How to heat the house

[Squeezyhug]

Hi everyone, just looking for opinions or any ideas and has anyone been in this situation.

For years had gas ch but my ancient gas boiler broke down in jan ( for good) and I managed to get by with the wood burner and electric immersion heater for hot water( I keep it on all the time).
Was going to get a new gas boiler but had second thoughts with energy price hike and then the war started and I now don’t want to go down the route of gas.

I want something in place by end of autumn.

Has anyone got experience of electric boilers/ under floor heating/ solar etc.

Looking for ideas and your experiences and costs really.
I contacted a couple of companies claiming to be offering insulation / free windows etc but they didn’t get back to me and don’t know if it’s all a scam.

I live in an old very un insulated property btw.

Thanks for reading

I think I need to move this from relationships if I figure out how

Electric heating is more expensive than gas

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From what I've heard underfloor heating is quite expensive and in an old property are.you comfortable ripping up floors to install it?

I'd be looking to air source heating, with solar if you can afford it and you have a suitabley angled roof (preferably south facing)

There's also government grants which will pay back most of your costs, if you're quick..

@dementedpixie

Thanks, I’ve done that now

Air source heating needs good insulation though. I can’t have cavity insulation as I have solid stone walls. I do have a south facing roof, perhaps good for hot water.

I'd probably consider a timer switch for the electric immersion that'll cost a fortune on all the time.

I live rurally and was told that the private water supply has insufficient pressure for an air source heat pump. Worth considering before you go down that route.

Moving away from oil and I'm going with a wood fired central heating system for downstairs, solar hot water and electric panel heaters upstairs only to be used when it's properly cold. I have access to lots of free wood though and the time to chainsaw, store and split. £1160 for 1000 litres of oil where I am.

@Squeezyhug

Air source heating needs good insulation though. I can’t have cavity insulation as I have solid stone walls. I do have a south facing roof, perhaps good for hot water.

I had internal insulation done on my solid stone walls about seven years ago. It made a massive difference to the house temperature. I managed to get a grant to cover 70% of the costs too under the old green deal scheme.

I have a dual burning stove so you can burn wood and coal. There is a back burner on the stove so this heats the hot water and is plumbed so that it heats the radiators as well. We also have oil heating as well but rarely use it. Immersion for hot water in the summer but only for an hour or so per day

Look into ECO4 grants issued by the Government and local authorities have funding called Heating upgrade grant (HUG) which offers householders funding for heating interventions. Basic measures like draft proofing doors is the starter in this challenge and blocking any chimneys. I live in a huge Victorian fridge...we wear coats at home and gloves (even now). Loft insulation is important for retaining heat in the home. Without a number of measures, you cannot make a major impact on your house temperature. You can wear more clothing etc. I am currently having an eco3 grant deployed. It includes a new heating system, cavity wall insulation, extraction fans and loft insulation. So far cavity wall insulation has made an impact on my home comfort. I am waiting for the heating system to be installed. I am paying for a specialist liner to be installed on the top floor of the house which retains heat in winter and repels it in summer. My grant was via advance energy services btw, and they have been reliable so far.

I wouldn’t have the immersion on all the time, that will cost you.
Has your hot water tank got good insulation around it ?

Thanks for all your informative replies ... lots of options to consider ...

There are a lot of companies offering grants but it seems a bit of a minefield but I’ll try advance energy services ,HUG and the Eco 4 grants @scoobydoo1971 thank you.

Some of you suggested putting a timer on the hot water immersion switch but tbh my electric bill was £62/month for past 3 months and gas is around £5 per month.It will be double now no doubt.
Previous had shower off the boiler but now have to make do with a riser bar type shower in the bath.
For that reason I keep the hot water on all the time, my thoughts being, is it actually cheaper to heat it up from cold rather than keep it hot in the tank which has a thick jacket? ... no idea really.

I have access to lots of free wood plus use a chainsaw but not sure if this can be kept going all the time to provide central heating while I’m at work and I work 12 hr shifts.

@womaninatightspot That’s interesting about the solid wall insulation. I’ll check if it’s offered under the new eco schemes.