Dear forum members,
I am new here and, to be honest, I haven’t read all the previous posts yet, so a similar topic might already be discussed.
We are a family with three small children and are fortunate to be allowed to build in our hometown near Regensburg. In 2011, we built a small 145 sqm (1,560 sq ft) Tuscan-style house, but unfortunately, it no longer meets our needs, so we are planning to build again. Our current home is heated with a groundwater heat pump including cooling (which we rarely use). Overall, we are satisfied with the heating results, although on cold winter days, I miss the comfortable “warm feet feeling” that I have experienced with friends who have pellet or gas heating. What bothers me more is that our hot water takes quite a while to heat up and only reaches a temperature where I can still comfortably keep my hand under it.
We are considering a pellet heating system, but to be honest, we haven’t really researched heating systems at all yet—and a lot has probably changed in the last eight years. Our architect has proposed a compact heat pump with a central ventilation system and hot water storage, as this would likely be cheaper than a pellet system with central ventilation. However, for the heat pump, we definitely do not want an outdoor unit. An indoor installation might be possible, but we have concerns about the noise.
Is a central ventilation system really necessary or required? Currently, we have a decentralized ventilation system, which works well overall, but I am quite bothered by the plastic covers inside, which have yellowed over time.
What are your experiences? Ventilation—yes or no?
Heating—pellet, compact unit, or something else?
Thank you very much!
Best regards, Stefanie
I am new here and, to be honest, I haven’t read all the previous posts yet, so a similar topic might already be discussed.
We are a family with three small children and are fortunate to be allowed to build in our hometown near Regensburg. In 2011, we built a small 145 sqm (1,560 sq ft) Tuscan-style house, but unfortunately, it no longer meets our needs, so we are planning to build again. Our current home is heated with a groundwater heat pump including cooling (which we rarely use). Overall, we are satisfied with the heating results, although on cold winter days, I miss the comfortable “warm feet feeling” that I have experienced with friends who have pellet or gas heating. What bothers me more is that our hot water takes quite a while to heat up and only reaches a temperature where I can still comfortably keep my hand under it.
We are considering a pellet heating system, but to be honest, we haven’t really researched heating systems at all yet—and a lot has probably changed in the last eight years. Our architect has proposed a compact heat pump with a central ventilation system and hot water storage, as this would likely be cheaper than a pellet system with central ventilation. However, for the heat pump, we definitely do not want an outdoor unit. An indoor installation might be possible, but we have concerns about the noise.
Is a central ventilation system really necessary or required? Currently, we have a decentralized ventilation system, which works well overall, but I am quite bothered by the plastic covers inside, which have yellowed over time.
What are your experiences? Ventilation—yes or no?
Heating—pellet, compact unit, or something else?
Thank you very much!
Best regards, Stefanie
M
Matthias 4027 Jun 2019 15:03Hello ChaLeLa,
May I ask if gas is completely ruled out as a heating source for you?
Also, which architect are you working with? I’m just curious because we also planned and built with an architectural firm from Regensburg.
Best regards
May I ask if gas is completely ruled out as a heating source for you?
Also, which architect are you working with? I’m just curious because we also planned and built with an architectural firm from Regensburg.
Best regards
boxandroof schrieb:
Selling. It is precisely the electricity generated in summer that makes the system economically viable. Self-consumption is just a bonus on top. That currently contradicts the information I have as well as the calculations for our planned photovoltaic system. Energy consumption makes the system profitable; by selling electricity, we would hardly break even.
ares83 schrieb:
This contradicts the information I have and also the calculations for our planned photovoltaic system. Energy consumption makes the system profitable; selling the excess would hardly get us any significant benefit.The solar installers' tools tend to be overly optimistic.
If selling the electricity barely makes your system profitable, either the location is really poor or the system is simply (much) too expensive.
My system is expected to pay for itself after about 10.5 years, solely from the feed-in tariff or export payments, provided no major damage occurs (although various insurances would cover different types of damage). Self-consumption is just the cherry on top.
