On 08/03/2016 07:49, wrote:
good morning

i have just gutted a four bedroom townhouse over threes floors - ground / first and attic.

i have therefore to decide what heating / hot system i should put back in as there is nothing right now - not even a copper pipe!! there is mains gas and electric.

it is of 1950's construction, so the walls are not very well insulated - the roof is well insulated. i am thinking of a radiator system as i am on a limited budget and underfloor heating will be too expensive.

water wise - there are three showers (1 on each floor and it is likely that at least two will require water at the same time. there is also a bath on the first floor but unlikely to be used much.

there's plenty of space to mount pretty much any system but i really don't know what's best - probably most concern is the demand for hot water - a simple combi boiler could not handle it. and i only want one electric shower as an absolute emergency.

i should say that i don't expect to live in the property for more than 5 years at the most so i do not want to pay huge amounts for a renewable energy system that takes years and years to re-coup the investment.

any advice gratefully received. thanks


Some thoughts:

If you have a conventional system with a hot water tank, then you can
have an immersion heater for use if the boiler fails or you want to stop
it for any reason.

OTOH If you have cold water tanks in the roof you need to ensure that
the water does not freeze in the winter, especially if the house is left
unoccupied.

Another issue is whether you have a system boiler. These are more
complex, presumably cost more and are more tedious to fill. OTOH you
have to install a header tank for a conventional system.

My fully pumped conventional system uses fully motorised valves which
don't move if the programmer switches the heating off and on to achieve
proportional control.

I am not a fan of thermostatic radiator valves. I would regard a wired
in programmable thermostat as essential, preferably with remote control.

Many programmable thermostats are single channel. OK for the CH but I
like to have the HW off when it is not required.









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Michael Chare

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