Which Source of Heating Should We Choose?

JohnSC

Hello! My first post

We need to choose a heating solution for the following scenario and I would appreciate some guidance:

We're buying a two bedroom, two reception room detached bungalow, built in 1958, which needs refurbishing and modernising. We will be extending it to add an additional bedroom and reception room, replacing all of the floor coverings (the floors are concrete), replacing the kitchen and replacing the bathroom. The pitched roof is made of concrete tiles and it has south and north facing elevations. The garden is to all four sides with the main garden being south facing. It has a chimney, cavity walls and modern double glazing. We need to replace some of the sealed units and we're assuming that we will also update the loft insulation and replace/top-up any deficiencies in the cavity wall insulation. It has Economy 7 but we will be rewiring the entire property anyhow. Besides an open fire and two old storage heaters, there is no heating system installed. And as we're in rural mid-Norfolk, mains gas is not available.

For aesthetic reasons, we are leaning towards underfloor heating. We considered a wood pellet biomass set up but suspect that the size of the boiler, need for a boiler room and a fuel storage facility, plus the scale of the up-front capital costs, make it a less favourable option. We would like to be as green as possible but without paying through the nose for it. And we want to ensure low running costs, as our income is more likely to decline than to grow. We are committed to staying in the property for a long time (10+ years) so we are prepared to commit a reasonable up-front amount of money if the payback is there in the end. There's just me, the missus and the dog to heat and we will be at home during the day a lot, as we will be running a home-office.

So... what would you choose and why?

lovesgshp

You do not say how large the house will be with all the alterations etc. If your garden area is large enough, consider a GSHP, especially if you are going for UF heating

JohnSC

Geotherm wrote: »

You do not say how large the house will be with all the alterations etc. If your garden area is large enough, consider a GSHP, especially if you are going for UF heating

The house is about 94 square meters now and we're going to be adding about 20% to that.

lovesgshp

If insulation levels are good, then you could be looking at a 9kw output heat pump, maybe even lower. We have a 11kw unit here with integral 160ltr hot water tank, in a 120 sq mtr low insulation house @ 400 mtrs altitude and close to mountains.
Not likely to be your situation though, as used to live in Norfolk!!!

Cardew

With you home all day and considering underfloor heating, I would wait and see what the exact position will be with RHI as Heat Pumps may well be a 'no brainer'.

Also it is possible/probable that the subsidies available from RHI for a heat pump will depend on high standards of insulation. It will be easier to meet these during refurbishment.

JohnSC

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking about installing Rointe heaters...

The total plot size is about a third of an acre. The ground is flat but on a very gentle slope. We have allotments to the rear, roads with fields adjacent to two sides and a field immediately adjacent to the other side.

I thought that the Green Deal and RHI FIT announcements were due on 1st October but have they been delayed?

Canucklehead

OP: take at look at the HHIC website.

HTH

Canucklehead

lovesgshp

JohnSC wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking about installing Rointe heaters...

The total plot size is about a third of an acre. The ground is flat but on a very gentle slope. We have allotments to the rear, roads with fields adjacent to two sides and a field immediately adjacent to the other side.

I thought that the Green Deal and RHI FIT announcements were due on 1st October but have they been delayed?

Just looking at a recent quote for a customer here. This is for a 9Kw GSHP. Excavation was a single trench 127 mtrs long, 1.2 mtrs wide x 1.3mtrs deep. You may have to go slightly deeper, as if I remember correctly, the soil in Norfolk was quite sandy.
Downward slope is ideal, as helps prevent airlocks in the ground loops.

JohnSC

Geotherm wrote: »

Just looking at a recent quote for a customer here. This is for a 9Kw GSHP. Excavation was a single trench 127 mtrs long, 1.2 mtrs wide x 1.3mtrs deep. You may have to go slightly deeper, as if I remember correctly, the soil in Norfolk was quite sandy.
Downward slope is ideal, as helps prevent airlocks in the ground loops.

Thanks - did you mean to include a price or a link?

lovesgshp

JohnSC wrote: »

Thanks - did you mean to include a price or a link?

The price here in Italy was just over 14000.00 Euro, excluding excavation costs.
Pump model was a IVT Greenline HT Plus.

Hope this helps

lovesgshp

@JohnSC

Just for a little further info on the system here. Every week, I record operating times of the pump.
On the 29/08/2011, it had a reading of 9357 hrs
27/08/2012 it was 11174 hrs.
Therefore in the year, it had operated for 1817 hrs.It consumes 2.2kwh for a output temp of 35C for UFH. Therefore, it has used just under 4000 kw of electricity for the whole year. Heating is 24/7, with a 1.5C return temp overnight reduction. (underfloor only, rads can be reduced to a max of 4C)

The DHW is set to cut off at 20.00 each day, and restart at 07.00, with a water temp of 48C. From 02/04 - 01/10 this year, there have only been 223 operating hours, therefore 490kw used.
In the warm weather, it is running for approx 3-4 hours per week, providing constant hot water. Use 160 ltrs and within about 15 mins it is back to temperature.
Room heating here is set at 18.5C, with external air temp cut off @ 16C. (north side sensor) Room sensor influence over external sensor at level 7.
Any more specifics you need, then I hope I can answer.