wood boiler choice?

[Woodworks]

Johns got a good point. If this is a new build you have the importunity to insulate so that your heating demand should be very low and well within the capability's of occasional wood burning stove use.

 

Long term insulation is the cheapest form of heating.

[difflock]

Good insulation is the first part of my "heating oil is cheap" mantra.

Bloody expensive though on absolute terms.

Our build is NI 1995 bld stds with a bit extra insulation to walls and floors per my own notions, it is however about 3750 sq ft.

When, if ever we build a retirment dwelling, it will be well insulated, nominally open plan and with a centrally located woodburner as the main heat source.

I am not sure however that I can buy into this Passive Haus windtight construction as I feel our timber needs air movment for any reasonable longivity.

And yes I know all about breathable membranes:001_tt2:

PS

A big fan of geotextile fabrics/membranes this good number of years, which some local contractors seem to reckon make me a funny farm candidate:lol:

[Yorkie]

I agree that insulation is key and with a newbuild building regs make sure that it is up to a high standard.

 

I have experience with a wood stove in our current house doing all the heating with a backburner, and to be honest its a dirty old thing to have in the middle of the house. cold weather I'll get through a barrow of logs a day. I'm sure a better stove in a better insulated house would be better but with a clean piece of paper I think I fancy a boiler and batch burn as I think it would fit in with our lifestyle better and don't have to cart wood through the house on s regular basis

 

does anyone have a gasification boiler up in the Yorkshire area they would be happy for me to have a look at, I think I'm heading towards eco Angus because of price and simplicity but if rhi payments were coming for sure I may be tempted to go German or Austrian

[renewablejohn]

I would disagree on the new build building regs giving a good insulation standard. They should be seen as the bare minimum compared to Scandinavian reg homes which should be used as the norm.

[difflock]

Erm!

But should they RJ, the Scandavian climate is a lot colder than ours, therefore they can justify more expensive insulation, on a very cost effective basis.

Our economics are however different are they not?

I would suggest if most turned their thermostats back it would be a hellav start, rather than expecting to keep all habitable spaces heated to tee shirt wearing temps.

Yorkie,

yes it is horses for courses.

With our settled routine lifestyle of this past good few years, which includes:

(i) The Mrs. out "gardening" in all weathers in peat soil.

(ii) Several large dogs, one of whom is long haired, excersing up the moss, then coming back in the house.

(iii) Me ploutering up the Moss cutting sticks and coming in with dirty feet.

With sensibly designed in hard floors throughout downstairs, a bit of ash from a stove is the very least of our worries.

PS

I got the Boxer bitch sleeping on the Kitchen table, despite the 25m2 of underfloor heated floor:lol:

well.......... I suppose the table top was cleaner than the floor:001_rolleyes:

PPS

that terraza is great stuff for hiding the dirt.

Edited December 9, 2012 by difflock

[renewablejohn]

If you look at temperatures in the south of Sweden there very similar to that in Scotland admitted they do get a regular Baltic freeze which makes extra insulation very worthwhile but then look at the recent winters here. I bet a lot of people have installed extra insulation as a result of the recent bad winters and the trend may continue in which case Scandinavian standards would be very appropriate.

[twistedhicap]

Look on the Green building forum very handy site,

 

Re insulation if and when i ge the chance to build or convert my own place proper airflow and insulation will be on the cards insulation costs once where as fuel is a continued cost that will rise !

 

as for the heat input into my place i like the idea of full burn gassification and large thermal store, also a wood burner as a focal point / comfort aspect would be nice and dont for get heat recovery.

 

i Stayed in a friends house in germay a few years ago the place is super insulated and has a single pellet stove for heat and underfloor in the bathrooms only !

 

that house was never cold and the outside temp was below -5 most of the time !

 

they had heat recovery on the air exchange system worked very well !

 

David