Poll: How do you Heat your Home?

[JennyLeez]

How do you Heat your Home?

Earlier in the year working in the home of a client, I overheard a discussion between the Retired Husband, Wife and a Heat Pump Installer. The couple were no longer able to chop, stack and move wood around and hence they were looking for an alternative means to heat their home. The Heat Pump Installer gave them ideas concerning some sort of roof ventilation where the heat in the roof was transferred down into the home, utilising our primary source of heating – the Sun.  He also suggested Heat Pumps to replace the fireplace as the source of heating when the roof temperature was below the desired home temperature. He gave my clients prices and payment options over 18 months. The couple told him they wished to think about it all and the Installer left. The couple then discussed in length how great these systems would be and a perfect replacement for their Kent Fireplace.
BUT….  They could not afford it. They could not afford to meet the monthly payments from their pensions.

I left there thinking. There was a lesson to be learnt here. I need to look to the future when my husband and I will also not be able to move wood around. So I spent the next couple of month pricing, reading, gaining advice on what would be the most efficient and cheapest to buy and install.

I liked the theory of the HRV system which pumps the heat down from the ceiling plus transfers the heat from your heat source room to the other rooms in your home.  I gained mixed feedback on this but nonetheless decided to go ahead using what I had learnt.

I have had installed an HRV system but I have installed a bigger system than needed using 2 fans. I cut back on the outlet vents putting only 4 in instead of the Maximum of 7. This way the heat only has 4 lots of piping to pump down through. I have also had installed a Heat Transfer System to move the heat from the heat source (a standalone Kent Fire Box) to 2 other rooms, one being my workshop and the other a self contained Unit attached to the back end of my home.  I also purchased 2 Heat Pumps. One has been installed in the Unit and one sits in boxes in the shed ready to be installed in summer to cool my computers down  This Heat Pump is large and eventually will become the main Heat Source in winter.

I am sold on the HRV system. It is brilliant. I am saving heaps on Fire Wood, Heaters and Gas. The home is warm throughout and the air has a fresh clean feel to it. Most of all it is all paid for and we will not find ourselves in the same position as my clients in years to come.

The Poll above is hopefully for interest sake. If I have missed any let me know and I will add. You may choose as many as applies and make changes later if needed.

What is our main heating source?
How do you heat your homes?
What is your Home Heating story?
What works for you, what did not?

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[gabba]

We're gas guzzlers, and happy to have moved to a house with a central gas heating system in it. They are great - and occasionally useful in summer on hot days to circulate the air

I always wonder about what would happen if there was a power outage so always have a separate gas bottle and gas heater

We have fan in the roof that pulls air down from the ceiling cavity if we need it, but it's not a dvs. I've seen mixed things about dvs units and the promises made with them that don't deliver. Glad it works for you tho Jenny! Heat pumps also have a big marketing hoo hah around them, but very costly and often limited in terms of how much of a house they can heat.

I remember my parents buying a nightstor heater. When they got it, it was great because night electricity was so cheap. However in the last few years they never used it because it became too expensive to run. I guess that could apply to most heating methods - probably there is no substitute for good insulation and solar heating, in the long run. Don't see the cost of the sun going up anytime soon!

[JennyLeez]

I see I set the selection to only 1.
I have changed it now to 22 so go back and add to your choices if you wish

Correct Gabba, I too heard mixed messages regarding the HRV system. I learnt from them. If it does not work from what I see they just do not have a large enough unit.
Hence I installed larger than I needed and it works brilliantly.
I was lucky as they had just put out a new range. Bigger and stronger.
If anyone has this system and are not happy you can add another fan which would probably sort it.
I also like the control you have with the console. Lots of features.

[PaulMy]

Couldn't figure out which one to check, and opposite side of the world but...
We have natural gas forced air furnace (updated our initial furnace of 1974 to a high efficiency unit June 2013 along with central A/C).  Natural gas cost now about C$950 per year plus whatever electricity to run furnace.

I am a Board member of a Not for Profit Seniors Apartment Corporation where we have a 30 year old building consisting of 20 apartment each with baseboard electric heating (and window mount electric A/C units at the tenants' choice as there was no natural gas service along the street at the time) and we are looking at converting to natural gas boiler central heating or Mitsubishi Heat Pumps.  Our concern on heat pumps is that most will not operate below -20C but newest Mitsubishi specs say they will work down to -25C.  Over the past 8 years my weather station has recorded 3 winters with below -25C and this past winter several time and down to -29.8C.  To go to Heat pumps at saving maybe 50 to 66% we would still need to keep the electric baseboard heaters for use in those occasional very cold days.  The Corporation also has a newer building built in 2009 also with 20 apartment units where we have individual natural gas combination water heater/ unit heating/cooling with an operating cost of less than 50% compared to the 1985 building.

