My boiler (Worcester) temp is set to the default 65C - I’ve tried lower temperatures but 65C seems to work the best. My thermostat is in the hall which is the coldest room and is set to 18.5C, once the house is up to temperature then the flow temp only runs into the mid-high 40s Celsius before the thermostat knocks the boiler off - plenty of condensing happening thus ensuring efficiency. My rads are all large K2s and are barely warm most of the time probably due to the large surface area pushing heat out. The front window rad is 2000x500 which covers the full width of the window!
I’ve just re-checked and I’m using about 7 quid per day for heating. This is 24/7 too.
ASHP will need large “oversize” K2 radiators to work well at the low system flow temperatures.
I’ve just watched my boiler running and it switched off at 43.8C.
About 15 years ago I sold our Aga and replaced it with a Falcon cooker with an induction hob. If I ever move to a place where mains gas is available I would definitely stick to induction rather than using a gas hob. It’s far easier to control: if a pan is on the maximum setting (9) and it’s about to boil over just nudging it down to 8 or maybe 7 will immediately keep the contents under control where a gas burner would have to be turned way down. Leaving a pan simmering for a long time without risk of burning is easy, and bringing a pan full of water to the boil is quicker than an electric kettle.
So I’m rather baffled by your bad experiences. Perhaps they don’t like working upside down!
Our 180 sq.m house now uses 6,500 Kw of electricity per annum, of which 4,200 comes from solar, so net purchase of 2,300 from grid.
Space Heating is from a condensing oil boiler and using approx 1200 litres (approx 12,400 Kw) of Kerosene per annum, maintaining a temperature of 19.0 by day and 19.5 in the evening.
When I retired in 2018, I set myself to improve the energy rating of the early 1970s detatched house.
I replaced the glass in the already double glazed windows, changed the boiler for a condenser, installed 4.2 kw of Solar (with 4.8Kw of battery) and had the house ‘wrapped’ externally.
Despite the massive increases in energy costs, I estimate my average per month energy costs are less than €225, which is not so crippling that I cannot contemplate spending on any future upgrade to the ND555!
I would like to eliminate the oil burning but the household upheaval of installing a heat pump as we turn 70, with all solid floors downstairs, seems like a bridge too far.
We had a heat pump in the last place. Given how hot it is in summer in Tokyo, creating a tank of hot water was very cost effective. Our bills in that apartment with the heat pump and AC running 247 in summer in 4 rooms and the same again in winter (no central heating) resulting in a monthly energy bill that was just one third of where we are now with iffy insulation. Iffy windows, tankless gas boiler and gas hob. And when the water stopped due to a typhoon, the thing had a tap on it we could access 300L of pottable water for drinking. It was very good. I would definitely recommend one.
We did ask for the same again in the new place (Hokkaido) but our builder says the economy of them isn’t as good in climates where it is sub zero for nearly half the year and will struggle with central heating a large home - though still economical if only used for hot water. They have assured us a modern gas central heating and hot water system will be more economical. I hope to god they are right.
One thing we did find is auto generating warm water for wash basins. Quite expensive but these devices use mains water pressure to drive a turbine under the sink which heats the water as it comes out of the tap. No need to hook up to mains power or hot water pipes. We’re having 4 fitted and I’m hoping they live up to hype. As expensive as they are, I imagine on a retrofit, they save more in installation costs alone, needing only access to cold water to work.
Building a home during an energy crisis does make one consider a number of options that would otherwise be looked at askance or simply poo pooed and waved off.
I understand the points @Count.d is making about TG, but I cannot deny the results I observed in a fair test. I was at the YKK window showroom and they had this -23c room in the middle and around it were all their windows and doors. Each had a thermometer on the surface and you could walk around touching each to feel heat loss and also weigh up the trade off in transparency loss. I found their APW430 windows to be simply miles better than the DG offerings. There was a measurable 12c difference between the two. And the transparency was excellent. Not 100% the same I agree, but you would never notice unless another DG or SG window was side by side. Considering our climate, it seems more than sensible.
Hi FZ, are fibreglass frame windows popular in Japan?
As a material fibreglass is stronger than PVC so frames can be slimmer, and they can be made more insulating than PVC or timber. And in particular for anywhere that has wide temperature swings between summer and winter their coefficient of thermal expansion is close to that of glass (unsurprisingly), so eliminating the problems that can arise with PVC frames, especially large windows and patio doors, with frame-to-glass seal failure due to high relative movement (or potentially glass dropping out in summer or being crushed in winter!). It seems like the perfect frame material, but low in popularity here, possibly due to cost, which may be due to manufacturing cost, but that in part may be a vicious circle.
