We have oil fired central heating, and as everyone knows the price of oil is becoming prohibitive. So in an attempt to try to reduce the costs of home heating I was thinking of getting a back boiler installed to be heated by an open coal fire. I was thinkg of using a combination of both, and thereby reduce our dependance/costs on the oil heating system. I know the cost of coal is going through the roof too.
The house is an 8 year old bungalow with wall, floor and ceiling insulation, PVC double glazing, with 11 rads.
I've heard differing opinions as to the effectiveness of back boilers - are the modern ones any good?
I'd like to go with a renewable source but have also heard most are very costly to install and maintain, with poor enough results.