidity is high, it will always feel uncomfortable inside, and 'clammy'.

Why does the property have to remain empty during the Winter?. I have Canadian Friends who tour different parts of the UK during Xmas and stop over here right into the New Year, and thanks to the success of Doc Martin overseas, I can only assume that many more tourists will be visting the area, and it will be something of a year 'round business especially amongst the outdoors types!- provided you have a decent website and market the property correctly.....and its warm and pleasant to stop in . Tourists, are like the Mason's, if they love your property and they have a comfortable stay, they tell all of their friends too

GigiBee

Thanks all for your replies.
We are insulating as much as we can within the constraints of the building and doing lots of waterproofing to try and stop water coming in. However it is an inherently damp location (but stunningly beautiful when the sun does shine)
With the relative costs, is electric heating the way to go or should we bite the bullet and put in a wet oil fired heating? Also does anyone have experience of using a woodburner with back boiler and can let me know the pros and cons?
Cheers.

111KAB

Cannot help with all your 'problems' but would have thought a re-look at heat pumps may be worthwhile.
Woodburner/multi fuel stove great so long as you have readilly available fuel source however you are still going to require hot water in the summer when your occupants will not want heating. Great for winter heating of both the building and the water but make sure you over estimate in terms of kw output as it becomes very onerous topping up fuel every two hours or so but at the same time if burner is located in a small room it can get too hot!!

muckybutt

What I would be tempted to do is put an electric wet system in, if the downstairs floors are concrete then insulate well and put underfloor heating in, then have rads upstairs.

You could still have a stove fitted and link it upto the wet system, there are some stoves that will goto pressurised systems without the need for a heat exchanger, but I would go for a vented wet stove with a H2 panel fitted to it.

Once the concrete floor slab got warm the system could be set to just tick over quite nicely.