Sorry to drone on and on about heating but there's a bit of a 'debate' going on here about energy combos. We are going for an airsource pump and I had planned to have a woodburner to be an additional heat source and cosy focal point (they look lovely don't they?). However, I hadn't thought about cooking so the heating contractor suggested gas as back-up heating and cooking source, dismissing the idea of a woodburner (I wasn't there to ask further questions). So would it be worth having all three? The debate is around whether you need a woodburner if you can whack up the gas when it's really cold. We will sometimes want a real fire because, well, who doesn't? But woodburners are pretty expensive if one only uses them occasionally.
- Thread starter lou
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skier-hughes
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- Staffs, UK
I'm trying to get woodburner with back boiler, solar and rayburn to gel together.
Struggling a bit, but getting there now.
In the case of emergency, we'll have trusty immersion heater
Struggling a bit, but getting there now.
In the case of emergency, we'll have trusty immersion heater
Penners
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In this weather, I wouldn't mind heating combinations.
JohnB
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- Beautiful sunny West Wales!
Heat pumps and gas boilers both need electricity, so if you have no electricity you have no heating. A wood stove doesn't need electricity.
Andrew Bodenham
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Depends a bit on where you live I think. In a town or city where supply reliability is good I'd probably be happy with all gas or all electric. Out here in the sticks it's a bit different. Power cuts are not that frequent, but when the lights and heating go off you do feel smug the kettle singing on top of the woodstove and 6 months worth of carbon-neutral fuel stacked up against the side of the house. Plus we often get free fuel - bits we've taken out of the house, neighbours' trees, pallets, offcuts, which helps to keep the bills down.
On the flip-side I wouldn't be without a gas hob for cooking. Are you on mains gas?
On the flip-side I wouldn't be without a gas hob for cooking. Are you on mains gas?
We are planing on having a wood burner (not connected to the heating) to back up the GSHP and to have a couple of bottles of gas for the cooker. This way we should be able to keep part of the house warm and to be able to cook if the electricity fails. There would be no hot water though (apart from what we heat on the cooker) as that is electric only.