Plumbers coming tomorrow - what are our options?

BarraOG

Hi,

Parents house has had the boiler, cylinder, most of the piping and a number of radiators stolen from it. The house was Oil Fired Central Heated and has a sitting room fireplace but no back boiler. The house is only seven years old.

They have two plumbers coming to give quotes tomorrow regarding fixing everything. They want to get quotes for:

1) fix everything as was
2) add a stove with boiler
3) add solar panels - unlikely to bother with these

Our parents look after grandchildren during the day and ofter have the heating/immersion going. From advice receive here its takes in the order of 15 years for panels to pay for themselves so they are probably not of interest. They have access to turf so the stove is a consideration I think. What do you think?

Also, what other options have they which would be worth getting a quote for?

Appreciate your help,

Barry

the_pen_turner

I would put in the oils and a stove .
the oils is very handy , just press a button.
your parents aren't getting any younger and are closer to potentially not being able to use solid fuel.

the stove is a way cheaper way to heat . the heat lasts a lot longer and the fuel is cheaper



have a look at the grants available and look at your energy credits system.


look at your insulation. that is more important than the heating system

the_pen_turner

I would put in the oils and a stove .
the oils is very handy , just press a button.
your parents aren't getting any younger and are closer to potentially not being able to use solid fuel.

the stove is a way cheaper way to heat . the heat lasts a lot longer and the fuel is cheaper



have a look at the grants available and look at your energy credits system.


look at your insulation. that is more important than the heating system

Dtp1979

Solid fuel heating is dearer than oil. Plus you've to deal with the mess of cleaning out the stove and bringing in the fuel.

Fit a new A rated condensing boiler, heating controls and cylinder with a spare coil for solar in case you want to add solar in the future.
There are grants available from seai and carbon credits from certain providers

BarraOG

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Solid fuel heating is dearer than oil. Plus you've to deal with the mess of cleaning out the stove and bringing in the fuel.

Fit a new A rated condensing boiler, heating controls and cylinder with a spare coil for solar in case you want to add solar in the future.
There are grants available from seai and carbon credits from certain providers

Thanks! Would you be inclined not to bother getting a stove with a back boiler so?

Dtp1979

BarraOG wrote: »

Thanks! Would you be inclined not to bother getting a stove with a back boiler so?

Me personally, I wouldn't, unless youve access to loads of free or cheap fuel

david65

we have a stove with a boiler running 24/7 keeps the old farmhouse toasty warm but I have to get out of the bed around 5am to empty the ashes and recharge the stove. That part i don't mind too much but the hauling out the fuel from the car and into the shed is now getting to much for me (I'm 70). This year we are saving to get an oil burner, cheaper to run and I hope will save my back. Stoves are great if you are young and have access to fuel, but Im looking forward to heating at the push of a button!

Dtp1979

david65 wrote: »

we have a stove with a boiler running 24/7 keeps the old farmhouse toasty warm but I have to get out of the bed around 5am to empty the ashes and recharge the stove. That part i don't mind too much but the hauling out the fuel from the car and into the shed is now getting to much for me (I'm 70). This year we are saving to get an oil burner, cheaper to run and I hope will save my back. Stoves are great if you are young and have access to fuel, but Im looking forward to heating at the push of a button!

Make sure you get a plumber who can pipe a dual system correctly. It's frightening the amount of qualified plumbers who make a mess of it

david65

Thanks for the advice. I think we will say goodbye to the stove and rely on the oil. Anyway that's the thoughts at the moment, but that could change. I will certanly take some advice from a plumber before charging ahead.

BarraOG

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Make sure you get a plumber who can pipe a dual system correctly. It's frightening the amount of qualified plumbers who make a mess of it

Thanks again! Reading online it would seem that a 7-Day Programmable Timer which can control radiators and domestic hot water separately would be ideal. The radiators remaining in the house have TRVs as will the new rads. Is there anything else that should be considered with regard to temperature controllers?

Dtp1979

BarraOG wrote: »

Thanks again! Reading online it would seem that a 7-Day Programmable Timer which can control radiators and domestic hot water separately would be ideal. The radiators remaining in the house have TRVs as will the new rads. Is there anything else that should be considered with regard to temperature controllers?

If you apply for the seai grant, which you should, you could seperate(if the current piping allows) living areas, bedrooms and hot water. Each zone will have a thermostat to control that area and all will be controlled by a 3 channel timeclock. You'd get 750 back from seai. Plus, depending where you're from, you can get carbon credit discounts up to 400 too

david65

Just wondering after the last posr if I would qualify for tye seai grant?

Dtp1979

david65 wrote: »

Just wondering after the last posr if I would qualify for tye seai grant?

Go onto the seai better energy homes site to see if you qualify. You'll be approved online in minutes if you are eligible

david65

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Go onto the seai better energy homes site to see if you qualify. You'll be approved online in minutes if you are eligible

Thanks I will give it a go this evening. Again thanks for your help.

