installing a heating system (not mains gas) in an old house

[SophyStantonLacy]

We have had an offer accepted on an old house (Grade II listed) with no heating other than a woodburner in one reception room... and DH feels the cold. Mains gas is not an option as it is a rural property. I've been looking at the "eco" options covered by the Renewable Heat Incentives, but it doesn't sound like ground/air pumps would be suitable for this type of property either, so maybe biomass boiler? Just interested to hear experiences and thoughts about this sort of situation...

maybe? Just been reading about the listed status. Sounds like every possible change has the potential to be a huge hassle!

The cost of a biomass boiler depends entirely on the size of the property and the type of boiler you buy. You'd be best talking to a supplier who will also look at what else you will need (flue, pellet storage, radiators etc).

Yes, the RHI works. We've just installed a second boiler on another property and the RHI will give us back the cost of the boiler and install over 7 years. You just need the money up front.

We pay about £800 a year for pellets, but it's more expensive (and labour intensive) to buy them in bags like we do.

A huge amount will depend on the house.

The last place we lived was a well insulated (for twenty years old) semi and we got two years from £300 of oil. Our current bigger single glazed uninsulated place is more like £700 of oil and a ton of coal per winter yet still bloody cold.

My folks live in a listed house. They have all the forms of heating.

An Aga than is powered from a gas tank and runs the central heating, all the downstairs rooms also have a storage heater. Added to that is an open fire in the living room.

You might be allowed to lift the floor and put it back down but if you decrease the moisture permiability of the floor by adding a membrane and there is no damp proof course in the walls, you might end up with more damp in the walls than there is at the moment. Depends on the external ground level and whether there is a basement. There is a good forum for old building advice which I read up a lot before we moved into ours called period property forum. Listed building consent is slightly annoying but is not difficult. You can normally chat to the conservation officer first to see if you need permission. We sent ours a list with all the things we were thinking about doing and she told us which ones needed permission.