Heating your house !!

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Drfernandez18
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Heating your house !!

Postby Drfernandez18 » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:41 pm

I have posted here about Bio Ethanol fires - have now decided that they are not going to provide us with them heat we require - so a no no !

One of the answers I had re possible heating was air con heat - but I am still not convinced that it is not a really expensive form of heating. Having bought 3 refills of gas today, price having hiked yet again to €15.00 I am again still undecided. I really do not like the problem attached to the condensation re the gas fires, plus of course the health issues.

Now looking at a wood burning stove ( or possibly a pellet stove ) but as we are pensioners have to think of the cost of installing a chimney. Our house is a 4 storey town house. The fire would be fitted on the first floor, and wondered if anyone has any idea at all how much the chimney including labour to fit would cost us. A very rough idea would be great ! I have to go back to the UK rather quickly for maybe 3 weeks so I will be unable to go shopping to ask the questions myself.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

|Dr Fern

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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby gus-lopez » Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:35 am

Friends of ours chnged from a wood burner ( Hergom ) to a wood burner with boiler/ pump for central heating. Works a treat heats the other 6 rooms brilliantly whereas before they were freezing . He says that it only uses about 10% more wood. I think the price was 7K euros with 8 rads ,all installed. It's 5,5k for 5 rads. Your chimney would depend on whether it needs to be enclosed on every floor or whether you be able to use the stainless steel double skinned insulated tube. I'd have thought that you'd be looking at at least another 1k for the chimney.
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BENIDORM
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby BENIDORM » Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:55 am

Hello Drfe...
We are all electric and use the air-con/ heaters, which we find very reasonable costwise and are very clean, we also have a few convector/fan type heaters for backup.
I'm not sure how long it would take to recover the initial installation costs of the many wood burner type heating systems that are available and of course you would have to provide storage/delivery and some 'mess' involved with such a method.
Personally I prefer the convenience of the air con units, which aren't so expensive to install and are extremely efficient ...in my experience... :thumbup:

Regards,
Gordon...

deb
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby deb » Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:23 am

As long as you use the inverter aircon units they are very economical to use

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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby Jool » Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:38 am

An inverter heat pump (ie heat element of inverter AC) is the most efficient form of electric heating but pay the little extra for a quality unit, don´t go for a cheaper one - quality units are Mitsubishi or Daikin

Drfernandez18
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby Drfernandez18 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 6:15 pm

Thank you for all your replies re heating.

Cant really afford to go down the central heating route, and anyway the mess of it all has already put me off :(

Looks like I will be looking into the air con idea, as I am obviously wrong about the electricity costs ! Can anybody tell me what their average winter electricity bills work out at, to give me a better idea?

I appreciate you all taking the time to answer.

Kind regards,

Dr Fern

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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby pwwm » Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:17 pm

We only use wood burner, our summer electric bills are higher due to using the air con, opposite way to UK. A friend I know pays , what I think as huge amount in winter, he is in the mountains but has large extended family to support and usually his bills are around 300 every two months, not quaterly.

Ours generally is around 125 in summer goes down in winter, really depends where you are, as here it is quite mild in winter hence only the wood burner.

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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby carrowcrin » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:30 pm

I would think the wood burner is a pretty good option and dependend on your house, the chimney could be a way of distribuating the heat thorought your house as the heat rises through the chimney.
I have a wood burner and it was fitted with the build, the Brompi burner cost €450 and the chimney pipes were not expensive but i would really need to see the house layout to advise.
The reason i went for the woodstove was for the comfort of the stove and it is also an alternative to getting a bill in the post as the wood for the stove is paid up front.

Hope this does not make you more confused.

Good luck

Drfernandez18
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby Drfernandez18 » Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:02 am

pwwm wrote:We only use wood burner, our summer electric bills are higher due to using the air con, opposite way to UK. A friend I know pays , what I think as huge amount in winter, he is in the mountains but has large extended family to support and usually his bills are around 300 every two months, not quaterly.

Ours generally is around 125 in summer goes down in winter, really depends where you are, as here it is quite mild in winter hence only the wood burner.
Many thanks for that info - what I really do not want is never really knowing what my electricity bills are going to be ! still not sure - but I really appreciate your reply.
Kind regards,
Dr Fern

Drfernandez18
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby Drfernandez18 » Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:23 am

carrowcrin wrote:I would think the wood burner is a pretty good option and dependend on your house, the chimney could be a way of distribuating the heat thorought your house as the heat rises through the chimney.
I have a wood burner and it was fitted with the build, the Brompi burner cost €450 and the chimney pipes were not expensive but i would really need to see the house layout to advise.
The reason i went for the woodstove was for the comfort of the stove and it is also an alternative to getting a bill in the post as the wood for the stove is paid up front.