VincePP

If its of any help, I'm in a rural area, replaced boiler early November from one that was 14 years old. Using oil.

3 zones (incl water) on 7 day timer and large house.

Heating is on about 6 - 7 hours a day, water about 1 hour 30min.

In 3 months, we've used less than 500 litres of oil - granted its mild, but 2014/15 winter we used 2 full tanks, so new boiler is unbelievably more efficient especially with the zoning.

So I'd just go for new efficient oil boiler and open fire - especially with turf.

the_pen_turner

i wouldn't rule out the stove.
you might not need a boiler stove but i would definitely put in a small room heater stove . they are great to heat up a sitting room. they are a god sent if the electric goes out. nothing worse than no being able to use the only heating system if its cold in the middle of a storm


oil is unnaturally low at the moment . they are trying to prove a point to Russia .
it will go back up a lot in the next year


turf is expensive if you have to buy it by the bag but if you are close to the bog and have time then it is fairly cheap
a woman i does some work for burns 100 euros of oil a week in her 2 story house. we burn 400 euros of turf and a bit of timber in a year heating our large bungalow

the_pen_turner

i wouldn't rule out the stove.
you might not need a boiler stove but i would definitely put in a small room heater stove . they are great to heat up a sitting room. they are a god sent if the electric goes out. nothing worse than no being able to use the only heating system if its cold in the middle of a storm


oil is unnaturally low at the moment . they are trying to prove a point to Russia .
it will go back up a lot in the next year


turf is expensive if you have to buy it by the bag but if you are close to the bog and have time then it is fairly cheap
a woman i does some work for burns 100 euros of oil a week in her 2 story house. we burn 400 euros of turf and a bit of timber in a year heating our large bungalow

david65

the_pen_turner wrote: »

i wouldn't rule out the stove.
you might not need a boiler stove but i would definitely put in a small room heater stove . they are great to heat up a sitting room. they are a god sent if the electric goes out. nothing worse than no being able to use the only heating system if its cold in the middle of a storm


oil is unnaturally low at the moment . they are trying to prove a point to Russia .
it will go back up a lot in the next year


turf is expensive if you have to buy it by the bag but if you are close to the bog and have time then it is fairly cheap
a woman i does some work for burns 100 euros of oil a week in her 2 story house. we burn 400 euros of turf and a bit of timber in a year heating our large bungalow

I would miss the stove, but only from the look of the glowing embers, but you are right that a secondary way of heating is important. As far as the price of oil even if it goes up it would still be of benefit to me in my particular circumstances, fuel at the moment is costing about €260 a month!

Wearb

the_pen_turner wrote: »

a woman i does some work for burns 100 euros of oil a week in her 2 story house.

Has to be something wrong there. Most domestic boilers would have to be running nearly 24/7 to get through that.

That would be more than 4 times average usage. She needs it seen to. She would quickly recoup cost of any remedial work.

Dtp1979

Wearb wrote: »

Has to be something wrong there. Most domestic boilers would have to be running nearly 24/7 to get through that.

That would be more than 4 times average usage. She needs it seen to. She would quickly recoup cost of any remedial work.

Probably a firebird popular 200 heating 10 rads

the_pen_turner

Wearb wrote: »

Has to be something wrong there. Most domestic boilers would have to be running nearly 24/7 to get through that.

That would be more than 4 times average usage. She needs it seen to. She would quickly recoup cost of any remedial work.

boiler is only 2 years old.
big 2 story house. no insulation, draughty windows
boiler in garage 40 feet from house
she is there all day minding kids. she loves heat.
there is no blast of heat when you go in

Dtp1979

the_pen_turner wrote: »

boiler is only 2 years old.
big 2 story house. no insulation, draughty windows
boiler in garage 40 feet from house
she is there all day minding kids. she loves heat.
there is no blast of heat when you go in

It'd be interesting to see that setup. As wearb said, that's seriously high fuel bill

the_pen_turner

I don't know the brand but it is a dark green. it comes on every 15 minutes all day long

VincePP

the_pen_turner wrote: »

i wouldn't rule out the stove.
you might not need a boiler stove but i would definitely put in a small room heater stove . they are great to heat up a sitting room. they are a god sent if the electric goes out. nothing worse than no being able to use the only heating system if its cold in the middle of a storm


oil is unnaturally low at the moment . they are trying to prove a point to Russia .
it will go back up a lot in the next year


turf is expensive if you have to buy it by the bag but if you are close to the bog and have time then it is fairly cheap
a woman i does some work for burns 100 euros of oil a week in her 2 story house. we burn 400 euros of turf and a bit of timber in a year heating our large bungalow

Op says they have access to turf, so low cost on that

Oil won't go much past $75 for foreseeable future due to the amount available via fracking. The abnormal $80+ price was just that, abnormal and caused by hedge funds gambling and using oil as the chips - at one stage over twice the amount of oil was trading as was being produced!!! Trading restrictions that came in last year have stopped the gambling element.

That means the combination of efficient boiler and oil will be the best medium term heat option for those not on gas pipeline.