Heating options in renovation job

_Brian

Love to hear peoples opinions and experinece..

We will be doing a renovation on a stone building, lets say single story, its two story but were just focusing on ground floor being a single bed appt style for the moment, ~80sq M, portions are 400 years old residence.

Is oil the best option... Electric radiators and IR panels talk a great talk but in a modestly insulated home are they really going to work ?? The cost per Kw heat from oil is still very compeditive so producing 2-3 times the heat for same price as electricity..

Then I was wondering about the mini-split systems, claims of 4Kw heat to the room per 1Kw electricity consumed.. Is this the reality on the ground ?? That would be comparible to the oil..

monseiur

Not answering your question directly but whether you go for oil, gas, solar or other the first issue to sort out is INSULATION. If I was in your (safety😊) boots I would start with the upstairs and work my way down.

As I'm sure you're aware heat rises, so it's pointless heating the ground floor area when the heat is rising & disappearing thru the ceiling and the roof. Same applies to external walls. Have a chat with a good engineer who has experience in refurbishing old stone build buildings/houses.

_Brian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121898834#Comment_121898834

I appreciate all that thanks.

its not practical given finances to complete the whole property so ground floor or is. Plus the property will be passing to my daughter, it will be a handy apartment style home for her and she may wish to redevelop for a larger home on time.

I have a handle on the insulation and air tightness items.

heating source is the question.

Im liking the looks of the mini split systems. Decent cop numbers. And the fact that they dehumidify as well is a bonus.

Sleeper12

IR panels are very suitable in badly insulated places. The panels don't heat the room. They heat you /your body. I'm not sure if they are suitable as only way to heat the room but they do complement regular central heating. You can reduce the central heating temperature if using panels alongside.

Insulation is the most important thing in the home but if it's not in your budget then it's not in your budget. With bad insulation, you will need a heating system that gets hot rather than warm like a heat pump. I would definitely opt for gas or oil in badly insulated home

Lenar3556

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121900097#Comment_121900097

Those headline COP figures for heat pumps need to be taken with a pinch of salt, as they reflect the most favourable outcome when all conditions are optimum. The net COP, over the course of 12 months, and particularly in the environment you describe would be more like 2. - I wouldn’t touch it.

Oil would be my preference, followed by gas. Electric or IR heating will have a lower initial install cost, but as you have identified has a significantly higher running cost.

On the insulation side, the lowest hanging fruit is usually the attic insulation. You might be able to improve this?

_Brian

The plan for insulation is 100mm pir in the floor. Ceiling will have 100mm rockwool in joists and 25mm pir insulated board beneath that. Attic probably open cell spray foam.

Walls 50mm insulated board.

airtightness membrane, window reveals taped etc.

I was hoping that this level of insulation would be sufficient maybe for the air to air mini split heating units to keep the house comfortable and be affordable