Paul

[Phil]

We had a wood burner for many years and it did the job , but like everything in Wellington the cost of firewood seemed to get more expensive every year.
We decided to buy a Rinnai gas fire and this is what we use now, it heats up the lounge, dinning and kitchen area very well, it has a decrotive gas flame which can be controlled to give the open log fire feel.
We also use gas for cooking and our BBq is also connected to the gasline, we have two 45kg gas bottles and these last about twenty days (about $5-00 per day) over the winter months, from September to April we do not have to order any gas bottles

In the shop we have a 8kw heat pump with a transfer system and this works really well, when we brought the shop the prevoius owner had two oiled finned heaters and the power bill was often $400-00 per month or more.
The first month after the heat pump was installed the power bill stayed the same as there was a lot of moisture in the shop.
Since then the heat pump has done its job and now our monthly power bill is about $230 per month.
So very happy with it

[ato2]

I use an eco woodburner and about $360 worth of kiln dried firewood each season.
My power bill averages $73 per month.
The house is 81 years old and is completely insulated with modern insulation top and bottom- professionally done-two layers in the ceiling (one regular layer plus a blanket. Floors are R1.8 with a white soft product which is very effective. I removed all the interior wall linings, put a waterproof layer backing the exterior cladding then put in R2.2 wall stuff.
I removed all the architraves etc and mouldings around windows and the like and insulated all the gaps there as well.
New aluminium joinery (as inserts) designed to look like the original wooden frames from the street.
I get a great gain from passive solar heating because, most unusually, the house was designed for the sun and the section is north facing as well.

[diogenese]

I have a small '20's built house and I have insulated the skillion roof and the walls and fitted aluminium insert double glazed windows.
I took out the brick open coal fire and fitted a 6 kw heatpump that runs on a 7 day timer. I probably use more electricity on computers running DC projects than the heat pump uses.
I wanted to install a heat exchanger for ventilation but there is nowhere to fit one unless it's external.

[TonyC]

Having two homes, I picked the Port Robinson one for the poll. A 25kw wood burner (with wetback) provides sole heating for what is quite a large house. With lots of double glazed glass and thick mass polished concrete floors (except bedrooms which have carpet), as long as we get some sun during the day, that has proved sufficient. On really cold days I close off the bedroom areas during the day to keep the heat in the open plan living space.

We purchased a 18 year old house in Christchurch 12 months ago (during winter). This had a HRV system in it which I found was pumping cold air from the roof spaces back into the body of the house forcing the heat through any seal gaps to the outside. What I found most annoying with HRV is that you can't turn the bally thing off for any extended time. The controller was hard wired into a lighting circuit so I couldn't pull the fuse. The system installed moved air only and has no heater elements. In the end, I had to crawl up into the roof space and disconnect it. Not impressed at all. Condensation doesn't seem to be a factor in the house.
The heating of the ChCh house is electric with a heat pump and a portable electric fan heater to boost when required.

TC

[JennyLeez]

Ato2 I remember following your renovating a few years ago I guess on the old forum.
You uploaded photos as you went, it was interesting to follow and obviously now all worthwhile

TonyC I think I need to add to your HRV paragraph to clarify for anyone thinking of installing this system.
HRV meaning - Heat Recovery Ventilation.

Needless to say there are a few different products out now to recover heat trapped in your ceiling and transferring it back down into your home.
The cheapo way is just piping down into 3 or 4 rooms, no fans. Pay more, add a fan to move the air down.

My advise, if you are going to install a Heat Recovery system then install the best and install bigger than you think you need. Yep it will cost but it is well worth it.

The latest models give you total control. The remote like panel allows me to increase the desired house temp or decrease. Its allows me to turn the fans down or up.  It allows me to turn it off completely which I do on a nice day as the Sun is sufficient to heat the house. I can also control the ventilation which has 6 settings.
When the ceiling heat is below the house temp, it shuts off. The heat transfer system kicks in and moves the heat from the heat source room ( for us the lounge ) into the other rooms. This is forced through by the 2 fans I have up top. Again I have control of this.

