Energy Efficiency Quandry

[Penny Lane]

I need advice/tips/help from you knowledgable lot please!

We bought a calor gas heater so we don't use the central heating over winter. We wouldn't bother with heating at all if it wasn't for our baby & gas prices have gone up something terrible as you all know.

Our heating system is about 30 years old (new radiators have been added over the years), has no thermostat, when you turn on the central heating you also heat the water. There's no way we can afford to get it replaced with a combi and we're not eligible for a council grant.

Not turning on the heating means no hot water for washing dishes, Indi's bath etc. So I've been filling up the kettle when I've needed hot water & that can be up to four or five times a day!

Is there any other way I could heat water more efficiently? Would a large pan on the hob be better than the kettle?
We have a woodburner but it's for outside only!

Any ideas please folks

[invisiblepiper]

Don,t know much really - except that the kettle is cheaper than the hob cos the element is emersed in the water meaning more efficient use of the energy. Is there limescale where you are? I believe de-scaling a kettle helps.

[Rod in Japan]

Do you have good wind where you are?

[Penny Lane]

Thanks fo the top piper - shall descale kettle

Rod - I live in Wales, there's a fairly good wind at this time of year. I'm intrigued...

[Rod in Japan]

If I was in your situation and the wind was OK, I'd look at a turbine setup from Motorwind with a car battery, inverter and a heating coil in some sort of heavily insulated tub. How well it would work I don't know, but I'd probably find out by trying. If the wind wasn't constant, you'd still need some other method of heating.

I have a new house with solar panels on't, but I'm still very curious to try generating a bit of leccy on the side. The Motorwind products are nearly cheap enough to allow you to experiment.

[MKG]

As Martin would have told you if he was still here, winds in built-up areas are much more turbulent than you might think and generally useless for wind turbines. Unless you live somewhere where there is an unbroken wind path (Yorkshire Moors, tops of Welsh mountains, Scottish Highlands, Severn Estuary etc.) your best bet would be some form of solar heating. Not necessarily the super-expensive roof-mounted sealed-tube stuff, though - even a black-painted ex-central-heating radiator mounted in a south-facing position and plumbed into your hot water tank can raise the water temperature by an appreciable amount, and so minimise the amount of electricity or gas or oil you would need to get the water all the way up to the required temperature.

[Rod in Japan]

The Motorwind turbines are designed specifically to work in turbulent wind. They're sold in Hong Kong for installation on any available balcony or flat rooftop. They work at very low wind speeds. And again, they're so cheap that they repay themselves quickly. I think they're a game-changing development which is why I suggest at least having a look at them and maybe talking to their inventor (very pleasant chap). I wouldn't recommend a conventional wind turbine in almost any situation, because the cost is prohibitive.

The passive heat capture thing is also a good idea.

[Annpan]

I have lived in a similar situation for a year, I would beg borrow and steal (well, maybe beg and borrow within my means, probably not steal) to get a new boiler, or a wood burner installed in the house.

Gas prices are high, they will remain high but if you do not heat your house properly you will get damp, mould, mildew problems. (I know , I am living it)

Calor gas heaters create moisture in the air, which in turn makes the house even more difficult to heat. I believe that room heaters are fine, if you only need to use them 2 or 3 times a year but not if you are relying on them to be your only source of heat.

I have to boil kettles for hot water too (for cooking, cleaning and E's bath) It is much simpler to have a kettle and a huge pot sitting on the wood burner I would also highly recommend a big IKEA push top flask, I have one sitting by my sink and it is my instant hotwater storage (I fill it with the water left in a kettle after bath or tea making)

HTH

[Thomzo]

A big kettle on the woodburner would be good on dry days.

I have a couple of waterbutts that were made out of black plastic dustbins. On sunny days, even in winter, the water in them is really hot. Certainly hot enough to wash your hands. Do you have any sort of greenhouse or conservatory - or even an outhouse with a polycarbonate roof that gets hot? If so, then you could put a similar set up in there to catch all the possible heat/sun to heat the water inside. Even if you then scoop out a kettle full, at least the water would start off half warm before you boiled it. Just make sure you keep it really clean if you are going to use it for washing or washing up.

I certainly would find another form of heating rather than just the calor gas. They really do pump out the condensation. Do you have an open fire (or could you open one up)? An open fire or a wood burning stove is really efficient at removing condensation as it draws air from the house. A stove can pump out some serious heat and you can pop a kettle on the top for constant hot water.

Zoe