Heating ideas

lancunian

Hi,
I moved into my current house that has a Heatrae Sadia Amptec C600 supplying the radiators. A water heater with timer provides hot water.
I am in the North of Scotland so mains gas is not possible.
Electricity was cheaper when I moved in but obviously prices have increased.
I do not think that there is suitable access for Oil and LPG deliveries as no other houses on the area have Oil or LPG.
Electric usage is around 13000 kWh.
Hopefully solar panels are being installed within the next two months, they will make some difference but due to location, could be small.
I am looking for alternative ideas on supplying central heating and hot water.
Some houses have ASHP, are these worth it?
Thanks

Mstty

Multi-fuel burner for the room you are in most especially if there is free wood around you.

ASHP is becoming very economical now with gas price rises but does cost a lot to retro fit properly to a property with larger radiators.required etc. Worth getting a quote and seeing what grants are out there. Would definitely out perform your current setup. Our 4 bed detached house elec only 7100kWh a year but that's underfloor all downstairs put in when house was built and radiators upstairs.

BUFF

What electricity tariff scheme are you on? In the N of Scotland there can be a very expensive scheme Total Heating with Total Control which generally works best for storage heaters rather than wet heating & not many suppliers understood it.
https://sse.co.uk/help/electric-heating/other-two-meter-tariffs

As for ASHP & suitability how old is your house & how does it perform thermally? Just how far North are you?

Your current system is probably about as expensive a system to use as you could find.

QrizB

lancunian said:

I moved into my current house that has a Heatrae Sadia Amptec C600 supplying the radiators. A water heater with timer provides hot water.

A 6kW electric boiler? That's a bold choice.

Electric usage is around 13000 kWh.

That will be cost around £4000/yr at current rates.

Hopefully solar panels are being installed within the next two months, they will make some difference but due to location, could be small.

Solar panels will generate most electricity in the summer, when you don't need it, and hardly any in the winter, when you do. They will help but are unlikely to save you more than 15-20% on your bill unless your solar array is huge.

I am looking for alternative ideas on supplying central heating and hot water.

Some houses have ASHP, are these worth it?

As far as electric heating goes, @Gerry1 has a hierarchy that goes something like (cheapest to most expensive) (Gerry please correct me if I've got this wrong):

• Air-to-air heat pump (space heating only) like this
  
• Air-to-water heat pump like this
  
• E7 Storage heaters & HW tank
• Direct electric heating
• Wet electric central heating <- the system you've got
  

If you can afford the capital costs of a heat pump, your running costs will be significantly reduced. Storage heaters have lower capital costs but the savings are smaller too.

Gerry1

TL;DR: Ideally oil, otherwise Night Storage Heaters and an immersion heater on E7.

You have the worst possible system, wet radiators fed by an electric boiler on daytime rates.  Nothing else is more expensive.

Forget what other properties do, don't assume that oil access is not possible, establish the facts.

Solar panels will make very little difference, they won't provide significant amounts towards heating in the depths of winter when heating is most needed.

If oil and LPG are really impossible then NSHs and an immersion heater on E7 is probably the least worst solution.  An ASHP will probably require bigger radiators and the capital costs will be much higher so probably not worth considering unless you can get grants for most of the cost.  May also be problematic if you aren't always at home, it won't warm the property up quickly.

An ASHP will probably be relatively inefficient because of low ambient temperatures at your location.

lancunian

Thanks for the replies so far.
The house is a 1950's ex local authority semi detached bungalow and originally had a coal fired back boiler. This was removed and the old chimney breast boxed off before by one of the previous owners.
There are 2 bedroom, a small upstairs storage area and six wet radiators.
As I said, I have looked round and measured the outside space and it does seem impractical to install an LPG or oil tank.
The roof space is insulated.
It is located in South Sutherland.

FreeBear

Gerry1 said: Forget what other properties do, don't assume that oil access is not possible, establish the facts.

If a bin lorry can get to the property, so can a small tanker - This opens up the possibility of oil, gas, or even biomass (wood pellets/chips).

Reed_Richards

I have an ASHP which replaced an oil boiler and so far (16 months of use) I have been very happy with it.  Properly installed (with suitably sized radiators) and properly operated I think you can reasonably aspire to cut your heating bill to 1/3 of what it would be if you kept your current heating system.  But the installation costs of an ASHP are very high; it may not pay for itself unless you can get a grant.

Talk to your neighbours with ASHPs and see what they think.  You will probably find a mixture of people who are satisfied (with their properly installed heat pump) and horror stories (from those with an improperly installed heat pump).   

BUFF

FreeBear said:

Gerry1 said: Forget what other properties do, don't assume that oil access is not possible, establish the facts.

If a bin lorry can get to the property, so can a small tanker - This opens up the possibility of oil, gas, or even biomass (wood pellets/chips).

If it's rural Sutherland you can't automatically assume that a bin lorry can access the property - whilst unlikely it is possible that they are set back & may have to take their bin/waste to the road.

lancunian

Does an ASHP work with wet radiators?
There may be local assistance to install one, but as said, it is getting the installation right.
As above, the area around the property itself is not suitable for delivery access for Oil or LPG delivery.
No mains gas is a drawback of living in a rural area.
When (if) the solar panels eventually get installed (part of a local scheme)
Are there still specific tariffs that are worth having or has that ended?

QrizB

lancunian said:

Does an ASHP work with wet radiators?

Yes. you'll need larger rads than with a combustion boiler but for a new installation that's not a problem.

Are there still specific tariffs that are worth having or has that ended?

Once you get solar, the best export tariffs are currently with Octopus (which requires that you get your supply from Octopus too).