Alternative to Oil

L

LouthMan

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Guys

Self build, your suggestion for an Alternative to Oil and why ?

Thanks
 
if i was going building myself think it would be geothermal & heat pump as efficiency is about 300-350% as compared with the best conenser oil boiler being 95%, big inital outlay but well worth the longterm investment.

Could also look at heat recovery systems, same kind of level.

Combine with solar for hot water needs.
 

So you'd go for UFH?.

I'd go for oil condenser set to burn a mix of kerosene and vegtable oil that would heat raadiators. I would fit a wood burning stove with back boiler. I would also fit solar panels
 
I heard that the geothermal system uses a lot of electricty to drive the pump and that it cancels out cost benefits. I don't know how true that is.
 
The bottom line on a lot of these 'new technologies' simply doesnt add up when it comes to payback time - and its the payback period everyone should be looking at.
Geothermal heat pump systems have had their grant funding removed in Germany as of a couple of years ago - on the basis that they are not all that 'green' and efficient given the electricity overhead.
Concentrate on ensuring your build is 1. very well insulated and 2. airtight.
Provided a good effort goes into securing airtightness of the building envelope, then you should definitely check out Heat Recovery System.

With all the hoohaa re. solar, payback time can still take many many years - check it out but make sure you do the sums on the system offered.

The most wasteful element of irish houses at the moment is the open fire - so just in case you were thinking of incorporating one, make sure you incorporate a stove on the end of it. If also considering Heat Recovery, you will have to see if both work together - or else get a proper 'room sealed' stove that uses its own air supply.
 
LouthMan said:
Guys

Self build, your suggestion for an Alternative to Oil and why ?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I don’t know what stage you are at but assume you have not started yet. I think what you are saying is you want to self build an efficient home. Let’s face it the less dependent you are the better Oil, Gas, Electricity and even wood pellets are not going to come down in price. I think you should look at the overall house design. The way I would tackle this is listed below.

1. Consider the site location first and take into account its aspect and wind conditions.
2. A lot of thought needs to be put into the house design I don’t think buying house designs from plans is a good idea. For efficient a well designed house needs to be designed around a individual site and can be compact and have good year round light levels throughout which can save on running cost.
3. Many people are not fully sold on the airtight home with its heat exchange unit and there are alternative Eco homes which don’t use this and are not reliant on this type of technology.
4. I would also look at the choices you have with building materials and consider something like hemp which has a very good terminal insulation.
5. If I could get around to building something like this I would consider a wood burning heating system like a Masonry stove ( I think that what they are called ) Basically it’s a very efficient stove/fireplace build onsite and if the house is designed correctly it could heat several rooms directly at the same time. ( I do know that houses have been build like this and using only this as a heat source )
6. I would also install a vacuum solar water heating panel.

However building something like this is not the norm and finding experienced designed and builders could prove difficult.
 
I did a renovation of an older house recently and decided to go with oil. I fitted a condensing boiler, with a separate hot water circuit and put a wood burning stove in the kitchen. We replaced some, but not all of the pvc double glazed windows with triple glazed and insulated the attic. I ordered oil the other day and was delighted to discover that we had used only 240 litres of oil since moving in February. The stove wasn't ready for action until the end of April so we were using exclusively oil to heat the house until then (7-9am and 5-10pm). We started using the stove in mid-may, starting it with one bricket then putting in one, broken up compressed sawdust log (cost €1). Doing this about 2pm would keep the kitchen warm til about 8.30 when we would put on the heat. Since mid june we have had the hot water circuit on 30mins per day which gives constant hot water. I am very glad I went with oil, we had gas at our old house and the bills were over 200 for 2 months, the standing charges alone look like they would be more than the cost of oil. The house has a south and West orientation, which makes a huge difference to passive heat, the house is 1700 sq ft plus converted attic

I think that insulation and orientation make much more economic difference than any alternative technology. I am set up for solar panels but can't see how my figures would justify the additional cost of €4000 to instal them
 
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