Key Post: Central Heating

Hello, I am looking for some advice please! I am starting to build my home in July and while I had originally planned to go with Geothermal as my source of heating, my budget can not now afford this, so the option I am thinking of is radiators. My builder has suggested a stove for the downstairs kitchen cum dining room cum sitting room (more or less open plan and south facing) to heat that whole area and radiators with oil condensing boiler for rest of house. It would be great if anyone on the site here could recommend if this is a good option. He also suggested I look into aluminium radiators as they use much less water to heat up and are more energy efficient though more expensive at the outset to purchase. I would really appreciate if someone could tell me if I am going the right direction before I start researching this in earnest! I forgot to say that I hope to put some solar panels on roof as well to heat the water.
With all the talk in the media about rising oil prices etc., I am very conscious of having a heating system that is very energy efficient and uses the minimum of oil. There is no gas in my area and I don't intend putting up wind turbine and I haven't heard very positive reports about wood pellet systems, so are radiators (either conventional or aluminium) with oil condensing boiler the very best way to go?. Thanks very much for our help. carrotcake

Condensing boilers are very efficient, about 98% of energy created is used compared to about 65% to 75% for standard boilers. They also come in LPG versions, you could have a tank of gas (calor etc) as compared to oil.
It may be worth getting a stove with a back boiler to atleast heat the water in the cylinder when its lit. You could get a stove with a bigger back boiler to heat the rads also along with the oil/gas. you would then have two options for fuel, coal/wood and oil/gas.

Thanks very much for that information.

With home energy bills going through the roof we were thinking of replacing our 12 year old Firebird 90/120 oil boiler with one of the new Condenser type Oil Boilers plus solar panels for domestic hot water. Is this the best option and where would someone get the most cost efficient combi oil-solar products. Is there a smart controller one can get to optimise the output and efficiency of both. Any suggestions?

With home energy bills going through the roof we were thinking about replacing our 12 year old Firebird 90/120 oil boiler with one of the new Condenser boilers and also installing solar panels for domestic hot water. Is this the most cost-effective option. Which combi models / products are giving the best returns in terms of energy savings and costs and where can they be purchased. Any suggestions?

Have a look at the sedbuk list at http://www.sedbuk.com, this will let you know which boilers are most efficient, Gary.

Maybe worth consulting some qualified in home energy rating & design before making any decisions, alot of times insulation should be the first consideration, then move onto heat sources, such as condensers, sloar etc, and heating / hw control should also be considered, ie. zoning the house into different heating requirements (bedrooms / living / hw) and have them each timed and with seperate room & cyl stats, this means you only heat areas & water when needed (bedrooms off during the daytime etc)

Calling Heinbloed,Calling Heinbloed. I am in awe of your heating brilliance.
I have had to take early retirement because I have a serious neurological disorder. I want to leave my family with a safe home which will cost little to run.I am ready to fit out a one and a half height house near athenry which I designed and built myself. The cost of energy terrifies me. I have located suppliers of evacuated tubes in the u.K for domestic water and my roof is 45dg south facing near the top of the highest plateau in county galway though they tell me wind turbines are a waste of money. I am thinking of getting a combined heat and power boiler from somebody like baxi. I hate the thought of paying all my hard won pension to the national state monopoly electricity supplier. apparently when released in early 2009 the baxi model will kick out 5ish Kilowats of electrons which I think could take over from my 12volt batteries and invertors during heavy demand, ie. when the kids have all the xbox's and ps2 etc..ramping away.

would dearly like your thoughts. can't find a reference anywhere on how to glean information from the xgrid people in the U.K to find out how they get by without mains electricity but it sounds good to me. many thanks in anticipation......

Hi Mikeof, welcome to AAM. You'll be waiting a long time to hear from Heinbloed here as he has been banned. I believe he lives on in other forums, but there are quite a few informed threads here on these subjects. The concencus is that turbines are too expensive currently, the payback period exceeds the expected lifespan. Look up the threads here on self-building and you'll see insullation is the key element in reducing energy usage.
Leo

The € 22k investment in a turbine will be viable when the ESB introduce a credits system similar to that in the UK, this should happen shortly. Combine this with electrical underfloor heating and you might make a few quid.
The Baxti system is oil dependant, you might as well plug into the mains.
There are some top class pellet systems, but look for source who will supply, fit commission and guarentee, I would apply the same critior to the solar panels.

Regardless of what system you use invest in insulation, air tightness and HRV

Hello, I am considering putting in aluminium radiators (use less water to heat than conventional radiators and my builder tells me they give off 'great' heat). I am wondering if anyone here has any experience of them and would you recommend putting the extra cost towards them rather than the normal conventional radiators. I am at foundation level of a new build and trying to do things right while I am building as this will be my one and only time! Also, I am building near Galway so if anyone has any good experience with aluminium rads and can recommend a company that they were happy with, I'd be so grateful. Thanks

Cost of servicing gas boilers

Would anybody be able to give an example of the Cost of servicing gas boilers and how often you should service you bolier?

service costs vary. Around €100 give or take depending on where you located.

As for how often. Manufacturers recommend at least once a year to check for effeciency and safety

Always use qualified registered service technicians and always insist on a written service report and receipt