I am starting a new build and my head is about to explode with how am I going to heat the place. I need real advice of a tried and tested solution that will not cost 50k to fit and have high running costs.
The build and HRV
My home will be 2550 sqft and is going to be constructed from ICF so it should be airtight and well insulated. One area that is a no brainier is that I am putting in HRV but the quotes coming back to me are all in the region of €7.5k with a few at €10k + so my first question is can I get it for cheaper? I used to live in Germany and I know its around €3 to €4k to fit there.
Heating
For the past 6 months I have been investigating heating and I have swayed from Wood pellet to geo to heat pumps etc. Again the prices are over inflated and margins from some of these companies must be 200% or so. I am now of the opinion that renewable energies are not worth the investment just yet so I am thinking of just going with oil for a price of €3k for install and look in 5 years time to replace this with a well tried system.
Passive is the way forward but there is no such thing as a true passive house, its a pipe dream as there will be some form of heating unless you live in the desert but my home should be cheap to heat as we are innvesting alot in insulation and decent windows and have a build that should have a great solar gain.
Questions:
The build and HRV
My home will be 2550 sqft and is going to be constructed from ICF so it should be airtight and well insulated. One area that is a no brainier is that I am putting in HRV but the quotes coming back to me are all in the region of €7.5k with a few at €10k + so my first question is can I get it for cheaper? I used to live in Germany and I know its around €3 to €4k to fit there.
Heating
For the past 6 months I have been investigating heating and I have swayed from Wood pellet to geo to heat pumps etc. Again the prices are over inflated and margins from some of these companies must be 200% or so. I am now of the opinion that renewable energies are not worth the investment just yet so I am thinking of just going with oil for a price of €3k for install and look in 5 years time to replace this with a well tried system.
Passive is the way forward but there is no such thing as a true passive house, its a pipe dream as there will be some form of heating unless you live in the desert but my home should be cheap to heat as we are innvesting alot in insulation and decent windows and have a build that should have a great solar gain.
Questions:
- Heat pumps - Does anyone have any real data on the running costs of these for both geo and air source? I keep hearing horror stories that electricity bills are double with these (wood pellet boiler salesmen) but I also hear some of them use next to nothing (heat pump salesmen). The quotes I have for these are around €12k for heating only, this price is crazy!! Any better quotes out there? Can a system provide hot water as well?
- Woodpellet - Are these a worth while investment just now? Again air pump salesmen state they are useless and running costs are higher than heat pumps.
- Solar - The cost IMO is far to high again in Germany I can get a decent system for half the Irish price but I could not trust an Irish company to fit a German system. Any one have a good working system bought from Ireland at a realistic price (remember new builds do not get grants)?
- Indipendant Consultants - These are joke and will only try and get you to buy a system endorsed by them with a huge markup. Is there a true indipant energy consultant?
- A good system - Can anyone recomend a complete system that is not expensive to fit and has reasonable running costs?