oil fired solar aware combi boilers

colinthegreen · Joined: 04 May 2006 Posts: 2

Hi,
We are buying a bungalow, the existing oil boiler needs replacing and I'd like to replace it with a combi, as well as installing solar heating. can anyone point me in the right direction, I have found a few gas fired combis that are solar aware, but oil seems to be an problem. Unfortunatly there is no mains gas and an LPG tank is not possible, so oil it has to be.

Thanks
Colin

admin · Site Admin Joined: 08 Dec 2005 Posts: 33 Location: Kent

Hi Colin,
Does the bungalow have a large garden? It sounds as if it is located in a rural area so may well have. If so, considering the increasing prices of oil now and the expectation for increases in the future (peak oil and all) have you considered a ground source heat pump? A bit of an initial outlay but once it's installed... bye bye bills...
Paul

colinthegreen · Joined: 04 May 2006 Posts: 2

Hi,
I had not considered GSHP as an option, I'll have to go looking for info. yes the garden is quite large (about 100' X 100'). Thanks for the pointer !

Boggle · Joined: 01 Sep 2006 Posts: 4 Location: Ireland

I would not be overly in favour of a GSHP. Extremely high outlay and high running costs - especially if you need to bring the water up to a temperature suitable for standard radiators. (Standard radiators need to operate at a higher temp than underfloor which is normally associated with GSHP)

My advice would be to take those thousands you may spend on a GSHP system and insulate your house to the highest standard possible. If you are not losing heat you will not have to replace it.

With sufficient levels of insulation you would find that you could run the house off a standard oil-fired or wood-chip system.

Best of luck...

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