Buying a new house and unsure on the set up?

Harryp_24

Hey all, I'm buying a house which has been modified by the current owner, basically their is no radiators upstairs anymore and no boiler at all. There is a gas fire downstairs and to heat the water it uses a solar panel on the roof which gives boiling water throughout the summer but only around 20% during the winter.

This is all connected to a immersion heater to fulfill what the solar panel can't.

I'm wonerding what the best way to go around it is and how economical the set up is? I'm thinking maybe of putting electric radiators upstairs. What do you guys think?

Also if anyone has experience how good are immersion heaters and how expensive are they, it will only be me living in the house.

FreeBear

Harryp_24 wrote: »

Also if anyone has experience how good are immersion heaters and how expensive are they, it will only be me living in the house.

How big is your hot water cylinder, and how often do you need a full tank of water ?

Assume a 200l tank, and a (cold) water temperature of 20°C, you will use approximately 3.5KWh to heat it to 50°C. If you only need hot water for a sink, it is hardly worth heating up a full tank each time, so it may be worth looking at instant water heaters or under-counter heaters - These may be more cost effective to use over the course of a year.

It would also be worthwhile adding more loft insulation and putting more round the H/W cylinder - The more heat you can retain in the cylinder & building, the less energy you will need to use.

Harryp_24

FreeBear wrote: »

How big is your hot water cylinder, and how often do you need a full tank of water ?

Assume a 200l tank, and a (cold) water temperature of 20°C, you will use approximately 3.5KWh to heat it to 50°C. If you only need hot water for a sink, it is hardly worth heating up a full tank each time, so it may be worth looking at instant water heaters or under-counter heaters - These may be more cost effective to use over the course of a year.

It would also be worthwhile adding more loft insulation and putting more round the H/W cylinder - The more heat you can retain in the cylinder & building, the less energy you will need to use.

Hey, Thanks for the reply.

Ive done a bit more digging and basically from what i can assume, The solar panel heats the water in the tank which will give me enough for a sink of water throughout the year and the house has an electric shower and i dont take baths, Therefore do i actually need to turn on the immersion heater at all? Unless i take a bath i cant see why i would need a full tank of water and if the hot water runs out before the sink is full would it just be easier to boil a kettle and chuck that in? Cheers.

footyguy

Harryp_24 wrote: »

Hey all, I'm buying a house which has been modified by the current owner, basically their is no radiators upstairs anymore and no boiler at all. There is a gas fire downstairs and to heat the water it uses a solar panel on the roof which gives boiling water throughout the summer but only around 20% during the winter.

This is all connected to a immersion heater to fulfill what the solar panel can't.

I'm wonerding what the best way to go around it is and how economical the set up is? I'm thinking maybe of putting electric radiators upstairs. What do you guys think?

Also if anyone has experience how good are immersion heaters and how expensive are they, it will only be me living in the house.

Depends what you want ... and what is available to you.

e.g. you could splash out and install a heat pump

If it were me, and the property can be served by mains gas, I would go for gas fired central heating (preferably by radiators)
- this would probably give you the best return on capital especially if you plan to sell up at some point

Otherwise, I would probably opt for night storage heaters on E7
- probably the lowest capital clsot whilst maintaining an affordable ongoing heating cost
(other electrical heaters, such as panel, convector, etc will be chaeper to buy, but horrendous to use as the electricity they use will cost 2-3 times more than NSHs)

Of course there may be other options you would consider, such as LPG or oil fired central heating, but they would require fuel storage facilities and the hassle of arranging someone to deliver to you when you are running low. (and as often explained on this site, either haggling over or finding the best deal)

Personally I would probably not be buying the house at all unless I knew what I was going to do with it and what it was going to cost (not to mention the aggro of getting it done)

Good luck!