Energy

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GrandOldTeam said:
I moved out to the sticks in June.

Gas is witchcraft around these parts - whole place only has Oil.

The heating for the house is from a Rayburn. The oven is the boiler ffs. Or something. There's a dial on the oven, you turn that and 1/100 it turns the radiators on. Within 2 hours.

It's starting to get cold and this Rayburn boiler is about as reliable as an Alex Iwobi cross.

I stink. I'm starting to skip showers because I work from home, and it's not worth the hassle of trying to convert oil from a tank outside the house to hot water. I'm not man enough to wash in cold water which I can only assume the rest of Yorkshire do.

Before moving in I thought I'd just throw an Oil Combi Boiler in and I'd be sound. Spoke to a heating engineer earlier who was very critical of Oil Combi Boilers, "now then, they're a flippin nightmayyyre those oil combeees" and he was talking up ground pumps and other hippy ways to get the shower hot.

So my question is.

How long can you realistically go without washing without being a tramp?

How many candles would adequately heat an average size living room?

Where's the best place to get a bed pan and one of those gadgets that you put coal in and put into a bed to warm it up?

And does anyone else live in a land that time forgot and has no gas? What's the best alternative? I'm concerned I could be getting blagged here to install something those freaks who stop traffic want.
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Get LOG & Coal-fired central heating - 8 radiators using an open fire - has to be fitted by an expert though - had one since 1986 ......hot water plus full central heating better than the glass door versions imo...coal merchants still exist - plus logs - plus nutty slack etc ...
 
Joey66 said:
Get LOG & Coal-fired central heating - 8 radiators using an open fire - has to be fitted by an expert though - had one since 1986 ......hot water plus full central heating better than the glass door versions imo...coal merchants still exist - plus logs - plus nutty slack etc ...
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You missed out the bit, about having to send the wife up the chimney every year to sweep it clean.
 
COYBL25 said:
You missed out the bit, about having to send the wife up the chimney every year to sweep it clean.
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I pay a top sweep £50 - cheaper than a gas boiler service..... Cheapest fuel around if it heats your hot water & runs your radiators - I have gravity fed plus a pump to send the hot water to the radiators downstairs - to think the estimates I had in 1987 all advised me Gas was cheaper - not when I got logs for nothing in those days being a boss on the parks department .... lol
 
GrandOldTeam said:
That's what a heating engineer was talking up mate.

I'm a bit suspicious though - for the reason you say. Is there grants being given away etc to encourage their installation?

All I want is regular, consistent hot water/heating. I'm thinking heat pumps etc are a bit eco which usually means a bit crap.



Whole villages are oil mate, and the price and demand of property has absolutely rocketed around these parts.
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Be careful on solar panals heat rods etc do your homework - Logs heat your water up more than most fuels ..... even on an open fire.....
 

Joey66 said:
I pay a top sweep £50 - cheaper than a gas boiler service..... Cheapest fuel around if it heats your hot water & runs your radiators - I have gravity fed plus a pump to send the hot water to the radiators downstairs - to think the estimates I had in 1987 all advised me Gas was cheaper - not when I got logs for nothing in those days being a boss on the parks department .... lol
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My mates who lived in a farm out in the sticks in East Yorks used to do the same Joey, but they also used solar panels to heat all the hot water too.

Their energy bills were next to nothing, as most of the wood came from nearby woods and stuff they found locally.

They did have to get it home and chop / dry it out though, which meant they were preparing for Winter all year round.

They`re divorced now and both live in normal houses, with gas central heating lol
 
COYBL25 said:
My mates who lived in a farm out in the sticks in East Yorks used to do the same Joey, but they also used solar panels to heat all the hot water too.

Their energy bills were next to nothing, as most of the wood came from nearby woods and stuff they found locally.

They did have to get it home and chop / dry it out though, which meant they were preparing for Winter all year round.

They`re divorced now and both live in normal houses, with gas central heating lol
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I have lost count on how many trees I have burnt since 1986 lol - When I was young I used to splice the tree rings with a large massive axe - or a sledgehammer & Chisel - no wonder my backs knackered lol
I used to stack them in a pile with wind blowing through them, they burnt great with coal constant 18 c upstairs plus the volume of hot water is tremendous - looking at my 3 ton of coal now less than £800 delivered by my friendly coal man as I by in bulk at summer rates ......
 
Alanbileysfeathercut said:
Get a leccy shower.

Get a proper fire,kindling is easy to get, or was.
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You can still get everything we still have one generator in the UK used by Coal ..... if The @GrandOldTeam is in the countryside he should have no trouble in getting any burnable produce .... it is only viable if it heats up hot water plus your radiators though .....the output by an open Dunsley Fire is fantastic - the fancy glass door ones soot up ;)
 
dublinbluenose said:
If you are going down the heat exchange pump your engineer is talking about then you need to insulate really well and make sure the house is fairly air tight. Otherwise its a waste of time.
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100% true.
Also, the best method to deliver the heat is through underfloorheating. Radiators are not efficient enough.
These things cost money though, I don't know if it's wise to invest 20-30k in a heating system when you're looking at payback periods of 15+ years (not including servicing the thing)

Since time is of the essence, my cheapskate advice: (but I'm an idiot, be warned):
Buy an Electric boiler, 150l. Put in the attic above the bathroom. Not very efficient but it'll get the job done. You can get a Bosch-boiler for £400; had one in my old house, never any complaints.
 

GrandOldTeam said:
Seems a straight choice between an Oil combi and ground source heat pump - it's just I've never spoke to anyone who has actually had a ground source heat pump. I wonder how much ground source heat pumps are...
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Geothermal heat pumps are somewhat popular in the colder parts of the US, not that I live anywhere near there. Interesting product and low energy cost, but looks terribly expensive to install and looks like you have to dig up your yard (garden) to put it in. Should be a nice value added to your house, if you ever decide to sell, but maybe they're terribly expensive to maintain and you'll be hard pressed to sell because nobody wants to buy a weird energy system.

I would also check the easy stuff--insulation, door and window seals, etc. This doesn't help with cold water, but generally this makes a huge impact on the house anyway.
 

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