BEST HEATING SYSTEM

daithi_21

]Hi All,



what heating system is best to use in a new house?
I'm leaning towards wood pellet boiler because in theory it seems to be cheaper than oil and good for the enviroment etc. Does anyone with some experience of
this type of heating system let me know if they are good or would people still go
for the oil or how about geothermal?
Wrecking my head at the moment because there are just so many options available.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Joey the lips

My honest opinion is stay a mile away from wood pellet....

Just do a search underwood pellet to see the problems.

daithi_21

if wood pellet is not the way forward then what is....oil wont last forever and
presumably will only get more expensive as time goes on....

Anyone any experience with any other (good) systems)???

bryaner

Loads of insulation and a condenser boiler.

Jayo11780

Built a new house, 1 and a half storey 3300 sq ft and have geothermal borhole system, Underfloor upstairs and down. Would definitely recommend it. We're in the house over a year now and ESB bills no more than 250 (in winter) for 2 months. Non stop hot water and none of the maintenance hassle.
Stay away from the pellett burner a guy I works with has had it for the last 4 years and just got rid!
my heating system cost 24000 including the boring of the holes but it deffo is a long term investment and i've no regrets whatsoever!

JohnnieK

Ground source heat pump with underfloor would be a great option for you but you have to make sure the house is WELL INSULATED. And also get some one with experience that can size the system correctly and that will stand over there calculations. Also you will have to have some sort of boost for your hot water like an immersion to boost it to the 60oC set point to eliminate bacterial growth a heat pump trying to achieve this temperature will become inefficient very fast and will reflect this in ESB bills.

kscobie

at the risk of repeating what the lads have said before, a heating system is two parts, firstly generate the heat as cheaply as possible, and secondly dont lose it by insulating to as high a standard as you can afford(within reason). When asked by a customer for "the best" system, it depends on how much you want to spend, a condensing oil boiler starts about 1000 euro, oil tank and bits bout another 750, air source heat pump bout 5-8k, geothermal heat pump and borehole/ ground array bout 15-20 k, pellet boiler, silo/hopper,flue bout 8-11k. All approximate of course, if in doubt, run insulated pipework to a garage, along with a duct for electrics, covers all options, and futureproofs, in advance of the arrival of the nuclear powered boiler:D The most important thing with all the above appliances is correct sizing, incorrect sized unit always lead to high running costs.

daithi_21

thanks for the advice everyone. i'm leaning towards geothermal underfloor at this stage i think..... has anyone ever has any experience in running a geothermal heat pump using power from a wind turbine or is this even an option??? also is there any point getting solar panels when you have geothermal?

I've also been thinking about oil with a condensing boiler connected to a stove with a backboiler with solar for the summer months. what are peoples thoughts on this system? i've heard the backboiler system can burn fuel very fast making it inefficient but not too sure if this is the case with modern systems?

is the expense of geothermal worth it or how long will it take to pay for itself?

weston1

hi all. i put the following on another thread but i think it suits this one as well. would love your thoughts

trying to research all the heating systems out there and finding it hard to nail down the right one. firstly my insulation will be priority 1. 4000sq ft house, still unsure with the geothermal, and only cause i just feel i dont know enough. i was leaning towards that with ufh. now came across another system, turboburn. its a furnace that burns timber, waste oils, kerosene, whatever you have. it heats a large tank of water within the furnace rapidly and then the water sits there until needed, i assume the stats tell it when that is so. now you have to feed the furnace as required but this may be only once/twice daily in winter, every 3 to 4 days in the summer. just wondering has anyone heard anything about them. the salesman swears by it, as you would expect, but he sells the idea well and has good knowledge of heating. he runs a hostel on this and loves it. he has access to timber and used oils. he also told me he has a windmill up and it was the greastest waste of money ever. the unit is a copy of what is used in alaska. here's a link. i am intrigued by it but........ http://turboburn.co.uk/

Biglad

UFH with Mescoli 28kw Pellet Boiler. In our third year and everything is fine. pellets easy to get now and teathing issues with deliveries sorted. Had a few ignition coils blowing on the pellet burner which was down to the location of the device, 2 stud walls later it was all good. Coild cost a tenner if you know where to get them.

