So how would you heat a house

GLENNFALLON · 20-07-2015 4:47pm #1

Ok, so I'm in the planning phase and now starting to think about how will I heat my house for the lowest running cost, easy maintenance etc. My house is a 1500sq foot bungalow. A rated with blow in insulation in the cavity and insulated board around the inner leaf of the house. it will be occupied by 3 and in the near future hopefully a forth member. The house will not be occupied week days until around 6pm, but I don't want to walk in to a cold house and start lighting up a stove. So sometime that can be set to come on before we arrive home from work or some system that runs away without costing an arm and leg. I live in the midlands with easy enough access to a peat bog, but to be honest I've worked on that every summer for the last 30 years, and want something that's a little less hassle, although its relatively cheap, it can cause a lot of ash and the stove has to be emptied every day. I also live about 2 miles from a saw mill which I have read on boards.ie to be one of the best suppliers of pellets in the country. But then I hear so many stories about wood pellet boiler like pellets being damp, systems breaking down and cowboy installers. So if you were me, how would you heat this house. Any suggestions would be great.

BryanF · 20-07-2015 8:43pm

Log gasification boiler, design system with larger storage tank, fill with peat possibly every two days

Calahonda52 · 20-07-2015 8:57pm

Whats your Part L renewables bit like?
Whats the calculated energy balance calculation like for the house?
If you haven't dug the foundations yet I would model the house on near Passiv standard and cut your cloth to match budget wise.
far better to live in 1200 sq foot cosy house that a 1500 icebox.
Bungalow harder to heat as you don't have the benefit of the hot air rising.

re
A rated with blow in insulation in the cavity and insulated board around the inner leaf of the house.
how are thermal bridges dealt with here?
This will keep u out of the pub
https://www.nsai.ie/S-R-54-2014-Code-of-Practice.aspx

JonathonS · 21-07-2015 11:19am

AFAIK you cannot get an automatic wood gasification boiler. With wood pellets two key issues are the quality and availability of pellets, and the the quality and availability of your installation/service company. I would only deal with a local installer who is well recommended and supplies a reliable make of boiler. For me the big downside of WPBs is the space required to store the pellets. If you can accommodate that I would be leaning towards wood pellet.

If you can get a copy of Wood Pellet Heating Systems by Dilwyn Jenkins (try the library) it will help you make up your mind about this technology. He favours a combination of wood pellets and solar.

Calahonda52 · 21-07-2015 8:04pm

http://www.easons.com/p-2641614-wood-pellet-heating-systems.aspx
74 euro

I suppose u could burn it when done with it

JonathonS · 22-07-2015 1:01am

Calahonda52 wrote: »

http://www.easons.com/p-2641614-wood-pellet-heating-systems.aspx
74 euro

Wow, that is expensive. I had a look on Amazon and its not much better there - £40.

My sister borrowed it for me from her local public library in Dublin.

BryanF · 22-07-2015 10:42am

JonathonS wrote: »

AFAIK you cannot get an automatic wood gasification boiler.

Does it matter ?
Assuming you have a well insulated air-tight house Then stacking the gasification boiler 2/3 times a week with free peat IMHO seems the way to go.

Jack180570 · 24-07-2015 1:37am

Can you use peat in a log gasification boiler? ... as in is it recommended by the manufacturer of the boilers and covered by the warranty?

BryanF wrote: »

Log gasification boiler, design system with larger storage tank, fill with peat possibly every two days

MicktheMan · 24-07-2015 6:16pm

GLENNFALLON wrote: »

So if you were me, how would you heat this house.

I would stop thinking in terms of heating the house but rather in terms of how to reduce the heat loss from the house in the first place as well as maximise heat gains.
Are you familiar with the passive concept. If not then research it.

I would also move away from the notion of heat/cool cycling of the house and build it such that it can be economically maintained at the same temp 24/7.

Finally,

GLENNFALLON wrote: »

and insulated board around the inner leaf of the house.

is a very poor detail. If you don't understand why, then research why and/or seek out expert help.

air · 24-07-2015 9:59pm

I know people who are very happy with their wood pellet systems.
If you live that close to the supplier presumably you could buy it regularly eliminating one of the main negatives about them - storage space. I'd imagine you'd get it at a good price too direct from source. Forget peat, best left for the history books.

air · 24-07-2015 9:59pm

I know people who are very happy with their wood pellet systems.
If you live that close to the supplier presumably you could buy it regularly eliminating one of the main negatives about them - storage space. I'd imagine you'd get it at a good price too direct from source. Forget peat, best left for the history books.

JonathonS · 26-07-2015 3:51pm

BryanF wrote: »

Does it matter ?

Yes.

GLENNFALLON wrote: »

The house will not be occupied week days until around 6pm, but I don't want to walk in to a cold house ....sometime that can be set to come on before we arrive home from work

JonathonS · 26-07-2015 4:22pm

Jack180570 wrote: »

Can you use peat in a log gasification boiler? ... as in is it recommended by the manufacturer of the boilers and covered by the warranty?

Any that I have looked at say that you cannot burn peat, guarantee will be void if you do.

BryanF · 26-07-2015 7:34pm

JonathonS wrote: »

Yes.

Boiler once loaded say the night or two before on a timer?

There must a gasification boiler suitable for peat (albeit with some timber to get fuel upto temp) on the market? No?

JonathonS · 28-07-2015 5:47pm

BryanF wrote: »

There must a gasification boiler suitable for peat (albeit with some timber to get fuel upto temp) on the market? No?

Its possible, I did not look too hard, I moved on to wood pellet. One of the reasons was the ability to control start/stop times via app.

ht9zni1gs28crp · 29-07-2015 10:52am

MicktheMan wrote: »

I would also move away from the notion of heat/cool cycling of the house and build it such that it can be economically maintained at the same temp 24/7.

This is so true. Its the first step that most people need convincing of, rather than diving head first into the whole 'what method to heat' is best.

That method may be in todays climate, but if you build a decent, warm airtight house whatever new method arises in 20 years will still suit.

So how would you heat a house

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