The installers told me, look at your Heat Source. Drive your system accordingly.
Primary heat Source is the Sun, second the heat in your ceiling space as even on a cloudy day as we have today the roof is still hotter than the house and presently I have the Kent fire turned down as the HRV is pumping the heat out of the ceiling.
When both these are not available then use fire, heater etc as your heat source and use the HRV system to pump that heat around the home. There are sensors across all pipes and the HRV is programmed to move the air around so all the rooms are at the same temp.

The Main benefit.
We are using far less wood and we are not using gas or electric heaters as we were before. Heating the house from the ceiling has replaced them.

Summer.
All will work in reverse. Cold air out of the ceiling. When the ceiling is hot then the HRV system will rely on the heat pumps for the cold air and move that around the house.

Plugins.
You can add a heating system in the ceiling to the base HRV system.
You can also add a summer system to the base system for cold air.

Cheers.

[OhauitiWeather]

We have an English made and New Zealand restored Rayburn dual oven Wood Range so in the survey I ticked "Coal Range" as that was the closest match, maybe that should read "Coal/Wood Range" as the NZ agents for both Rayburn and Aga told us there were probably more burning wood rather than coal in this country now  but they can burn both.

[ato2]

That sounds wonderful-  the Rayburns are amazing ranges.

[MumCarrot]

We have a freestanding fire box com fire place - but so far this year have only lit it once.. Of course we live in Northland which is a help!!  We got all our insulation topped up, and underfloor insulation added which has also been a great help.  Most evenings a blanket and a cat (each) is more than sufficient to keep us warm.   

[TonyC]

HRV in my perception, is the Company name that installed the system in our roof for former owners and have their logo on everything.
As I said, the installed system removes air from the ceiling space back through vents into various rooms. It's supposed to have 'smarts' to measure when the heat is warmer in the ceiling than the house, but no matter how much I played with the controller, it was a dog as far as I was concerned. At what point of the house's 17 year age it was installed I know not, but personally I think it was a complete waste of money. 

If you've had good experiences with this type of system Jenny, then that's great and I'm pleased for you. I'm just relating my not so charitable thoughts! 

As an aside, we have a wet-back on our wood burner. The 270 litre Cylinder is 12m (24m round trip) upstairs, so I installed a small  pump (110c temp rating) at the time of installation for circulation. This packed up a couple of years ago and I've only just got round to replacing it. I've built a micro-controller (arduino) for $20 of parts and programmed it which on a push button will run the pump for 2 minutes every 10 minutes for a period of 4 hours. It's improved the heating efficiency markedly.  The faulty pump turned out to be just full of gunge which stopped it rotating, so now I have a spare! I won't recount the mutterings when I found the plumber hadn't made any provision for draining the cylinder and the convoluted method I had to employ to do it.

[choc-a-holic]

We have a 4 year old house near Nelson so it is well insulated even under the concrete pad there is polystyrene.   We have a lot of glass all double glazing especially in the living area.  The living area windows have argon gas between the panes which is like having curtains.  The living area gets the sun from 1st thing in the morning until the last thing at night in the winter.  In the summer months the sun shines in 1st thing in the morning and at the end of the day.  We have tiles all around the glassed area which heat up during the day when the sun shines on them and at night they are warm to stand on.

We put in the pipe work to do underfloor heating should we need it, but we have never needed to connect it to a heat source.   During winter when the sun is shining the house can get up to 28 degrees in some areas and we find ourselves opening doors and windows.  The log burner heats the living areas at night and on days when the sun is not shining. 

We find we do not need to heat any of the other areas in the house.  The wonders of modern technology and making use of the free heat from the sun.  There are so many cool options out there now.  We also have solar hot water and do not need to use power to heat the water in the summer months unless we get a few days without sunshine.

[Martin4Jay]

We have electric and gas but the cost is very high so we are on the meter and we spend £10 on gas a week that's without freezing weather were we were lucky this winter and £15 per week on the electric

[ato2]

Was just trying to get this cost into perspective: so that's a total of £25  a week and it covers all your energy costs, including heating the house?  How much is your bill in Summer, by comparison?
Mine is £9 per week in the Summer months and £11 per week in the Winter- the main difference being due to using more lights.
Then I have to add the cost of the firewood- spread out over five months is £145 approx, adding roughly £7 per week to the cost.
So £9 per week for 7 months of the year and £18 per week for 5 months of the year would be my totals. I burn plenty of wood and light a fire at a drop of a hat!

[Hank13]

Heat Pump