H
hampshire27 Jun 2019 17:12Don’t be afraid of “unconventional solutions” – prioritizing heating with renewable raw materials makes sense. A wood log gasifier combined with a Stirling engine, alongside a pellet heating system, is also an interesting option.
If you buy photovoltaics for a heat pump, you could plot a coordinate system with January to December on the X-axis and the heat pump’s electricity consumption on the Y-axis. Ta-da: The heat pump uses the most energy when the photovoltaic system produces the least. As @boxandroof aptly noted, the “slightly” in brackets before “supports” is very well placed.
When it comes to photovoltaics, beyond just payback calculations, there are a few additional considerations when choosing a system, especially if it’s going to be installed on the roof. How do you feel about high voltages (electromagnetic fields) over bedrooms and children’s rooms? What fire load classification will you declare? How much more expensive will your insurance be? What do you think about the appearance of your house? What value will your house have in 10 years with a photovoltaic system installed?
guckuck2 schrieb:That reflects the photovoltaic world from many years ago. Meanwhile, the feed-in tariff is only about a third of the self-consumption price. Modern photovoltaic design mainly focuses on self-consumption.
Self-consumption is just the icing on the cake.
If you buy photovoltaics for a heat pump, you could plot a coordinate system with January to December on the X-axis and the heat pump’s electricity consumption on the Y-axis. Ta-da: The heat pump uses the most energy when the photovoltaic system produces the least. As @boxandroof aptly noted, the “slightly” in brackets before “supports” is very well placed.
When it comes to photovoltaics, beyond just payback calculations, there are a few additional considerations when choosing a system, especially if it’s going to be installed on the roof. How do you feel about high voltages (electromagnetic fields) over bedrooms and children’s rooms? What fire load classification will you declare? How much more expensive will your insurance be? What do you think about the appearance of your house? What value will your house have in 10 years with a photovoltaic system installed?
B
boxandroof27 Jun 2019 17:29I think these are just details. The motivations vary, and everyone is free to calculate and predict as they wish. I would generally separate photovoltaics from the heating analysis, but photovoltaics make even more sense when combined with a heat pump than without.
I could not justify my upcoming photovoltaic system without the feed-in tariff, yet I have also invested here and there in aesthetics and technology that I prefer, which probably reduces cost-effectiveness somewhat.
I could not justify my upcoming photovoltaic system without the feed-in tariff, yet I have also invested here and there in aesthetics and technology that I prefer, which probably reduces cost-effectiveness somewhat.
hampshire schrieb:
This is the photovoltaic world from many years ago. Meanwhile, the feed-in tariff is only about one-third of the self-consumption price. Modern photovoltaic system design mainly focuses on self-consumption.Well, if a system already delivers nearly 10% gross return just from the feed-in tariff, then that’s probably complaining at a high level, isn’t it?
My calculations are current, not from many years ago.
hampshire schrieb:
With photovoltaics, besides the pure payback calculation, there are a few other considerations when choosing the system, especially if it’s going on the roof. How do you feel about high voltages (electrosmog) above bedrooms and children’s rooms? What fire load classification will you enter? How much more expensive will the insurance be? What do you think about the appearance of your house? What value will your house have with a photovoltaic system in 10 years?Sorry, but that is complete nonsense.
Electrosmog... where do you think that comes from? Even though I already regret asking, I know you belong to the healthy living group.
Fire load classification? Nonsense. Do you have a thatched roof?
Insurance? $0. It’s included everywhere, you just have to select it. Otherwise, no one forces you to take any insurance. If you do want one, you can deduct it as an operating cost.
Appearance? I have a flat roof. No one sees it. Otherwise, everyone buys anthracite-colored roof tiles anyway, so an all-black system is actually an aesthetic upgrade.
Value? Great! After 10 years, taking over a used system at the feed-in tariff from 10 years ago would be a real return hit. Alternatively, old systems can be dismantled; the tiles on the pitched roof underneath will look much better than tiles without photovoltaic on top.
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