Mycraft
2014-02-20 22:43:48
- #1
So, I have a gas condensing boiler + solar thermal system and underfloor heating throughout the house... if I were you, I wouldn’t listen to a heating engineer but rather consult an energy advisor...
As I already wrote, a water-based fireplace is very demanding in terms of control... so it’s not exactly cheap either... the few times a year it is fired up will never recover the additional investment costs. So you can safely do without it unless you get it for free...
The same applies to solar thermal... at least on the scale you describe... not in terms of control, but in terms of investment, but if you depend on [KfW] or something similar, then you have to have the 5 sqm installed on the roof.
And a mixed heat distribution system (underfloor heating and radiators) is probably the biggest money pit...
Imagine the following:
Your underfloor heating floats around at 35° supply temperature and heats the house continuously... now you come and turn on your radiators, but they need about twice the supply temperature to work effectively... meaning your heating system kicks in and runs the burner at full blast... how was it again with physics, how much energy is needed to heat water to twice the temperature?
So have everything explained by someone who knows how everything works and doesn’t just screw pipes together...
But my tip:
Radiators belong in old buildings... if you don’t overheat or undercool your house from the start, you hardly have to do anything and it regulates itself... then you don’t even need to quickly “turn up” a room — it’s warm or cold when necessary...
As I already wrote, a water-based fireplace is very demanding in terms of control... so it’s not exactly cheap either... the few times a year it is fired up will never recover the additional investment costs. So you can safely do without it unless you get it for free...
The same applies to solar thermal... at least on the scale you describe... not in terms of control, but in terms of investment, but if you depend on [KfW] or something similar, then you have to have the 5 sqm installed on the roof.
And a mixed heat distribution system (underfloor heating and radiators) is probably the biggest money pit...
Imagine the following:
Your underfloor heating floats around at 35° supply temperature and heats the house continuously... now you come and turn on your radiators, but they need about twice the supply temperature to work effectively... meaning your heating system kicks in and runs the burner at full blast... how was it again with physics, how much energy is needed to heat water to twice the temperature?
So have everything explained by someone who knows how everything works and doesn’t just screw pipes together...
But my tip:
Radiators belong in old buildings... if you don’t overheat or undercool your house from the start, you hardly have to do anything and it regulates itself... then you don’t even need to quickly “turn up” a room — it’s warm or cold when necessary...