Advise on a suitable heating system....

dresstoimpress

Hi there, I am looking for some advice from the experts.
I am just starting a renovation of an old cottage of about 100 sqm. It will be well insulated, and I'm trying to find the most suitable heating system within a small budget.
I have a plumber that owes me a favour, so will have fairly low labour costs depending on how much expertise the choosen system requires to install.
Also I would like to use renewable engery as much as possible, without spending a fortune.
My orginal plan was to go with a solar panel for hot water, a stove with back boiler, and an oil burner to cover any extra heating needs.
But I was at an exhibition today and got conflicting advice from a number of suppliers.
One suggested geo-termal would more suitable for this house, but I have some concerns about temperature control, esb bills and installation costs.
Another suggested an air source heat pump but I have no experience of anyone using this.
Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Outkast_IRE

If you want renewable then solar for hot water is fine no problem there if you really want a renewable . on such a small cottage though .....
Personally i would just get a stove and use that to help with hot water and use the spare cash that you didnt spend on solar on extra insulation be it external,internal, attic or digging up floors and laying some down.

Geothermal on such a small cottage !! i honestly cant see how the costs would be worth it .

Those trade shows are fine but remeber everyone is looking out for themselves so a independant party is prob the best opinion for you .

Im not a fan of the air source heat pump , if you went this route you really want a plumber who has experience installing these , and again on such a small build i cant see it being worth it.And from experience of a house i was in over the winter cold spell this particular house wouldnt heat to what id call an acceptable level.

For heating in my opinion just stick with oil for the moment , its prob the cheapest option and if the burner is placed outside then you could always change the system further down the line , just go for the most efficent oil condensing boiler you can afford.
Once your heat source is picked then you have a choice of rads or underfloor , rads is the simplest option if your not planning on digging up all the floors , if you are digging up all the floors you can go underfloor but if you go this route ensure your insulating and draft proofing the house to a very high standard.
leave us know what route you decide to go and you will get plenty of advice for whatever you choose.

JohnnieK

If you are going down the geothermal route check the COP of the unit. The higher the COP the more efficient but the more expensive. You would need to have a unit of 5 or more to make it worth while. Also Underfloor would be the best with geothermal as realisticily they can only reach 55oC and this is no good for hot water.

Oil condensing boiler are very good today and can really save on oil. I go for Grant boilers more than any other because I find them better and easier to work with and there after sales team are second to none. Warmflow are another riser in the oil market here and are quite reasonable in price too.

You can also get oil fired stoves but these are expensive and I dont know of any efficient one on the market.

dresstoimpress

Thanks so much for the advice, I was so confused after leaving the show.