ᐅ Combining a heat pump with a hydronic fireplace

To be self-sufficient, I recommend purchasing your own piece of forest, using a wood gasifier as a central heating system, and having a sufficiently powerful generator.

The fact, which has already been mentioned, is that combining a high-temperature system with a low-temperature system makes little sense because the water needs to be stored at a high temperature. Both generation and storage lead to relatively high losses.

It is then necessary to properly regulate under which conditions the heat pump operates and to hydraulically connect the system so that the buffer tank does not have to be heated by the heat pump.

The system will cost about €8,000 (approx. $8,800) more than a heat pump-only system. Unless you have your own forest from which you can harvest, wood is not exactly cheap. To recoup the additional cost, you would need to wait a very long time. In addition, there are costs for the chimney itself, the chimney sweep, and the extra maintenance that may be required.

Michlhausbauaa schrieb:

Honestly, I don’t think that’s the case. Especially since this exact concept is actually being promoted by a company.
Why would anyone create a mess? The water isn’t drained; the control system mixes cold and hot water.

So I can’t understand or agree with your negative points.

Then don’t ask for opinions and just do it the way you want.

And sure, it makes sense to market or use something like this... at least for the person selling it. Complex system, high installation effort, susceptible to maintenance issues and malfunctions, etc.

Regardless of whether the systems are compatible or not, it is important to understand that a fireplace in a modern, well-insulated house needs to be carefully chosen to avoid turning the space into an oversized sauna. I would have liked to have a wood stove as well. We even have a small piece of private woodland. However, from an energy efficiency perspective, this doesn’t make much sense in a modern house.

Friends of ours have a water-heated fireplace in their house, which was built about 8 years ago. However, they use a gas heating system. How often the fireplace has been used over the years can be counted on one hand.

I would actually be interested in the usage habits of homeowners with a fireplace. When, how often, and for how long does the fireplace run in a modern house without eventually having to open the windows?

seth0487 schrieb:

Regardless of whether the systems match or not, it’s important to understand that a fireplace in a modern, well-insulated house needs to be chosen carefully to avoid turning your home into an oversized sauna. I would have liked to have a wood stove too. We even have a small piece of private forest. But from an energy perspective, it doesn’t make much sense in a modern house.

Friends of ours, who built their house about 8 years ago, have a water-heated fireplace. However, they have a gas heating system. You can count on one hand how often it’s been used over the years.

I’m actually interested in how homeowners with fireplaces use them. When, how often, and for how long does the fireplace run in a modern house without having to open the windows at some point?

It’s actually not a problem at all if the fireplace has the necessary thermal mass. The first burn keeps the room comfortably warm. The second burn can even make it warmer, if desired.

The problem with modern houses always occurs during transitional seasons. The heating is not yet on, and it can get chilly. This results in room temperatures that don’t meet the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). Then the modern man has to go chop wood again and create a cozy home with a little stove for his wife 🙂.

There’s no other way, thanks to the energy-saving regulations!

seth0487 schrieb:

I am genuinely interested in the usage patterns of homeowners with a fireplace. How often, when, and for how long is the fireplace used in a modern house without having to open the windows at some point?

In winter, at least three times a week. Usually between 7 and 9 p.m. (then just let the wood burn out). The windows were never opened. Status as of 2016.

nordanney schrieb:

During winter, at least three times a week. Usually between 7 and 9 p.m. (then just let the fire burn out). The windows were never opened. Status as of 2016.

Is your fireplace water-jacketed? Do you have a combination with another system?