Geothermal ESB costs for a year

I used an Omagh-based subsidiary of a UK company (although I believe they've since moved closer to Belfast). I won't name them (well I did originally but have edited this post) but the name suggests cosiness underfoot.

Have to say I could not recommend the company. Although I'm happy with the system, there were some pretty long delays, due to mistakes made, installers forgetting to bring vital components; and poor communication with other tradespeople. Hopefully they've gotten their act together by now.
 
am puttiing in geothermal heat too,looking around at prices for heat pumps i found i could buy the exact same heat pump in poland and save a few thousand euro and iwas wondering did anyone go down that road???it would be a swedish brand bought off the polish distributor,i will get the grant as it does not matter where u buy in europe according to the department. any feedback on that idea???
 

Hi Fisherman

We bring in a lot of building material from Poland and the quality is very good, we fitted a Nibe heatpump which the client had purchased and we later found the same heatpump for 60% of the price in Poland.
 
the pump i got a price for was themia. the quote i got for nibe pumps in poland were much the same as for ireland,and i got a polish guy here to do the asking
 
Hi DQuin

I've just completed an estimated analysis on how much it would cost to convert over to gorthermal. I'm currently using LPG for all my heating which is killing me. The figures I came up based on my current gass usage with was around €40/month using night rate electricity. But what I would like to know is how many units of electricity you are consuming/day for the geothermal system

thanks
TC
 
Hi TC.

Hope this is of help

January858
February899
March942
April846
May597
June267
July225
August318
September331

which a total of 4425 units or €700 of electricity, without taking nightsaver into account.

Q? aka Dquinn
 
The comparison is pointless without taking into account the heat output required to warm your house. It's easy enough to compute the number of units you're going to use based on the electrical rating of the heat pump and associated electrical equipment (circulation pumps e.g.) but the amount of time the system is running depends largely on air temperature and the insualtion properties of your house. If you know how many BTU's you're using at the moment to heat your house, you can do the caclculation easily enough if you know the output of the system you plan to install.
 
I have a geothermal system that I purchased from Ashgrove. They have all the buzz words, but when you scratch the surface, they are just a bunch of kids, who source the kit, then farm out the installation to contacted plumbers. Our installation was pretty poor, and ended up calling them back a number of times.
 
qwerty
Just found your information on running costs within this post. Do you have the actual running costs available for Sept through Dec?

We have just moved into new house runnning U/floor space heating off an A/W hp. Have the controls programmed to come on at 5 - 10:30 in morning and 2 - 4.30 in afternoon. This is adequately heating house and hot water for us. With a 3.95 - 4KW input, I'm hoping we'll not see esb bills much higher than 4euro a day for heat. Have just started recording the hp operating times, so will start to get a better feel for actual costs over the next few weeks.
 
Yep, just working on them the other day. These are the average daily costs.

September 1.53
October 2.42
November 4.06
December 4.35

Again these exclude Nightsaver rates.

Total yearly cost came in a €1100 excluding nightsaver rates. So approx €900 with nightsaver. (a little higher than I thought, but still not bad for 24/7 heat and HW for 3500 sq foot. I'd love to know how much oil or pellets would have cost for the same level of heat and HW for comparism.)
 
this would be a great time to hear how anyone who is currently using solar panels, wood pellet burners, geothermal heating etc (ie the newish systems) feel about their cost effectiveness as well as the quality and amount of heat produced. we have looked at all the above and read numerous threads on this site and i am afraid we are only convinced about using the solar panels to provide hot water through the summer months when we need no heating. for heating we are going with a common oil burner and a dual fuel stove with a back boiler for winter which will heat main family room in the winter evenings and rads around the house. we will have access to loads of free timber from my dad's farm and there is a reasonable supply of turf to be bought at a reasonable price. going to go the full hogg with insulation and good windows. the house is a 2,800 square foot with 6 bedrooms (ie four beds on first floor and two in the loft with shared bathroom). also going to install a couple of electric showers for convenience probably one of the ensuites and one in the utility room on ground floor! i want to be able to have a shower anytime i feel like it. we don't really know whether we are right or wrong but i just dont feel entirely convinced about underfloor heating, geothermal, wind turbines, wood pellet burners etc. and the people who sell these systems are of similar mentality to estate agents ! sorry if this offends anyone.
 
Lorna,
I am in very similar situation to you just building and can't decide on systems. I am thinking about Solar panels for water and 2 wood burners and then oil as back. Like you I am very unconvinced on geothermal (especially the cost) and supplies/storage etc of pellets. WOuld be interested in anyone who may have experience of integrating solar/small burners and oil into one system??
 
yes to be honest i am bogged down with information but its all very general and most of it comes from sales type people who naturally have nothing bad to say about their products. i feel like we have done the full circle and ended up back at the beginning with what we now are planning to do. the same scenario for the actual build of the house, timberframe, traditional block or this polysterene blocks with concrete fill system. And again we are back at square and going with traditional block build and going heavy duty on the insulation and putting in good low maintenance windows. happy days ahead !
 
Why Are You Not Sure About Underfloor Heating? I Am Starting A New Build Soon And Was Thinking Of Installing Underfloor, Just Interested To Hear Your Reasons!!
 
well i live in london and am very fond of my combi boiler running on piped gas. instant hot water as much as you like any time of the day or night. the house heats up in about 15 minutes. I feel the weather is very changeable these days. some very mild days and then come evening it can turn right cold quite suddenly. I think it takes too long for underfloor heating to regulate itself for my liking. There seems to be some lack of control with having the right temperature on different types of days. in my dad's house in ireland, he has oil heating, its a big house with plenty of draughts but when you fire up that boiler, the effect is quite dramatic within a half hour. underfloor heating just doesn't seem to heat up quick enough and cool down quick enough. i'm going to ireland next month and going to call on a few people who have underfloor heating in for a couple of years now and see what they say. mind you i am terrible one for having cold feet but i think i'll get some warm slippers !
 
Well if you put it like that, thats a very good point!! I tend to get very warm when heating is on and like to be able to cool down in an instant!! So underfloor maybe a bad idea for me.
 
Well if you put it like that, thats a very good point!! I tend to get very warm when heating is on and like to be able to cool down in an instant!! So underfloor maybe a bad idea for me.

Many proponents of ufh claim that the heat produced is more pleasant than that of conventional heating systems, so I wouldn't rule it out without a little more research. You could always open a window to cool down...
 
Well, Leo I Heard That Alright! More Likely I Will Go With Ufh Downstairs And Rads Up. I'm Building A Timberframe House. Some People Say They Hardly Turn On Rads Any Time Of Year!! Thanks For Your Help.
What Are Your Views On Wood Pellet Boilers? I Was Thinking Of Going For Oil And Maybe Leaving The Possibility Of Switching To Wood Pellets Or Geo Thermal Later On.
 

Rads with Geothermal is not really a good option as the water temp is too low to heat radiators. Unless you go the special radiator route, I think they are aluminium.
 
Ooh!! Never Thought Of That One Querty. Thanks. Well I Guess That Rules Out That Idea. Wood Pellet PROB Only Option To Switch. Do You Know If Solar Panels Could Work Heating Water With An Oil Burner?