Hope this does not make you more confused.

Good luck
Thanks Carrowcrin - I somehow keep coming back to this option. The wood burner would be on the first floor - which is the main sitting room - above this is the main bedroom which would help with the warmth from the chimney. ABove the main bedroom is the top terrace, which presumabbly would be simple to fit chimney to. I know there is a Brompe in Lucena - not too far from where I live. I will endeavour to visit them, and see if they will send out a representative to give me an inclusive quote.
I also have an area on the first floor that I could utilise to "lift" the logs from the garage under in a basket "lift" if you see what I mean !, which would mean I would not have to carry them all up the stairs etc - getting to old for this !! :lol:
Many thanks fro your input - it would appear I am getting somewhere.
Kind regards
Dr Fern

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pwwm
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby pwwm » Fri Nov 04, 2011 2:19 am

We do find the heat distributes around the house quite well, that is despite the fact it in one end of the house, quite frankly I hvent felt the need for central heating in the eight years we have been here. Electric is not cheap, have heard is on par with UK. and as I wrote before our friend has been hit with huge bills, lord knows what they run to be honest, as I said before, ours are about 125€ every 2 months, oven (not hob) one or three computers, dish washer, washing machine, lights, pool,freezers etc. Water is heated by butano bottles.

Think that is pretty much it. Dont use radiators at all. and as I said before 2 air con boxes in summer which I cane lol

sorry we get 10% discount so add that to the above (pensioners) lol

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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby Jool » Fri Nov 04, 2011 8:38 am

A chimney will surely only heat internally if it is inside the house, not outside?

The key to price on elec units is ensure you get an inverter system not a normal one and have individual units not a centralised one, as there is a huge difference in elec consumption between inverter and non inverter.

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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby El Cid » Fri Nov 04, 2011 9:33 am

Jool wrote: there is a huge difference in elec consumption between inverter and non inverter.
It's probably only about 10% in normal use.

Sid

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Enrique
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby Enrique » Fri Nov 04, 2011 10:19 am

Hi Doc,
A wood burner in the room (not stuck in an existing chimney) with its metal pipes passing through the ceiling (mine is brick and concrete) and exiting high in the upstairs room, with 45degree bends and an insulated final outside pipe will work well.
Having a wide fire will help accommodate various size logs that seem to come in a "load" even when one has ask for them to be cut to fit a fire.
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby carrowcrin » Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:15 am

I would suggest you ask a local handyman/builder as to involve the manafacturer of the stove in installation of same could prove very expensive. It is a pretty straightforward process, the chimney pipe is in lengths of 1 metre and they are just fitted together eith fire cement. The pipe is really a feature and it normally looks well in the living area, it is also possible to leave the pipe exposed in the bedroom but i'm not so sure i would recommend this but i do know people who have done this.
I actually got my stove in Antequera and was considering going to Lucena as you suggested you may do, it was the end of the season so i got a good deal. I am not in Spain at the moment but will be over next week and i'm sure i will have the receipt and can give you the name of the shop if this is of any help.

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Enrique
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby Enrique » Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:26 am

Another thing Doc,
You have to "lose" the draught/draft exclude mentality of us Northern Europeans.
Fires need air as any science grad will tell you..........so have good ventilation in the room.
Last edited by Enrique on Fri Nov 04, 2011 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby Acen » Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:47 am

I know its a very random question, but how much are people paying for their wood loads and how long does it last.

we will be buying wood this year again and remember it was expecsive as we used to go through allot all throught the day.

its been a while so i have no idea!!!

cheers

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Enrique
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby Enrique » Fri Nov 04, 2011 12:05 pm

Hi Acen,
You don't give your location away :?:
My last load was quoted at 300€, turned up in a 7000kg trailer, took two people two days to stack it , should last two winters. Then as a bonus the guy did a recalculation and reduced the price to 260€.
We are deep in the campo surrounded by olive trees so not far from the source .
Best to buy early in the year after pruning as sellers have loads and want to shift it.
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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby BENIDORM » Fri Nov 04, 2011 4:48 pm

Well Dr.Fe,
You have now been offered an interesting selection of heating methods by our learned friends and myself.
Of course the choice has to be yours and I would say it would depend on numerous factors, including the price of installation, convenience and simplicity of use, orientation and style of your house, and for the gas and wood options providing storage/arranging deliveries or collections.

So rather mind boggling I would say.. :lol:

Please let us all know how you get on and also you may be able to pass on some very useful tips from your experience of 'Heating your house'...

Regards,
Gordon..

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Re: Heating your house !!

Postby carrowcrin » Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:17 pm

After hearing what Enrique is paying for the wood i think i bought my house in the wrong place as at that price it is less than €1 for a 25kg bag and i am paying about €3 for mine and some people are paying even more.


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