Flyfisher
Member
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- 10,198
- Location
- Norfolk, UK
May I canvass for comments on heating systems for a large, old timber-frame property?
The property in question is currently heated (I use the term loosely!) by a coal-fired Rayburn that was converted to oil (no gas to the house) and feeds just 5 radiators in three rooms. It keeps the kitchen nice and warm but the radiators really only keep the chill off the rooms in question. All the other rooms have no heating at all, except two other ground floor rooms that have open fires. The Rayburn burns through 1000 litres of oil in about 6 weeks if it is kept running throughout the day - not the most efficient system! Clearly, all this has to go and I'm effectively starting from scratch.
I'm not looking to keep the whole house at 70F and want to use as 'green' a system as possible. I envisage a 'background' heating system that would keep the chill at bay, but not create a T-shirt climate, supplemented by multifuel burners for the main living rooms. I might keep the open fire in the drawing room, although I feel a little guilty burning coal (wood just doesn't seem to be sufficient in an open fire).
I'm also keen to use some form of solar water heating; definitely for DHW and also for pre-heating the water in a radiator-based system, if that's what I eventually go for. I've been reading up on wood/pellet boilers and am even considering growing willow and/or hazel in short-rotation coppice to feed such a boiler. It would certainly be a green solution, but I'm rather concerned about the volumes of material required to keep the boiler fed. Even if I'm growing it myself for free, I don't want to be spending all my time cutting and chipping wood in my old age!
I've also looked at ground-source heat pumps. I've read that these work very well with underfloor heating to provide a low level of background heat, which sounds ideal as I'd love to have a gentle warmth emanating from the tiled floors. I also assume that this would be less stressful on the property than a daily heating/cooling cycle.
However, I'm doubtful about the practicality of this when the tiles are laid directly on the ground. Is it practical to dig everything up and lay down an insulating layer before replacing the tiles so that I'm not just heating up the ground? Also, would the insulation layer affect the porosity of the existing flooring?
Even if I did go for underfloor heating, would it be better to drive this from a 'conventional' boiler system or a heat pump - or is it possible to link both systems and use either as convenient?
Perhaps the ideal system would be some sort of a central thermal store capable of being fed from many different heat sources; oil or wood pellet boiler, solar collectors and the multifuel stoves and then distributing the heat using hot water through a combination of underfloor heating pipes and radiators. Maybe underfloor downstairs and radiators upstairs?
I know this is a big subject, but I'd be very interested to hear of any experiences regarding heating such properties and if anyone has successfully used the emerging 'environmental' options, either in whole or part.
The property in question is currently heated (I use the term loosely!) by a coal-fired Rayburn that was converted to oil (no gas to the house) and feeds just 5 radiators in three rooms. It keeps the kitchen nice and warm but the radiators really only keep the chill off the rooms in question. All the other rooms have no heating at all, except two other ground floor rooms that have open fires. The Rayburn burns through 1000 litres of oil in about 6 weeks if it is kept running throughout the day - not the most efficient system! Clearly, all this has to go and I'm effectively starting from scratch.
I'm not looking to keep the whole house at 70F and want to use as 'green' a system as possible. I envisage a 'background' heating system that would keep the chill at bay, but not create a T-shirt climate, supplemented by multifuel burners for the main living rooms. I might keep the open fire in the drawing room, although I feel a little guilty burning coal (wood just doesn't seem to be sufficient in an open fire).
I'm also keen to use some form of solar water heating; definitely for DHW and also for pre-heating the water in a radiator-based system, if that's what I eventually go for. I've been reading up on wood/pellet boilers and am even considering growing willow and/or hazel in short-rotation coppice to feed such a boiler. It would certainly be a green solution, but I'm rather concerned about the volumes of material required to keep the boiler fed. Even if I'm growing it myself for free, I don't want to be spending all my time cutting and chipping wood in my old age!
I've also looked at ground-source heat pumps. I've read that these work very well with underfloor heating to provide a low level of background heat, which sounds ideal as I'd love to have a gentle warmth emanating from the tiled floors. I also assume that this would be less stressful on the property than a daily heating/cooling cycle.
However, I'm doubtful about the practicality of this when the tiles are laid directly on the ground. Is it practical to dig everything up and lay down an insulating layer before replacing the tiles so that I'm not just heating up the ground? Also, would the insulation layer affect the porosity of the existing flooring?
Even if I did go for underfloor heating, would it be better to drive this from a 'conventional' boiler system or a heat pump - or is it possible to link both systems and use either as convenient?
Perhaps the ideal system would be some sort of a central thermal store capable of being fed from many different heat sources; oil or wood pellet boiler, solar collectors and the multifuel stoves and then distributing the heat using hot water through a combination of underfloor heating pipes and radiators. Maybe underfloor downstairs and radiators upstairs?
I know this is a big subject, but I'd be very interested to hear of any experiences regarding heating such properties and if anyone has successfully used the emerging 'environmental' options, either in whole or part.