Changing from oil-burning home heating

ITDept

Is there an existing discussion on here where I can ask some basic questions about doing that? I'm a complete beginner in this area and just need some basic starting points so I know what to go and ask a professional for.

I have an oil-burning home heating system that goes through standard radiators. The radiators are all old, not very efficient, and most have slow leaks. I'm trying to get some educated opinions on replacing the oil with some sort of electric system - either a replacement for the burner and replacement radiators, or rip out the old system altogether and replace with something different.

I'm interested in getting a set of solar panels and a battery to provide some of the electricity we use, as well as topping up the hot water. That part I understand (as far as I need to anyway). It's just the 'what do do with the heating system' bit that I haven't got a clue about.

Sleeper12

There is a long payback or break even point with solar. They should be one of the last things to get in, in my opinion. Best investment in the home is insulation. Not just attic insulation but the whole house. Once you have insulated you will begin to save money on whatever heating system you have. Even your old system. You will save more money with the installation then you ever will with solar

After insulation I'd look at the heating. You could then look at heat pumps. This is the most efficient form of heating so long as the insulation is up to standard. It's only then would I start looking at solar. I see insulation and heating system as things needed in your house where solar is a luxury item

black & white

A lad at work put in a Thermodynamic system for hot water and swears by it, 2 showers can run at the same time. He fully insulated his house up to a B level but kept the oil for central heating, just replace the boiler to a new condensing one.

ITDept

Thanks. We have had the insulation re-done fairly recently, and I agree with you - it made a big difference and any changes to the heating system would have been wasted if we hadn't done that.

I'm trying to move away from burning oil for a few reasons:

Money - oil prices have rocketed over the last year, hopefully the awful war in Ukraine ends soon but even then I can't see the price doing anything other than going up over time.

Politics / beliefs - I'm not a proper eco-warrior, but I do think that as we live in a place abundant in renewable energy, it's a bit rubbish to be paying to import oil, and paying some pretty questionable regimes for it.

Sleeper12

If the house is insulated then a heat pump is probably the best option. Rads will need replacing

Markcheese

There are fan assisted convection rads , that work better with the lower temp circulating water you get with a heat pump , probably not cheap to do a whole house , but cheaper than tearing up all the floors to put in underfloor heating , and more efficient than running your heat pump at a high temp ...

OwenM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119086392#Comment_119086392

Won't you need 220v at each rad to power the fans? What watts are the fans rated at? Lets say they are 50w (i'm guessing), 6 rads at 50w for 4hrs a day, 4 months a year = €50 a year. Also could be noisy, especially over time as they start to wear out. What is the lifetime of the fan, Could you end up replacing a radiator in 5 years because the fan can't be replaced on it's own.... As a general rule any version of a 'thing' without moving parts is preferred over the version with moving parts.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119085722#Comment_119085722

Indeed it is rubbish to be importing energy when it's estimated to be huge quantities of oil and gas in Irish waters in the Atlantic, the Government have recently decided to make it illegal to explore and extract oil and gas from Irish waters which I think is absolutely disgraceful and they should be flogged for even thinking about it, not sure if it's in law yet.

My attitude is that I will change when cheap suitable alternatives exist, my only hope of getting off oil is to go with an external pellet stove and silo for storage pellets are dirt cheap compared to oil and gas, I would certainly never convert to gas considering the cost of it and it could be in severe shortage in the not too distant future, the war in Ukraine won't end soon and things will get much worse before they get better and we'll feel it hard as Our Government for decades failed to secure our own energy.

We really need to change the heating as it's chugging along since we moved in 5 years ago but it's a difficult decision to know what to so or who to trust. I do know I would be very worried if I were on Gas.

I'm a big supporter of Nuclear power Because it's a virtually unlimited 0 emission energy source, Norway have thousands of years worth of Thorium, Nuclear power can supply our electricity, charge electric cars and produce Hydrogen, but again, our Government would rather see us screwed for energy than secure our own. Perhaps on purpose ? who knows all I do know is the shower that's in now aren't worth a shite.

Solar PV will reduce your electricity bills but not by as much as they could as you're forced to give all excess to the Grid for free but you're expected to pay for it when you pull it out of the grid, battery adds to the expense, hard to know on that one.

monseiur

For a heat pump to be efficient your house would need to be up near passive house standard, insluation wise. When retro fitted - heat pumps are at best 65% efficient. The pay back time on solar panels is 10 to 15 years - panels lifespan is approx 15 years, that's top quality ones. As mentioned previously insulation is the key, 450mm in attic, pumped cavity, triple glazed windows & doors. If your house is in an exposed area consider a storm porch. Digging up floors and fitting underfloor insulation is a major job and probably not economical. So your best bet is to replace all rads and related pipework, fit a new condensing oil boiler or wood pellet boiler. New rad pipework can be run along skirting etc. very little trenching required except to cross hall ways, at front & back door etc.

macvin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119217465#Comment_119217465

Where is this oil? - They've been search for decades and still have not found anything commercial and oil companies have pumped billions into exploration around the Irish coast.

there is the hope that Barryroe will be decent, but its no better than 50/50. Yes Providence will claim some astronomical potential - but why have potential international financial backers not put their money on the table despite Providence's best efforts.

Nuclear is good, but it would take decades to develop (and if K experience is anything to go by, the chances are near zero)

But we have massive wind and wave power here. Combined with battery farms and we can be self sustainable on electricity fairly quickly - if only the nimbys were told to eff off about their "blot on landscape" objections.

As for OP, upgrading to the latest oil boiler may end up being the best option. If the current boiler is more than 15 years old, the saving from an efficient boiler may be a lot more than you expect

Wind turbines are a complete eyesore and so are solar pv farms that just turn green fields black. Due to the gross inefficiency of hydrogen production including having to liquify it to -270 odd degrees for transportation Nuclear is a good option for this because of it's abundant power. Hydrogen could be used for heavy goods vehicles and even through the existing gas Network.

The OP is in the same position as me and even if he pays for new oil boiler he'll still need oil and I am in the same position, need to replace the boiler and most of the rads and wood pellets look to be a far more attractive and cheaper alternative, at the expense of more work to load pellets.