I think next to toilets this is one of the most 'raised' topics on the forums and possibly between owners. On Percy it is KISS - a Squirrel with a back boiler which in turn feeds a run of 40mm (?) copper pipe all the way up a slight incline to the bathroom and back. Very simple very efficient all working on thermosiphoning so no pump and no power needed. It saw me through two winters aboard Percy
Why am I blogging about this - well our boiler at home broke down the other day. Well not so much broke down but stopped working due to loss of pressure because the joint to the pump from the gate valves (that are used to isolate the pump for changing) was weeping. It should have been a simple job of isolating the pump by closing the two gate valves on either side of the pump, undoing the pump and replacing the rubber seals. Only the joint between the gate vale and pump was solid (no doubt a function of the slight weep.) I tried muscle, tapping and heat but they would not budge so I had to drain the system down and took the pump out complete with both valves either side. Even then in the vice in the workshop I still could not separate the pump from the gate valves.
So I had to call the boiler manufacturer - Mistral in Telford and drove over yesterday afternoon to collect a new pump and gate valves ( I could have got them online but it would have taken a couple of days) I was only able to get the pump back in before I lost the light - our boiler is outside as its an oil boiler. It lives in a boiler house I built to keep it warmer and dryer.
So last night it was oil rads and strip washes. We could cook on the Rayburn so we were not too bad off even minus central heating and hot water. a first world problem as they say.
So why the post, well firstly to congratulate Tony Redshaw on a very simple but effective boat heating set up and then to reflect on how I might better improve the heating at home....
We looked at air source heat pumps but our cottage is not well insulated and the consultants wanted my £££'s to commission a heating engineer to agree or not the rads we had would work with an air source heat pump. I should say we are very keen to move away from oil as a primary heat source in favour of electric as it is renewable and getting ever more so.
I got to thinking how well the little oil rads did for us and how well the electric towel rad I put into the bathroom when we first moved in works for us - that is on a fused spur that is connected to the home network so I can turn it on/off and set timed programmes for its use - it works well.
So here is your point of input if you have an opinion/experience I got to thinking why now convert our lovely Victorian plumbing rads to electric. It can be done and would remove the need for the boiler for home heating and we could either add an emersion cylinder for hot water or use the Rayburns hot water boiler. I need to look to see what options there are for remote control of electric rads as this would be very useful.... I like remote control and intelligent control.
So if you have any ideas comments or experience please comment - I need inspiration to do this !!
5 comments:
We have an electric boiler with wet radiators and the same sort of thermostatic controller as a gas boiler system. It uses 12 KW per hour in operation so is not cheap to run. Hot water is by immersion on Economy 7. this is fine. There is an over ride to make more if needed during the day. M Seymour
How about something like:
www.bestheating.com/radiators/radiator-valves-accessories/heating-elements.html
And for controlling them - maybe a few of these (one per room)? I found this supplier recently, bought a few and they work very well. You can just heat each room to the temperature you want at the time that you need (essential to keep the energy use, and cost, down)
https://lowenergysupermarket.com/product/digital-plug-in-programmable-wireless-thermostat/
I think that they also do a 'fused spur' version of this, if you want to make a more professional installation.
Hi Mr Seymour, thanks for the comment and info. The 12kw is more than I would have expected but good to know. Did you consider an airsource heat pump at the time of the electric boiler ? I was trying to remove the whole boiler and circulation system hence the standalone rads and heating elements .... I've nine rads so with a 1kw element in each that would be a 9kw/hour cost ... I still worked it out at about £200 per month based on 16p per kw/h and that did not include any hot water provision. I pay about £100 per month for Oil atm and about £120 p.a. for the boiler service so for the inconvenience of having to get the tank filled and boiler serviced it makes sense to stay as we are certainly until the boiler needs replacing (but that is very modular and can be replaced a bit like triggers broom. Interesting subject (for me)
Hi Peter, thanks for the links, they were what I was looking at as well, good to know you have them fitted and working. I was concerned about the load on the ring main, the electrics were all replaced in the cottage a couple if years ago so should be more than able. I like the idea of local heat control so may well still investigate further. The biggest issue for me is getting power to the rads or a fused spur off a nearby socket. I have the option for a test location in the kitchen that might be the best way to check performance - biggest issue is time from cold to hot ?
Hi Nev. As a follow up. It may depend on your available wall, or ceiling, space but have you considered "far infrared" panel heaters? (Leaving the victorian radiators as an unused 'feature'). These panels are low power, and just plug into an ordinary socket, so may not require any additional wiring (if they hang on a wall), plumbing or annual maintenance. Some come complete with a room thermostat/timer, and apparently they heat you up quickly. I don't know if they are any good or not but I am about to find out as I have one on order!
As an example:
https://www.klarstein.co.uk/Cooling-Heating/Heating/Infrared-Heater/Wonderwall-60-Infrared-Heater-60-x-100-cm.html
You can also get ones that look like pictures - either your own choice of artwork, or the supplier's choice. There are lots of suppliers of these panels, ranging from inexpensive to very expensive. Klarstein are towards the inexpensive end.
Hi Peter, You certainly seem to be on the same page as me when it comes to electric heating - or rather a few chapters ahead. Do you mind me asking why your focus on electric, is it environmental or supply preference (both feature highly on my reasons to change) I like the idea of the infrared panels and may like you buy one to see how it performs. Might not go well aesthetically in our old cottage thats the problem but the idea of a picture to hide it has some merit. Thinking on my feet on the install issues very few locations where we might have power to the height these seem to be fitted? I'll be very interested in your findings.... we do have a cold kitchen (when the Rayburn is not on) that may suit this application (power to it again may be an issue) Thanks for engaging with me on this topic, very helpful and informative. As an aside funny on our boat we have one simple (cheapish) heating source - the Morso with back boiler that just does its job bit needs some attention ...to help it (coal in ash out etc)
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