Heating System for new build query

noelf said:

Keep ot simple and efficent,
Simple simple. Simple stupid.
Sometimes the best is the easiest and simplest,
The tolerances are very fine with these type of systems and yes they are great on paper.
But god help you, because no one else will, when, as the guys have said "you cant get parts or service"
You will have a very expensive white elephant and a very cold house and no hot water
Sad to say Ireland is only a large city in the grand scale of things and the market here is very limited.
So best to stay with the main stream for service and reliability.
See if you can get feed back on systems 5-10 years old operating either here or the UK, say, Wales or Scotland.
Any system or controls should be sourced from an established manufacturer who has a strong share of the Irish market.

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hrv systems have nothing to do with heat production.. whether central heating or domestic hot water...

its a ventilation system that lets you recover heat.

if at very worst the system breaks down or theres no parts etc.. you still have the best part of passive stack ventilation system, all youd need to do is fit trickle vents... not major at all...

noelf said:

Keep ot simple and efficent,
Simple simple. Simple stupid.
Sometimes the best is the easiest and simplest,
The tolerances are very fine with these type of systems and yes they are great on paper.
But god help you, because no one else will, when, as the guys have said "you cant get parts or service"
You will have a very expensive white elephant and a very cold house and no hot water
Sad to say Ireland is only a large city in the grand scale of things and the market here is very limited.
So best to stay with the main stream for service and reliability.
See if you can get feed back on systems 5-10 years old operating either here or the UK, say, Wales or Scotland.
Any system or controls should be sourced from an established manufacturer who has a strong share of the Irish market.

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I'm curious, if you were building in the morning how would you build it and what would you heat and ventilate it with?

sas said:

I'm curious, if you were building in the morning how would you build it and what would you heat and ventilate it with?

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To be frank,
It would depend on the location.
I would use a conventional heat source.
I would use under floor heating on the ground floor.
I would check the water supply for mineral content.
I would use thermostatic controls in all rooms bar the bathrooms.
I would "not" use a range.
I would use a HE boiler, be it oil or gas depending on the location/availibitliy.
I would use solar panels but only as a secondary source, I like my showers and hot water heat recovery would be a major factor with me.
Ventilation would follow the recommended air change norms for individual rooms.
I would make sure the walls and attic were well insulated, as heat rises and walls act as convectors, windows also convect cold as well are adding solar gain depending on the weather.
If I lived in the ass hole of no-where and I almost do, I would hate to be reliant on a call out with a young baby in a freezing cold house and having to plug in electric heaters to keep the place warm while waiting for Mr €120.00 per hour and his mileage
to replace a part that may take anywhere from 3 working days to 3 bloody months.
And believe me this is a regular occurance, ask anyone reliant on a Stanley or an Agga who's service is generally good except when you need then right here right now.
So efficiency is not just about the best enegry efficiency rating
To me, its about common sense.
Be envoirnmentally aware? yes all day long, but comfort of mind and body is equally important.
Low wattage lighting is also great, they last a long time though expensive, use bugger all juice.
Light is not measured in wattage, energy is so they do emit loads of light, my drive is lit with them on movement sensors set at 1.2 so the local fox rabbit and rat population do not have parties while I am snug in my warm house.
My place is a shade under 300m2 and I burn about 2000L of kero per anum, so Two fills in my 1300L tank and I never let it run out.
I have a stanley and "I HATE IT" but the lady of the Manor wanted one, so there is a HE oil boiler going in this year and they stanley will be for astectics only..... and the system will be sealed. (hope there are no monir weeps or my heart will be broken sorting them id LS1 does not work)
The gaff is about 18years old by the way.
So instead of ripping it apart I lined all the walls with Insulated boards while redecorating and fitted TRV's to all the rads bar the bathroom and our ensuite a plated heat exchanger was fitted to the existing HW Cyl and did away with the coil by simply by passing it.
Hopefully up grading the wife next year too...lol
Thank god there is no acorn pipe in the house that I know of.......
This post will be deleted if not edited immediately the more I think about it I might build a new one ..lol
Or maybe a tent or caravan.......
Like I said everything looks good on paper, even the wife......
Been in the office too long without a doubt...... better go home.
Keep it simple and get few of qualified opinions and draw yours from the common average concencus.

noelf said:

I like my showers and hot water heat recovery would be a major factor with me.

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Would you care to explain a little more about this item, is there a product you have in mind..... would be interested to hear from anyone who has such a system installed.

MacTheKnife1 said:

Would you care to explain a little more about this item, is there a product you have in mind..... would be interested to hear from anyone who has such a system installed.

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Its called an alpha craft plated heat exchanger. from copper craft in Kylemore rd dublin, I am sure they a have web site.

They do have a website: http://www.coppercraft.ie/

But it gives no detail on the product you mention - that part of the site is being worked on currently.

At the moment i have to agree with you. our HRV claims 80% efficiency but the reality is that it is closer to 50%. the house and ducts are very well insulated but the bedrooms are too cool (11-15 degrees last week). we are looking into getting a post heater radiator installed to warm the air going to the bedrooms.

MacTheKnife1 said:

This is the key piece that bothers me. The salesmen tell me that they simply take the extract air and it passes through a mesh of tubes and the incoming air passes thru a mesh of tubes. Now both sets of tubes are in contact and so of course some off the heat from the outgoing is passed to the incoming. Very clever idea.

Now if interior temp is 20 C and outside is 0 C I maintain that they will NEVER get the new incoming air to a temp higher than 10 C - and even to get that far is some bloody achievement.

I am very much in favour of HRV - just want to understand the efficiency claims thats all.

And I totally agree with another poster - keep it simple. Insulation is great - it has no moving parts and will remain perfectly functional for 50 years or more. HRV is simply a fan and a simple heat exchange - even at 30 % efficiency I will take it.

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