Future proof heating system....?

crackcrack30

If you had a blank cheque to install a heating system in a 2300ft house what would you put in that would .......

a, Have some payback/savings in running costs.....
b, Future proof against oil fluctuations/Prices
c, Have a Secure fuel source...
d, See ya 20years down the road with ease & efficiency......


cheers.............

BryanF

breathable construction, super insulated, naturally materials, passive solar design, possibly passive ventilation or if not MVHR, achieving the lowest possible kwh/m2/yr with heating and HW, using log gasification boiler from coppiced willow (or locally sourced & managed timber) feeding rad system with back-up stove just in case.
cognisant of the need for minimum replacement parts,less technology, so less can go wrong. forgeting domestic renewable's and spend that money investing in an actual wind farm that is producing substantial MW's at lower cost and more efficiently than messing about with small scale 'ecobling'.. my two cents..

reilig

BryanF wrote: »

breathable construction, super insulated, naturally materials, passive solar design, possibly passive ventilation or if not MVHR, achieving the lowest possible kwh/m2/yr with heating and HW, using log gasification boiler from coppiced willow (or locally sourced & managed timber) feeding rad system with back-up stove just in case.
cognisant of the need for minimum replacement parts,less technology, so less can go wrong. forgeting domestic renewable's and spend that money investing in an actual wind farm that is producing substantial MW's at lower cost and more efficiently than messing about with small scale 'ecobling'.. my two cents..

I have a gasifying boiler up and running for over 2 years in my newly built house. Its a fantastic appliance and when you put the fuel source aside, you have the advantage of instant heat over the oil boiler which takes time to warm up. Hit the boost button on my time clock and the rads are hot in less than a minute!

People have to realise though that wood burning is a way of life. If, like me, you have farm land with suitable trees for sawing then you have to invest a couple of days each year into sawing, stacking, hauling, logging and splitting. You also have to invest some time into lighting and filling your boiler. Typically, on winter days, I check the gauges on my buffer tank in the morning to see how much heat is in the system (30 secs). At 7pm, I rake out the ashes and split a large piece of timber into kindling for easy lighting, I open up the chimney damper and drop the stats in order to get the fan running and I light the kindling with a firelighter and I fill up around it with logs. Normally takes 10 mins. At 7.45pm I visit the boiler again, It should be close to 50 degrees, I close the bottom door, fill to the top with larger pieces of wood and close the chimney damper. (3 minutes). By 8.30pm, i check the boiler again, the chimney will have heated enough to allow me to raise the stats gauge in order that the fan and laddomat will automatically switch off when the wood has burned out (3 mins). If its an exceptionally cold night, I will often visit the boiler after 10pm and top it up with wood so that it will burn long into the night!! (3 mins).

This is approximately 20 minutes that you have to invest in your boiler on a daily basis to ensure that it fills the buffer tank from which your house will be heated. If you're not prepared to do this every night in winter, every second night in spring and autumn and every 5th night in summer, then look at something more automated. Burning wood is a lifestyle which isn't for everyone.


I question if it would be worthwhile to install a gasifying boiler if you didn't have your own wood supply and had to buy processed wood for to burn in it and spend this amount of time with it on a daily basis??

crackcrack30

Loads to think about there with both replys,..... Is there a wind turbine company that u can invest (shares or set-up) in and gain returns/discounts on future electricity prices? in ireland?....

Great rundown on the operation of the gasifier boiler reilig, just whats needed on a forum like this, i'm sure youll be tuning your methods for years as your needs/fuel/weather ect change. i have not got a mature wood source yet but will have in @10 yrs time, also i work shift but that would just require a management time change for starting up the boiler.

I dont mind spending/investing in a system but i just need to do it once and right, im beginning to accept /understand that 'ecobling' is in some respect just tinkering around the edges..........(hide quick:P)

reilig

crackcrack30 wrote: »

Loads to think about there with both replys,..... Is there a wind turbine company that u can invest (shares or set-up) in and gain returns/discounts on future electricity prices? in ireland?....

