9% increase on gas and elec

[SRE]

Biomass is ok while you can get supply but it's like everything else once demand outstrips supply prices will go through the roof. If current biomass plants approved for planning go through they will need 24 million tonnes of wood to feed them. UK currently produces somewhere in the region of 8 million tonnes. Surplus looks as though it's going to be shipped in from Canada, meanwhile our local sawmill is paying higher and higher prices for wood for joinery etc because the local biomass plant can't get enough to supply it and it's using wood that would normally be used for building things. We have another plant due to kick off in March that's going to need 35 articulated wagons a day to feed it.

I'm not convinced biomass in the future is going to be as cheap as everyone thinks or as sustainable. Only time will tell but I'm not changing my boiler over until I know what the supply situation is going to be like.

 

[sedgy34]

Im not convinced that an air source pump would be cost effective for me to replace a mains gas fired set up, Biomass yes, but space is an issue Im afraid. I have nothing near the house that could house a biomass boiler and hopper feed/store. The nearest outbuilding is some 40 feet from the house - and thats a helluva long run for heating pipes.
So thats partly why the interest in the ImmerSun system. The Gas fired heating system is on during the winter months anyway with spare heat going to the exchanger in the hot water tank, so its really just during summer months that I could do with heating the tank via another means.

You will want solAr thermal then

 

[Worcester]

Or Thermodynamic Solar ASHP and Solar thermal in one! (If he's got any roof space left !! )

 

[MicraShed]

Or Thermodynamic Solar ASHP and Solar thermal in one! (If he's got any roof space left !! )

I have a small (5m x 2.7m) SE facing extension roof but this suffers shade issues and is a long way below the DHW tank. Or I have a NW facing roof some 6m x 5m with no shade issues but NW facing.....

The existing SE facing roof has a 2.5kWp install so Im wondering if swapping the 3kW element in the DHW tank for a 1kW one and installing an ImmerSun might be a cheaper less hassle way forward for the hot water issue. I have a Primatic set up though and my element is top fitting, so a 1kW one isnt going to heat that far down into the tank. Installing a pump would probably disrupt the air bubble in the primatic and I would end up with heating water mixing with tap water (it happens if I set the regular heating pump to position 3, it over pumps the system). That said I need enough hot water for one bath and one dishwasher load a day so not a huge amount and perhaps the amount of water the kW element could heat within the top part of a 145L tank might be enough.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

 

[SRE]

You don't need to change to a 1kw immersion that's the point of the Immersun and surely your dishwasher is cold fill - it's most unusual to have a hot fill.

 

[MicraShed]

Nope, Dish Washer is fed from hot water tap.
Reason being the DHW is set at 55 degrees and the minimum temp of the dishwasher cycle is 60 degrees and I usually use a program that is 78 degrees, so I figured that what the heck, it could feed off the hot water - its been like that for 5 years now with no ill effects.
(gets ready for tales of woe and how Im breeding super bacteria or something!)

 

[langstroth2]

Re Gas use. Install solar hw panels? Helps reduce gas use in summer - although most gas use tends to be CH in Autumn/Winter. Wood stove anyone? If only I'd thought of that when replacing the gas fire some moons ago.

On the dishwasher point - our new Bosch dishwasher specifically said it could be plumped into HW supply rather than cold "to take advantage of a solar system". First time I'd seen that sort of thing mentioned explicitly.

 

[sambotc]

No current renewable technology will replace mains gas.

 

[sedgy34]

No current renewable technology will replace mains gas.

Well in 5 years time they won't be installing mains gas in newbuild houses it's going to be renewables any gas will be LPG

 

[Eco Deal]

I would love a wood burning fire . get rid of all these pallets the solar panels come on and heat my house.

Problem is i have dot a dab walls can they still be installed some how?