If you live in an old cottage, what heating do you have?

[Ozgirl75]

My parents live in a lovely old 16c thatched, beamed cottage. Their main source of heating is two wood burning stoves and then they have wall mounted electric heaters as a top up.
They’d like to look into some other options and I was wondering what other people use. The house is Grade 2 listed and they don’t think they can have a heat pump as there’s no cavity wall or really anywhere to put it as I don’t think they can fix something to the outside.
Basically they’re getting older and although at the moment bringing in logs, keeping the fire going etc is ok for them, they’re wondering if there are some easier/cheaper/healthier options as they get older.

To be fair, from what I’ve read on here, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of alternatives. I don’t think they can do a heat pump - ceilings are nowhere near 2m and they don’t have good insulation.
I guess they’ll have to keep on with wood burners and get a neighbour to help with wood if it gets to that point. They’re very sprightly at the moment but I know how quickly that can change in older people.

I’m not sure of installation costs but an outside good oil boiler would be in the region of 3k, then a task, rads, all the fittings so I’d guess about 10k? Air source does NOT keep old un insulated properties warm, but oil sure would.
Im in a hundred plus year old stone house with oil plus a multifuel stove. Happy with that.
New oil systems are going to be eventually banned in new builds but due to the sheer volume of homes off grid, older plus not feasible to insulate to air pump standards they cannot do away with oil.

We used to have a woodburner but now have central heating run off a pellet stove. Like others have said, the pipes just run along the wall or floor. They're not intrusive and all our electric is also wall mounted - you don't notice it after a while!
Second the PP who mentioned modern storage heaters though. It's probably worth seriously looking at them as an option. Even better if you could combine with solar and battery storage.

Ceiling’s don’t need to be 2m for the air source to work, it’s just you need a suitable space for the cylinder and for access they are saying they need 2m clearance where it is going but we are having a survey done to see as our ceilings are very low.
Ours is thatched so is insulated that way, but we don’t know what is possible yet. I should know by the end of Aug.

Oil is ok but has been very expensive of late. Our boiler is outside and is a massive pain in the arse so if we can get rid of it I’ll be very happy. But if it has to stay they so be it. It is just ugly and it doesn’t like the heatwaves-it kept cutting out last summer.

Agree that modern off-peak electric storage heaters worth looking into.

There is also LPG gas (and a bio-gas version made from recycled waste). Like oil, this would need a storage tank and exterior and interior pipework plus radiators, and a boiler (for water and heating). Like oil, it is delivered to houses in big tankers. Calor is the best-known supplier, but there are many others. Prices for oil and LPG fluctuate - and are not regulated by the government - but both are normally a bit more expensive than mains gas but a lot cheaper than electricity. There are tips to get lower prices - such as buy as much as you can in one go, buy in summer, get quotes from rival suppliers etc etc.

If this has not been done, upgrade loft insulation and door insulation - even the good old thick curtain across the front door would help.

Might secondary glazing be possible? - it is in some listed buildings. But it won't be cheap.

This might be of interest:https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/budgeting/help-if-you-heat-your-home-using-heating-oil-or-liquefied-petroleum-gas

Informative article about oil prices:
https://www.northernenergy.co.uk/news/is-it-a-good-time-to-buy-my-heating-oil/

For comparison, about LPG and bio-gases from same company - you need to scroll down a bit - past the 'sign up now' section - to get to the details:
https://www.northernenergy.co.uk/lpg/

OTHER SUPPLIERS ARE AVAILABLE!

I have oil fired central heating in my place too. Plus oil fired aga and two wood stoves which is handy during the annual power cut. I like to have a good stock of compressed sawdust logs come winter. They are much easier to manage especially when it’s slippy outside. I buy a pallet and load up the cupboard under the stairs and keep the rest in the greenhouse.

I think because they are denser it is the equivalent to 3-4 times the same volume of logs.

Lots of free windfall round here if you’re handy with a chainsaw so regular logs are fine most of the year.

Ive looked into heat pumps etc and they don’t work with older buildings. I think the answer is probably a small scale combo of wind/ solar/hydro with electric heating but £££s

My barn conversion had storage heaters. They work well. The newest smart ones are supposed to be very good. You could also look at a pelleted wood burner with a screw feed from an external hopper.

They should move to a better property

😄 the house is lovely! Lol at moving from the family house that they’ve lived in for 40+ years just because it’s a bit tricky to heat.
Anyway, thanks so much for the sensible suggestions - I’ll have a look at these and pass them on.

I would look at newer electric radiators and adding solar to cover some of the electric use? Add a storage battery.

Will be more efficient long term as no problems with ordering in oil or oil heating being phased out. The storage electric heaters are pretty good nowadays and can just be added to normal electric circuit.

Welsh stone cottage 250+ yrs old. LPG and a multi fuel stove in a whacking big inglenook fire place big enough for Santa and reindeers

Modern storage heaters are very good if you have a decent tariff. Preferably economy 10 or 11 or go for solar panels.
Air to air heat pumps are easier to fix and are almost as economical as air to water.

1600 detached cottage which we've lived in for 25 years.
There were storage heaters installed in some rooms when we bought it, we've added a couple more and a woodburning stove in the lounge. In another room which have a fake stove that's electric.
We never intended to keep the storage heaters but they've proved to be fine. We charge them up on Economy 7. All really easy.

Oh, and ours is grade 2 listed too

1890s cottage.

Gas central heating plus a log burner. Boiler/ Radiators with pipes running along skirting boards, then upstairs with pipes running under floor boards.

Log burner in the sitting room.

I have a kitchen which has a partially sloping roof, faces east with French windows & skylights. If there is any morning sun at all, it warms the kitchen up for the rest of the day, and I don't need the radiator on.

We're well insulated so for 3/4 of the year, with the log burner as well, I don't need the central heating.

Sorry my message was a bit blunt. But if your parents are getting older it would be worth considering a more practical property that they will have a better quality of life in as they age. It sounds more than just ‘tricky’ to heat.

They’ve already said they have no plans to move at all, they love the house.

We have central heating powered by a wood pellet boiler. It’s so easy and clean. It’s good for the environment and cost effective too. Klover Stoves