Central Heating - ASHP?

superpup

Hi

I'm looking to put central heating in my 3 bed terraced house. Rural so gas isn't an option. Neither is LPG as couldn't have bulk as nowhere to store tank to fit in with regs (not keen anyway).

I was looking at oil but am thinking against it as a) I don't have a huge garden and would rather not have a tank and b) Oil prices.

I got a quote for solar panels with a back up electric boiler - quote was £9k :eek:

Storage heaters won't work for us (we have 1 - with electric panel heaters as back up - out at work all day so house cold by the time we get home).

So now I'm thinking either;

Multifuel stove with back boiler in kitchen (fairly big room, slate floor, would make the lounge too hot). No chimney so looking at minimum of £1k for the flue.

or...

this - http://www.trianco.co.uk/activair.cfm

I rang their sales office recently to ask about it after receiving a brochure. Spoke to worst sales person on the planet who informed me they didn't have anything big enough to run a central heating system on a 3 bed house. When I said that's not what the brochure said, he replied they did have a bigger one coming out later this year. I said 'It's already September, when's it coming out?' He said 'End of October' :rotfl:

He then said it'll cost around £2.5k which I rang off at that point as it seemed ridiculously expensive but maybe it won't be so bad compared with other options?

Don't really understand the air pump thing so can anyone shed some light please?

Thanks in advance

EDIT - Just been told I have access to free wood. Loads and loads of dead elm. Any good..?

Cardew

Solar panels do not provide CH.

If you are out all day you are wasting a lot of heat from a solid fuel burner during the day.

The Trianco is a form of heat pump(but see later) but even the biggest(5kW) will not do more than heat one room. They are designed more for a conservatory.

A proper heatpump works on the reverse principle to a domestic fridge. It extracts heat from the outside air(or ground in some applications). A properly designed system can produce up to 4 to 5 units of heat output(kW) for 1 unit(kW).

However systems to heat a house are hugely expensive - $15k to start. They are more common for use with swimming pools.

The Trianco system is a mini - heatpump - and only produces about 2 units for 1 in under good conditions.

So forget them!

Modern storage heating systems are much better, and cheap to install, than the old heaters.

If you won't go for oil, they are your best bet; but agreed not ideal by any means.

superpup

Grrr!!!

Just posted reply and lost it!

Thanks Cardew

I know solar only does water which was why I was going to boost hot water with electric when necessary but that's been scrapped now.

The trianco pump coming out next month is supposed to be bigger - can't remember how many kw he said - but enough to heat a house (apparently, but he wasn't the most helpful person...). If the cost of the pump was £2.5k, why would installation and radiators etc, bump up the total cost so much? Not doubting your knowledge, just naturally inquisitive

Even with modern storage heaters, surely they won't provide much heat at 9pm at night and early in the morning as it'd still be storing heat then and not kicking it out?

Thinking about multifuel, at present, house is empty 4 days a week but after xmas, there will be someone home every day so will need to keep house warm. May be best option.

Am just trying to consider installation costs, running costs and affecting resale of property in years to come.

Cardew

superpup wrote: »

The trianco pump coming out next month is supposed to be bigger - can't remember how many kw he said - but enough to heat a house (apparently, but he wasn't the most helpful person...). If the cost of the pump was £2.5k, why would installation and radiators etc, bump up the total cost so much? Not doubting your knowledge, just naturally inquisitive

Even with modern storage heaters, surely they won't provide much heat at 9pm at night and early in the morning as it'd still be storing heat then and not kicking it out?

That trianco device is not a heat pump system. A proper heat pump system is large and mounted outside and 2 or 3 times more efficient. Then a full CH system has to be fitted in the house to use the heat.

I have not used the modern storage heating systems, but have read some favourable reports that they don't leak heat as badly as the old systems, and there have been posts on this forum to that effect.

I am certainly not recommending them, as they still have lots of drawbacks, but simply reporting what I have read. If someone is going to be home all day then they are not an option.

peat

Do you live in an area where the Economy 10 tariff is avaiable?

david29dpo

You can have lpg and oil tanks buried out of sight now.

barrymung

personally, I'd install an electric boiler now, ensuring there's provision to add solar panels at a later date (When the price comes down).

Electric boilers work fine and have installed one myself so it's a simple job (In theory, cheaper than installing a gas boiler.)

Advantages: Small, reliable, maintenance free, no flue needed.

Disadvantages: More expensive to run than mains gas.

The one I installed was an Amptec...other brands are available!

http://www.inspiredheating.co.uk/acatalog/Electroheat_Amptec_Electric_Boilers.html

The problem with solar panels at the moment is they usually cost more to install than you save on fuel.

Vikingfan

My Lpg tank is buried underground could you do this?
You need about 4.5 meter long by about 2.5 m wide and to go down about 1.6m

superpup

Hi everyone

thanks for all your replies.

no economy 10 tariff available unfortunately.

burying tank not really an option as I'd be surprised if the garden was more than 4.5m wide and it's not much longer either.

I've just been told I have access to loads and loads and loads of free wood for quite some time so I am in the middle of getting a quote for a multifuel burner with boiler. It's a Woodwarm one and will live in the kitchen. I'll keep it going low on coal during the night and chuck wood on in the day. It's like this but not double sided:



Seems like best option really and will solve the problem of our cold kitchen. Thank you for your comments. Made me realise that I had to ditch solar ideas and other so called 'saving' products, which aren't really!
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