ᐅ New Single-Family Home Built to KfW55 Standard – Which Heating System to Choose?
Created on: 19 Jul 2020 12:19
T
Traube348
Hello everyone,
I have read many articles and would now like to benefit from the extensive knowledge of the members here.
A brief overview of my building project:
- Single-family house with approximately 160sqm (1,722 sq ft) of living space
- No basement, 2 full floors with an unfinished attic
- Relatively large window areas and an open-plan design with a staircase in the living area
- Underfloor heating throughout the house with tile flooring
- KfW 55 standard with timber frame construction
- A wood-burning stove will be installed
Unfortunately, I have little experience in this area and rely on recommendations from others regarding heating.
On the ground floor, we have a utility room of 8sqm (86 sq ft) where we would like to accommodate all the technical equipment.
The builder recommends installing a central ventilation system, which we would like to do.
Now to my question:
There is a gas connection in our building area, and a friend told me we should definitely heat with a gas boiler. To meet the KfW standard, according to the energy consultant, we still need to install 9sqm (97 sq ft) of solar panels on the roof.
A heating engineer friend advises: choose an air-to-water heat pump – split system Weishaupt LS 8-BREK – so you can avoid the solar requirement.
I have requested quotes for both options from different heating engineers, and they come out roughly the same in price.
Since I have heard many statements opposing air-to-water heat pumps, I tend to prefer gas.
However, the main challenge is the limited space in the utility room. In addition to the heating system, the two-flue fireplace, and the ventilation system, the electrical control cabinet as well as the washing machine and dryer are also planned to be located there.
Is there anyone who has faced a similar space issue?
What would you recommend?
Thank you very much in advance for your help.
I have read many articles and would now like to benefit from the extensive knowledge of the members here.
A brief overview of my building project:
- Single-family house with approximately 160sqm (1,722 sq ft) of living space
- No basement, 2 full floors with an unfinished attic
- Relatively large window areas and an open-plan design with a staircase in the living area
- Underfloor heating throughout the house with tile flooring
- KfW 55 standard with timber frame construction
- A wood-burning stove will be installed
Unfortunately, I have little experience in this area and rely on recommendations from others regarding heating.
On the ground floor, we have a utility room of 8sqm (86 sq ft) where we would like to accommodate all the technical equipment.
The builder recommends installing a central ventilation system, which we would like to do.
Now to my question:
There is a gas connection in our building area, and a friend told me we should definitely heat with a gas boiler. To meet the KfW standard, according to the energy consultant, we still need to install 9sqm (97 sq ft) of solar panels on the roof.
A heating engineer friend advises: choose an air-to-water heat pump – split system Weishaupt LS 8-BREK – so you can avoid the solar requirement.
I have requested quotes for both options from different heating engineers, and they come out roughly the same in price.
Since I have heard many statements opposing air-to-water heat pumps, I tend to prefer gas.
However, the main challenge is the limited space in the utility room. In addition to the heating system, the two-flue fireplace, and the ventilation system, the electrical control cabinet as well as the washing machine and dryer are also planned to be located there.
Is there anyone who has faced a similar space issue?
What would you recommend?
Thank you very much in advance for your help.
P
Pinkiponk20 Jul 2020 10:38pagoni2020 schrieb:
Location and noise level of the heat pump are a major concern for us, which worries us a bit. This was the reason we decided against a heat pump… and also the, at least within our circle of acquaintances, reportedly high electricity costs. But surely there are experts here in the forum who can refute both points. I sometimes wonder why there are so many different “truths” about this purely technical topic. As a non-expert, it is really difficult to make the right decision, which is why we chose the proven solution.
Everything has been said about heat pumps. Calculating heating load and thorough research are essential to operate a heat pump efficiently. Gas systems are somewhat less sensitive in this regard.
The gas connection, additional basic fees, and maintenance costs should definitely be included in the calculations.
The gas connection, additional basic fees, and maintenance costs should definitely be included in the calculations.
Pinkiponk schrieb:
That was the reason we decided against a heat pump ... and also because of the, at least in our circle of acquaintances, extremely high electricity costs. But I’m sure there are experts here in the forum who can refute both points. Sometimes I wonder why there are so many different truths about this purely technical topic. As a non-expert, it is really difficult to make the right decision, which is why we chose the proven option.That’s why I believe if you go with a heat pump, you need a sufficiently large photovoltaic system to go along with it.
Pinkiponk schrieb:
A wall-mounted gas condensing boiler requires 0.5 m² (5.4 sq ft) of space (space beneath the unit). A floor-standing gas condensing boiler requires 2.0 m² (21.5 sq ft) of space.However, this consideration does not include the hot water storage tank needed for solar thermal systems. That also requires additional space.Ybias78 schrieb:
That’s why I believe if you have a heat pump, you should also have a sufficiently large photovoltaic system.Is the heat pump really so electricity-intensive that a photovoltaic system pays off very quickly? Are there any statistics or figures for single-family homes based on your experience?
exto1791 schrieb:
Is the heat pump really so electricity-intensive that a photovoltaic system pays off very quickly? Are there any statistics or figures for single-family homes based on your experiences? The heat pump mainly consumes electricity during the winter months when your photovoltaic system hardly produces any power (it mainly generates electricity from April to September). So you should forget about that idea. A photovoltaic system primarily generates income (from those who don’t own photovoltaic systems, into your pocket), rather than energy self-sufficiency.
Of course, you can oversize your photovoltaic system significantly and install a large buffer storage tank in the basement, but then you waste part of the electricity because a minimum amount of self-consumption is required and excess power is not compensated. Economically, that is not very practical.
If you want true energy independence, consider a firewood or pellet stove. Or, if you happen to have a livestock operation next to your single-family home, a biogas plant could also be an option.
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