Great rundown on the operation of the gasifier boiler reilig, just whats needed on a forum like this, i'm sure youll be tuning your methods for years as your needs/fuel/weather ect change. i have not got a mature wood source yet but will have in @10 yrs time, also i work shift but that would just require a management time change for starting up the boiler.

I dont mind spending/investing in a system but i just need to do it once and right, im beginning to accept /understand that 'ecobling' is in some respect just tinkering around the edges..........(hide quick:P)

Thanks Corncrack,

I haven't got a mature source of wood yet either. It will take another 5 years. However, just before christmas, i got the opportunity to buy 40m3 of forestry thinnings from a private thinning and extraction company which had bought them off a local farmer. €900 in total, and they loaded it onto a trailer for me. I also cleared some land this year too and I expect that I have enough firewood from this and the thinnings to keep my house fully heated for the next 4 to 5 years. Its all about thinking ahead and planning for next year and they year after!

crackcrack30

How are the thinnings working out for u in the boiler?..... i take it they are pine/spruce?
what is yourmethod of proccess/ drying and storage for such a bulk of wood/timber?

cheers cc30

dardhal

crackcrack30 wrote: »

If you had a blank cheque to install a heating system in a 2300ft house what would you put in that would .......

a, Have some payback/savings in running costs.....
b, Future proof against oil fluctuations/Prices
c, Have a Secure fuel source...
d, See ya 20years down the road with ease & efficiency......


cheers.............

If I had a blank cheque I wouldn't worry about a., b. and d. But c. can be a concern, although there is nothing a blank cheque can't buy.

Now, provided the 2300 ft house is already built, it all depends on how well insulated it is already. If it is not VERY well insulated and draft-free, the first few thousands would go to improving insulation: from changing those crappy period windows for something one can stand in front during a chilly winter windy day without being frozen to death, o significantly improving floor and ceiling insulation, and wall insulation. No matter how efficient the heating system is, if heat is lost or cold is getting in, the whole system is not going to be cheap to operate.

Despite the above, the most efficient heating system is arguably the water-based radiant floor: small diameter pipes are laid below the floor, then covered in concrete, and then tiled or timber frame installed. You circulate hot water along the pipes, and heat is transferred to the floor, which is propagates up to the interface between it and the air, which in turn heats itself and (as hotter air than the rest) tends to go up, cooling during the process. That way your feet are always warm and your head somewhat cooler, which is the ideal combination for comfort.

Water is circulated only at about 35-40 ºC, so forget about your feet getting burned, and this has some positive consequences, the most important being that boilers can operate at much lower temperatures, so their efficiency is greatly improved. And second, as water is much cooler than traditional 80-90 ºC radiator, distribution losses are minimal.

The good thing about is the system can work with any energy source able to provide warm water, be it geothermal or air-based heat pumps (both electricity powered), a condensing boiler (heating water to about 60 ºC to a tank, and then mixing it with cold water to reach the design 35-40 ºC), solar collectors, or any other mean of getting water at about 40 ºC, be it directly at that temperature, or at higher ones and then mixing with cold water (all done automatically).

So, the most future proof and energy independent means of heating is the radiant floor, because you may use (with little changes) either a heat pump (electricity) a condensing boiler (gas) or anything that can heat water (burning logs, pellets, furniture or 500€ notes, whichever is more economical at the moment). And it's also by large the most efficient and the most comfortable one. Coupled with adequate insulation and draft suppression, your operational cost would be minimal and comfort second to none.

eth0

BryanF wrote: »

forgeting domestic renewable's and spend that money investing in an actual wind farm that is producing substantial MW's at lower cost and more efficiently than messing about with small scale 'ecobling'.. my two cents..

investing in some company won't keep your house warm. particularly if things don't go well with that company for some reason, you won't even have money to buy fuel