Domestic heating options

hi were building a bungalow in Wexford. We're on a tight budget and plan to install the underfloor heating system ourselves with the aid of our plumber.

Can anyone reccomend a supplier (Cheap!!) for the pipes, manifolds, controllers etc for the system?

Many thanks in advance
 
Hi All!
I need help in deciding on heating options for an 40sq m extension which is currently underway in S Dublin.The main (detatched)house approx 1,700sq ft and I currently have gas central heating with rads of various sizes and ages. Most are 10 years old. Boiler 100,000BTU and 2 rads were replaced about 5 years ago. It has all been working fine. Now I need to add on to the system for the new area and I have found it extremely hard to find a plumber that wants to take on a job which lasts longer than 2-3 days! I have had 1 quote. These are the recommendations from that plumber but I have no great knowledge on this subject so would appreciate some assistance/comments. The pipe to the boiler is GB so I am advised to replace the boiler with a new 100,000 BTU condensing boiler which
The Plumber quoted
"will have 98% efficiency complete with flue and condensing pipe connected to drain
Re-pipe in ¾” gas service supply from gas meter to new boiler
Re-pipe all existing radiators with REHAU pipe
Supply & fit new digital time clock"
The new extension will be totally open plan and we are having everything full insulated. As this will be a large area approx 9m square I am undecided as to stick with rads in this area or go for underfloor heating. I am concerned that this area is so large that if fully tiles it may look a little stark and if I opt for UFH I will be restricted to a tiled floor(forever). There are fewer walls in open plan to hang rads.Also I have heard horror stories as to the running costs of UFH! Triple costs etc.
The plumber quoted;
"3 port manifold for kitchen under-floor heating
Thermostat upstairs, downstairs and kitchen

300 dual coil stainless steel cylinder complete with temperature and pressure relief valve, tundish, expansion vessel"
I am happy to get the solar panels but again unsure if I am getting correct advice.
The Plumber quoted
"3 panel solar system complete with pumping station and control unit (Bosch or similar)
3.5 bar booster pump for pressurizing the cold supply and hot water
All pipe work to bath/en suite excluding the taps, sinks, shower doors, bath, toilets etc.
Thermostatic valves to existing radiators."
The plumber quote for this work was €20k. As you can see this excludes all sanitary ware.
Can anybody throw some light on this project for me?
My main concerns are 1. UFH or not? 2. Price ok?

 
I found that this company were quite reasonable, and happened to have an installer in my area (north west). They're based in the north, and supply the Roth brand of UFH equipment. No affilliation apart from buying from them.

[broken link removed]

Moved into new gaff around 10 weeks ago, and as others have said, not a whole lot of need for heating to be on full tilt yet. But as for the performance of my wood pellet boiler and UFH system, have to say that I have no complaints as of yet. Have it on for a couple of hours everyday, just to keep her ticking over, and its getting along just grand. Got it turned down from a 25 KW to an 16 or 18 KW output after installation, and it is using pellets at a rate that does not alarm me at all. Had my first look into the pellet storage unit that I knocked together, and there's plenty in her yet. No actual quantification has begun yet, as I'm too busy taking it easy after getting the gaff finished.
Got the Powertech chap to install my UFH downstairs, did it myself upstairs, pretty straightforward, and everywhere is cosy when the heating is on.
Have thought about the solar panel option and am going to put it off for a while, as if my WP boiler is on even for a wee while, there is loads of hot water, got a 300L SS dual coil cylinder, with the boiler hooked up to both coils (plumber recommended to do this if I was going to be leaving the solar panels for a while as the HW from the boiler goes through the tank twice essentially).
Have never been convinced about the whole heat pump/geothermal option. Looks and sounds good, but appears far too complicated, and in my humble opinion requires too high an initial capital investment. Thats apart from the fact that according to anecdotal evidence they are being reconsidered in that shangri la of sustainability and sense, Sweden, and the recent decision to reduce the grant associated with them as they are not as effective in reducing ones carbon footprint.
I mean one has to drill the hole, line the hole, put some equipment in the hole, fill this with an appropriate liquid (which may or may not be potentially damaging to the environment), pump this through a heat exchange unit, nearly constantly if I'm not mistaken, or at least for exteded periods of time, and hey presto, free energy?!
Seems to me like theres a lot of things that can break down. I'm far happier with a system that burns timber pellets, heats water in the same unit and pumps it through the house, less room for stuff to go wrong, and therefore less maintenance.
What I think is really daft about a lot of the geothermal systems is that you can conect them to the internet, to allow for remote access and control of the system, as well as 'troubleshooting' by the parent company if required. If you ask me, anything that has the capacity to be accessed by its parent company so they can fix it from Austria or Shanghai or where ever they might be was designed to break down!
 
Hi P.Ranks

So you think there is less that can go wrong and less maintenace with a pellet boiler than a heat pump.

Lets see:

A pellet stove has a burner, ignition, auger, screw, vacum/blower, grates, creates ash which needs emptying, has bulk fuel which can clog (probably only on cheaper systems). I would think there are probaly a few more moving parts and things that could go wrong.

A heat pump system when installed and sealed has one moving part, a compressor.
 
Well hello there,

Sorry if my remarks seemed to be disparaging towards heat pumps or geo thermal systems. Now that I look at what you have said, I agree, there are more moving parts, and probably more maintenance when it comes to a WP boiler system. I can only speak from my own experience, and would never tell someone that they had mad the wrong choice. I know several people who are perfectly happy with their heat pump systems.
However, in relation to the capital costs (and effort in installation) and the potential adverse environmental effects or the effectiveness of the HP system in reducing ones emissions (and therefore the emissions from domestic heating in general, after all some people are looking at all the options out there not just for monetary reasons but for their impact on the climate, directly or indirectly), then my previous remarks must be considered reasonable. Also, I can turn my system on whenever I need to, and the costs are just the same, however isn't there something in relation to heat pumps that requires their operation on night rate electricity to reduce the overall running costs?
I admit that my system needs some TLC, in that the ash needs removing every couple of weeks, have been putting it into my compost bin to see what effect it will have on the final product. And I have to fill the hopper on the side about once a week, haven't got it feeding directly from the pellet store and therefore have a good degree of control when it comes to dust getting into the feeding mechanism. I'm kind of old fasioned and hands on though when it comes to things like this.
In conclusion though, I was just giving my tuppence in relation to someones query about UFH and that turned into a eulogy about my choice of system, which I am completely happy with, and I just wanted to try and share that happiness! Didn't intend to upset anyone who has a heat pump system, as I know that'd be kinda like insulting a mans horse or something back in the days when horses were, well still horses, but did a lot more work for people.
(I still think the connection to the internet thing is daft though...)
 
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