Help, heating confusion!

Eyes1000

Thanks very much, Coffeehound!

Yes, I will be working from home at least two days a week - so in pretty much all day on those days - as well as quite a bit at the weekends — and out of summer months I will need warmth (am bit of a wuss when it comes to too much cold). The storage heaters in the sitting room and bedroom are both Dimplex Duo Heat (I believe)...not sure if they are any good but I know that the old lady who lived there spent about £100 on electric for heating and hot water (but obviously no idea if that was using things at max capacity or her being frugal etc)...
— and yes by sounds of it I need to stop over-planning and get in and see how I fair this winter before making decisions..
- The immersion boiler looked silver coloured so presumed it was the metal ? - but that is an interesting thought about it actually helping to heat the bathroom potentially....

Eyes1000

(£100 per month!)

[Deleted User]

Hi,

You can get wee storage heater for bathroom, though will need a bit of rewiring.

Eyes1000

Hi Frugalmacdugal - oh great, thanks! do you happen to know what make it is (is it Dimplex)?

[Deleted User]

Hi,


yes it is Dimplex, see if I can get more info.

FreeBear

Eyes1000 wrote: »

There’s storage for fuel (an old outside toilet that is now a cupboard/shed - but would need to get it fixed up so definately waterproof) — so are you saying pellets not best option as price set to rise? Was hoping not to use coal (unsustainable?) and thought wood might be harder to manage if using it to heat whole house and water (just in terms of getting it started and then leaving for work etc)?

Much of the pellets that are used in this country come from either North America or Eastern Europe. Prices generally drop during the summer months as demand falls, and go up again in the winter. However, if the lunatic in charge of the asylum gets his way, come October 31st, fuel will be the first to increase in price.

A disused toilet is maybe 4'x4' - Barely large enough for a stock of pellets or coal, and certainly not enough for logs. I have a 10'x6' shed piled full of wood. Hopefully, it will last if we have a real cold winter. If not, I have a half tonne of coal in a second shed.

A wood stove does need attending on a regular basis to keep it going - Most of us will put a log on every hour or so (depending on tree species). During the winter when I needed to go out for the day, I was lighting the fire in the morning and then piling up a good layer of coal. In the evening, riddle out the ash, and then put some small logs on for the evening - Kept the room nice and toasty all day and helped keep the rest of the house warm.

Don't forget - The fabric of the house will act as one large storage heater. If you are only sticking heat on for a few hours each day, quite a bit of the heat will be sucked up by the walls. Applying gentle heat throughout the day keeps the house warmish, and a quick blast from a fire quickly brings the temperature up.

If electric is your only source of heat, you really need to look at insulating the walls, loft, and floor. Block of any draughts, and try to reduce the heat loss as much as possible.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

Eyes1000 wrote: »

Hi Frugalmacdugal - oh great, thanks! do you happen to know what make it is (is it Dimplex)?

Found this, bit expensive, though might be able to find it cheaper, there is also an auto version.

Why not put the heater from the bedroom in the bathroom if you can fit it in, Duo-Heat are quite slim, or put it in living room, that should be cosy for you, pity to just dump it.

EnergyRookie

Eyes1000 wrote: »

Hi there,
I’m a complete newbie to writing on the forum (but have read a lot of really useful threads over the years).

I’m buying a fairly small 1 bedroom cottage (middle of three cottages in a row).

There is no gas in the village and currently the cottage has Dimplex storage heaters in the living room and bedroom, an electric radiator in the kirchen and a radiator towel warmer thing in the bathroom. It has an immersion tank for water and is double glazed.

To work out if I can basically leave things as they are (maybe add in a pellet stove to the living room for cosiness in the winter) or whether I should make some or lots of changes, I have researched the storage heaters, lpg, heat pumps, solar panels, biomass pellet stoves and boilers, electric combi boilers etc and I am totally lost.

Obviously there are pros and cons to everything plus there are lots of vastly different opinions out there (some say storage fine, others say its awful and so on - with every option) :eek:

From what I’ve read, the cottage is too small for a heat pump - and I’m not sure I can afford to have a biomass boiler and radiator system as well as a stove...plus I am not sure whether it would be overkill for one person....the Renewable Heating Incentive appeals though...

Mon to Fri - I will be out of the house 3 days a week, working from home 2 days a week.
And I should add that I like warmth so will need heat in the mornings, evenings/nights and during days I am at home (when it isn’t summer). I think this mixed bag in terms of when I’m in and not might mean I don’t fit into economy 7 or standard!

Sorry for such a long post but can anyone help?? I could really do with some sound advice :j

Thanks in advance!
Elle

So you have conducted as full an investigation as you can, and you cannot find a better heating solution for you than what the property already has (not that you have mentioned there is anything wrong with the existing heating)

I suggest you wait until you move in, at which time you will probably find more pressing things to do, like redecorate to your own taste, or just re-fresh what is already there. Perhaps some new carpets?

Anyway, by then you will learn for yourself that storage heaters are not normally an issue, to ignore much of what you read on the internet (as it's probably wrong) but if you still wish to continue to explore alternative heating options, you will hopefully then have spoken to the neighbours and discussed with them what they have.

coffeehound

Eyes1000 wrote: »

The storage heaters in the sitting room and bedroom are both Dimplex Duo Heat . . .

- The immersion boiler looked silver coloured so presumed it was the metal ?.

Duo-heat are good new-generation SHs so you shouldn't need to replace them.

Think the silver coloured water cylinder will be a modern insulated one too.

jk0

Save yourself a bit of aggro by just using the top-up part of the bedroom duoheat, rather than remove it and have to redecorate?