People who dismiss pellet burners because of "what their mates say" please grow up, if you do not have first hand experience please do not judge. A lot of people with pellet related issues have either bought an irish made boiler/burner or their is something wrong with the storage construction. I know a lot of people with heat pumps who pay the ESB an absolute fortune as the soil is to dry and they didn't drill down. I also know lots of people who bought a "cheap" Woodpecker pellet boiler who have loads of issues.

In typical fashion some companies jumped on the opportunity to sell pellet burners as there were grants going. Most of these companies had no idea, or previous history when it came to pellet burners, all they were interested in was you 4200 Euro grant.

In many countries all over Europe woodpellets have been used for decades, that's where you need to source your product. Our Mescoli boiler is made in Italy and Mescoli has been nmaking pellet burners since 1967, I wasn't even born at that stage. The Woodpecker was born in ireland the year the grant was introduced, typical, and now they are bust. We paid 7000 Euro's for our unit where many Woodpeckers and the like went for less then 5K.

You do what's best for you and what suits your budget. If you are going to invest in geothermal make very very sure that your conditions are right, if not, it will be a lot more money wasted then pulling out a pellet burner.

Best of luck.

kboc

kscobie wrote: »

at the risk of repeating what the lads have said before, a heating system is two parts, firstly generate the heat as cheaply as possible, and secondly dont lose it by insulating to as high a standard as you can afford(within reason). When asked by a customer for "the best" system, it depends on how much you want to spend, a condensing oil boiler starts about 1000 euro, oil tank and bits bout another 750, air source heat pump bout 5-8k, geothermal heat pump and borehole/ ground array bout 15-20 k, pellet boiler, silo/hopper,flue bout 8-11k. All approximate of course, if in doubt, run insulated pipework to a garage, along with a duct for electrics, covers all options, and futureproofs, in advance of the arrival of the nuclear powered boiler The most important thing with all the above appliances is correct sizing, incorrect sized unit always lead to high running costs.

Can't wait for tis to come out!
I know your pain. You are building a house, you probably will only do it once and of course you want to do it right. So, you probably research everything to such an extent you confuse your self.

My opinion and experiences with my house;

UFH is the only way. No matter what change in the technology that puts the heat in the pipes in 5,10,15 years time, UFH will be the best medium to heat space in a house.

If you spend enough money on insulation (as close to passive as possible) with your build then a condenser oil burner for the short to medium term is the job. When the supply chain for pellets improves, then that could be your next option.

I built a house with passive floor insulation, but only double glazing and a 6 inch beaded cavity. So my house does not suit an oil condenser, as it would probably take £2000 per year to heat.

Instead I commited £12,000 to a 12kw heat pump and 500 litre tank. I was ****ting myself regarding huge elec bills after sinking so much money. My bills in this weather are £25 per week for 340sq metres! The key is a good heat pump ( a good heat pump has a good/efficient compressor) and a good DHW tank. My heat pump has an excellent compressor which is very efficient. My plumber gets his DHW tank built specifically for heat pumps. The diametrer of the coils inside the tank are bigger than the standard. i am not sure but i think the standard is 3/4 inch cooper pipe, but these are 1 and 1/4 inch cooper pipe. Secondly the coils are approx 6 linear metres long, were as a standard DHW tank is approx 3 metres long.

Whe i build my next house! It will be a passive foundation (2 irish companies do these) a 215mm block with Ext Insul with carefull detailing where it joins a warm roof. Then i will need only a fracton of the cost to heat space and water.

Enjoy

MicktheMan

daithi_21 wrote: »

]Hi All,



what heating system is best to use in a new house?

None !

Go passive:)