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House Renovations
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 22/05/2008, 23:27
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ErnieY
 
Joined on 05/12/2006
W of Cahors (46)
Posts 4,151
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ZZZZzzzzzz ![Smile [:)]](/cs/images/emotions/smile.gif)
I do tend to agree that pinning ones colours to the fossil mast, especially for a new install, is, at very best, a risky strategy. However, even though the medium to long term prospects for oil look grim, the unfortunate fact is that for many the capital outlay for alternative solar or geothermal systems, or WHY, may be well beyond their means so it's a case of making the best of a bad job, even if ultimately it does cost considerably more.
Having been a long time fan of oil heating I must admit that I never though the day would come where I even entertain the thought of electric heating but I'm seriously thinking about some sort of hybrid solar/electric/oil solution to the present dilemma.
My doctor said one drink per day, I can live with that !
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23/05/2008, 1:03
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Owens88
Joined on 01/11/2004
66 and East Midlands
Posts 745
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We bought a place with a central heating wet radiator system and an oil fired boiler.
The boiler was defunct (though the etsate agent had 'sold' the CH system, another story) and we took some time to rework it.
The costs for a replacement Oil Boiler seemed silly, even though the existing radiator system had been pressure tested and was sound. We were on the point of tearing out the wet system and putting in a mixture of electric radiators and electric convectors.
THEN we changed our thoughts and put in an electric boiler serving the wet CH system. It works well and was a lot cheaper to install than an Oil boiler. We gained several cu meters when we took out the oil tank as well.
Using electric to serve a wet system seems weird but is more 'comfortable' than direct electric. However, If I hadn't had the wet sytem in place I wocould not justify putting it in (go for underfloor instead !).
If I was adding to the property (or starting from scratch) I would also consider the air to air heat exchangers which can also be aircon in summer.
Good luck
John Owens www.Goodviews.co.uk In East Midlands and France (66)
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23/05/2008, 8:05
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Callie
Joined on 19/04/2008
Near Saumur (49)
Posts 417
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Something I have come across recently is a "pompe à chaleur" which although expensive to install, is much cheaper in the end. I know several people who are in the process of installing these but ..... can anyone explain what they are (in simple language, please) ?
We, too, are on oil CH. We have a large house and often there are only 2 or us. Our bathroom and downstairs loo hot water are supplied by the 150ltr tank in the boiler, and in summer, we have run the boiler just for our hot water. BUT we have just put in an electric water heater (150L tank) and hope that with heures creuses it will dramatically reduce our oil consumption...and fuel bills.
The longères that are the style of our region are one room deep, very long long buildings which are difficult to heat economically. Perhaps if we had known then what we know now we would have done things differently....... underfloor heating in the bathroom etc....
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25/05/2008, 14:50
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EcoPower
Joined on 07/05/2008
Posts 32
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To address the initial question: electric heating can present the lowest up front cost, electric UFH works extremely well and is the lowest to install (and run) if you work on around 10 years. It should last forever and if you can possibly produce some of the electricity yourself then can make good economic sense.
If you are thinking about longer than 10 years this opens up many possibilities which have been eluded to here.
Geothermal - yes probably, highest initial cost but CoP of 4:1 makes payback possible within 10 years - the more you use it the quicker the payback, i.,e. if you use it for domestic hot water and swimming pool heating and air conditioning (yes it can be done with fan coil units) then your payback is likely to be within say 8 years compared to current fuel solutions.
Air source heat pumps - okay but probably not worth the investment. Most have low CoPs during the colder months despite what the manufacturers specs say.
Solar hot water - yes, budget between 2500 - 4000 Euros. Payback is probably around 6 - 10 years.
Mains Electric plus say Solar PV - can present good value but depends how far you go. Its the law of diminishing returns but if you opt for net metering then buyback rates are good.
You have lots of options - suggested place to start is time you may spend in the property and therefore how long you will benefit plus payback time.
Second, what kind of budget you are willing to commit. I suppose it's a case of invest up front or spend little and pay the monthly bills which of course is interelated to time.
Good luck
Marc
www.ecopower.eu.com
Renewable Energy need not cost the Earth
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26/05/2008, 7:06
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plod
Joined on 17/05/2007
Posts 233
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I'm not technical at all (hence the "wet" question) I talked to a friend and he suggested that it should not be too costly. Everything is in place - pipes, rads etc, all that should be needed is an electric water heater plus some pipework changes at boiler level. Or am I naive?
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26/05/2008, 7:43
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Nicos
Joined on 21/01/2007
61 and Cheshire
Posts 388
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This is an interesting thread for me too.
We have a longere as a second home ( 10 wks max a year) and when we had the oil fuelled boiler serviced last year (20 yrs old) we were told it had a life-span of 2-5 yrs left as he merrily chipped off the rust![Woot! [:-))]](/cs/images/emotions/w00t.gif)
That leaves us with 1-4 yrs now.
( and it's bound to blow in the middle of winter....)
The roof is south facing so solar panels seem a good option- although I understand there are a new type coming on the market which are only avaiable to businesses at the moment.I understand they're not panels as such but roll like thick foil.
Surly sell-back electricity is the way to go for someone like us?????
Oil prices????......................I'm now having serious concerns about replacing the boiler and converting to electricity..........this time last year it would just have been an automatic replacement.........amazing what changes a year brings eh????
Need to plan ahead.......
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26/05/2008, 7:57
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mickleover
Joined on 25/05/2008
Posts 31
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I am not a tech. by the lowest way of measure.but if oil keeps at its present price.will not all things rise in price.
And that means E.D.F.prices allso.
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France Forum » Building and Re... » House Renovatio... » Re: Oil to electric
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