Gas boilers to be banned

markin

Just a recommendation, a long way from being law like the 0 carbon homes that then got scraped.

pinkteapot

There's a new-build near me which has an air source heat pump. Haven't viewed it because of that - don't they sound like a hotel ventilation thing running in your back garden? I'd consider ground source...

And there's an older house available which has a biomass boiler - don't really know anything about those...

davidmcn

I think Denmark did this years ago, so if anyone wants to learn from what's happened elsewhere, have a look there.

Tiexen

pinkteapot wrote: »

There's a new-build near me which has an air source heat pump. Haven't viewed it because of that - don't they sound like a hotel ventilation thing running in your back garden? I'd consider ground source...

And there's an older house available which has a biomass boiler - don't really know anything about those...

I have air conditioning in a (very small) house and the outside unit is not noisy, it doesn't "suck" air in like an office a/c unit it just runs like a fridge turning gas into air or air to gas.


I have no other heating and its kept me toasty all through the winter, one of my neighbours was standing nest to it and was amazed by the heat output - "has it got heating element in it?" he asked - no just a small fan and compressor.


And it costs a lot less to run than an electric heater (The typical air source heat pump may produce 3kw of heat for every 1kw of electricity it consumes) - doesn't need a yearly service and during hot summer nights keeps me cool - can also dehumidify which is handy if you dry washing indoors.

Davesnave

markin wrote: »

Just a recommendation, a long way from being law like the 0 carbon homes that then got scraped.

Seat belts were just a recommendation once, and eventually saved a lot of people being 'scraped'......off their windscreens.

Davesnave

pinkteapot wrote: »

There's a new-build near me which has an air source heat pump. Haven't viewed it because of that - don't they sound like a hotel ventilation thing running in your back garden?

Maybe some did, or still do. Out in the country, without mains gas, they're one of the less-common options. Most of us have oil boilers. Ours, which is only 3 years old, sounds loud enough to be glad its behind the garage, where it can fight it out in the decibel stakes with next-door's.

FreeBear

pinkteapot wrote: »

And there's an older house available which has a biomass boiler - don't really know anything about those...

Basically, a wood burner that is automatically fed pellets or wood chips - If you have space for the fuel store plus a lot of space to heat, it might make sense. For your average domestic, the costs don't stack up in my opinion. It is only because the government has been offering "incentives" in the form of RHI payments that it appears to be cost effective. Once the payments are removed, the advantage disappears.


Although, if they mean a wood pellet fired boiler - You can get some small compact units. But they are expensive to install, and can get quite expensive to feed.


On the flip side, if you have a huge space to heat, have a steady stream of wood chip (from your own forest), and can set aside a suitable building, the numbers start to stack up.

vw100

Communal heating for large developments are already available.


Here is one in East London.


https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-business/community-energy/community-energy-news/canning-town

DaftyDuck

FreeBear wrote: »

Basically, a wood burner that is automatically fed pellets or wood chips - If you have space for the fuel store plus a lot of space to heat, it might make sense. For your average domestic, the costs don't stack up in my opinion. It is only because the government has been offering "incentives" in the form of RHI payments that it appears to be cost effective. Once the payments are removed, the advantage disappears.


Although, if they mean a wood pellet fired boiler - You can get some small compact units. But they are expensive to install, and can get quite expensive to feed.


On the flip side, if you have a huge space to heat, have a steady stream of wood chip (from your own forest), and can set aside a suitable building, the numbers start to stack up.

Use your own wood, as I do, and all those RHI payments vanish. Stick solar on for electricity, and add direct heating and hot water, similar happens.

But, the long term savings are still there. I have spent under £500 on heating fuels this winter, beating a large, old house

PasturesNew

Nobody minds what heating they have, because it just comes down to the basics:

How much does it cost
What does it look like
Do I need "land outside" for it
How reliable is it, do they break down, how much does that cost
How long will they last?

Most people don't want fancy schmancy, we just want to flick a switch and heating to come on - heating that works - heating that we can afford the bills on. We want it all at "the same price we're used to paying", so if a new boiler costs, say, £3-5k, then we'd expect any alternative method to also cost the same, so we can afford it.

What we DON'T want is: flakey systems, unfit for purpose, fitted by bodgers under some Fancy Schmancy Govt Green Scheme with cashback deals and hard nosed salesmen.

We just want.... simplicity, cleanliness, reliability, affordable.