I know they are used in Canada, and I believe in some parts of continental Europe, but in UK they mainly seem to be used for “architectural windows”, not selling to home renovators. I have a strong dislike of uPVC windows due to their bulk and environmental risk at end of life, so when I did up my current house I considered buying fibreglass windows from Canada, but the logistics, risk, and cost of import quickly ruled out, hence my settling on aluminium clad timber.
I have no idea sorry. I can’t imagine it because of the habit of knocking down and rebuilding every 35 years is deeply ingrained (and horrifically wasteful). More expensive windows designed to last longer just wouldn’t get a thumbs up for most buyers. Brushed aluminium frames with discrete air gapped chambers within the frame itself are by far most standard. Our windows are also aluminium framed though black anodised.
The radiators also need to be resized. All mine were replaced with double and triple with varying amounts of internal paraphernalia. I didn’t mind replacing the rads as they were 32 years old.
My ASHP is running at 39c with the radiators reaching 32-33c. It is now at the limit and really needs to run 24/7 to maintain 17-18c in the upstairs. Outside the main heating periods the temperature is set to 17c so it comes on through the night. It is using 23kWh at the moment so it’s like having a small fan heater running constantly. The chalet is about 300m2. I heat the downstairs lounge with a wood burner. There is just the two of us and unused bedrooms are not heated.
The 12kW (output) pump is not running continuously with this small load so the average input energy would probably double from 1kWh to 2kWh (48kWh per day) if we had family staying! The low water temperature (39c) just limits the temperature the rooms can reach.
If I increase the output temperature the COP will drop. I don’t use the weather compensation to do this automatically because I want to understand how to get the most from the system. Some ASHPs may not let you do this!
Wow, 35 years sounds very wasteful. I understand refurbishing, which could include windows if technology and design have advanced significantly (as has been the case in any 35 year period post WW2), but whole buildings? Re window frames, at least aluminium is recyclable. Fibreglass isn’t, nor do I think PVC - or at least it isn’t usually recycled presently.
PVC being a thermoplastic, as opposed to a thermo setting plastic is easily recycled.
A couple of months ago we had four new uPVC fitted. The fitted told me they didn’t have steel reinforcement in the frame, to improve insulation. But I suppose this will also make recycling easier.
Very topical as I’ve a similar situation. I have a Vaillant boiler and when installed the default was 55C and I had the coldest room in the house set at 19c for the times of the day we were in the house (exc. night time). At other times it was set at 16C. Problem is/was that it is taking ages to get to the desired temp in mornings /eveninge.g. 3 hours (longer sometimes) to raise the temp just 3c. Anyway been back on to the manufacturer and installer as its only a few months old.
We have upped the default to 65C like yours and I have increased the “heating curve” in the app to 2.4 (was at 1.6)…the higher the heating flow temp. Not convinced it’s making that much difference tbh.
@Guinnless Do you find similar in time to get to desired temp? If you leave yours at 18.5C all the time I guess that’s very different?
Good to hear PVC is being recycled in some places - unfortunately at present no facilities where I live and it goes either to landfill (bad) or energy from waste incinerator where to avoid dioxin production it should go through the high line, but if wrongly mixed with general refuse won’t (very bad), or, worst of all, is burnt illegally (extremely bad). Fortunately I suppose relatively low volume at the moment generally, but likely to increase as older units reach end of life - however I’ve no idea what is the life of uPVC window frames.
We are in the UK living in a 1400 ft2 (132 m2) 1958 bungalow with bedrooms added in the roof and open plan downstairs (with few radiators) running from a combination boiler. Height restrictions limit the roof insulation opportunities but the windows and extensions are well specified and modern.
Annual gas is 14,400 kWh and electricity 6,800 kWh. These feel high and we are looking at additional insulation next summer. In the current cold weather the gas is 10 kWh per day and electricity 19 kWh.
The biggest improvement we made was moving from electric showers to ones fed from the boiler. I was worried about pressure and temperature fluctuations but ours is fine. With a 21 year old daughter with a lot of hair, this saved a fortune!!!
A couple of years ago we bought this LeFeu heater that runs on liquid biofuel.
We bulk order the fuel and it costs £5 for about 8 hours supplemental heating. Has the advantages of being portable and not producing particles. They do a short leg version. Highly recommended.
Finally, on the subject of induction hobs, just do it! Our Bosch device has 19 settings (don’t forget the 1/2 between the numbers!) and a ‘Flex’ setting to join two rings for a large pan. Wouldn’t use anything else.
As is a carbon monoxide alarm in the room in which it is used, and good ventilation for the water vapour it produces (and the carbon dioxide it produces).
