Type of heating system

[Elderflower2016]

We are buying an old cottage which we plan to extend and retro fit some insulation in old part where possible.
Currently oil. No gas in village
so will end up being half new house including kitchen where we’d like UFH and part period house.
In future we hope to fit solar panels and battery but can’t do that straight away.
ive read ASHP arent good for older houses and normal electric boilers are v expensive.
Should we stick with oil boiler then possibly convert to solar later on?
Any advice welcome.

Oil boilers are really good. Older models can be inefficient but indestructible . Newer models much more efficient. As long as there’s a decent size tank you can fill up in summer and it lasts most of the year.
Ashp can be very good or awful. Mines not great and is very expensive to run. Can’t just have a blast of heat if I’m feeling a bit chilly as it takes hours to heat the under floors. It’s good when it’s very cold but not at this time of year when I only want an hours heat in the evening.
The UFH is great when it works, I’ve currently got two rooms not working and im really hoping it’s valves that are malfunctioning and not a leak somewhere. It’s very easy to find the fault on a radiator circuit.
I have radiators that run off an old solid fuel Rayburn as well, this is what we use mostly for heating as the radiators heat up very quickly.
In your position I would stick with oil. My parents have had oil heating for the last 30 years. They have a tank that holds 1500 litres, they’ve never run out of oil and have a warm house and plenty of hot water.

ASHP can work for older properties if they are installed by somebody that understands them and heat loss properly. Most don’t.
likewise if an oil system is properly specified for the property it isn’t excessive.
the key is to find somebody that understands older homes.
mid suggest looking at saphire boilers that can run oil or HVO when the price decreases. Also a 25yr warranty.
for your underfloor look at Wunda.