Good day!
I am the type of person who likes to address and solve things before they become a problem. Therefore, I am considering whether there is a sensible way to move away from heating oil without switching to natural gas. Based on some basic data, can you roughly estimate what might be possible?
The total usable area of the house is 300 square meters, of which 178 square meters (about 1917 square feet) is living space. The difference mainly consists of basement rooms, which I partly use for my freelance work. Two adults and one child live in the house; both adults also work from home. We use about 3,000 liters (approximately 792 gallons) of heating oil per year (around 10 liters (2.6 gallons) per square meter including hot water) and consume about 8,000 kWh of electricity, as we also charge two electric cars.
The house is built with 24 cm (9.4 inches) thick solid Liapor elements, which provide excellent thermal buffering: in summer it remains cool for a long time, and in autumn it stays warm for a long time. Outside, there is 6 cm (2.4 inches) of mineral insulation, followed by a 4 cm (1.6 inches) air gap, and then a brick cladding. The wooden windows are double-glazed. The house has a carpentry-style roof structure with 20 cm (7.9 inches) of mineral insulation, and during the interior work we paid close attention to precise airtightness.
The oil-fired central heating system is now 22 years old but still runs very well. We do not have underfloor heating but radiators in every room. The flow temperature is about 40°C (104°F), and we operate a heating curve roughly as flat as that used for underfloor heating. Our roof shape (half-hipped roof with four gable dormers) is not suitable for photovoltaic panels; however, the garage roof (gable roof with about 30° pitch, ridge orientation north-south) offers space for about 70 square meters (around 753 square feet) of photovoltaic panels, half facing east and half west, with no shading from trees. Between the garage and the house, I have already installed a 5x16 square NyY cable (50 meters long (164 feet)) because that is where the cars are charged. So, if photovoltaic panels are installed on the garage roof, the inverter and control system could be housed in the garage, and there is also space beside the garage for battery storage. There is sufficient garden space for ground collectors as well.
Now I am wondering: is there a reasonable overall concept involving photovoltaics, battery storage, heat pump, and flat plate collectors? I would like to remove the oil tank but do not want a gas connection. Under these conditions, is it possible to achieve a relatively high degree of self-sufficiency for much of the year, so that only a small amount of electricity needs to be purchased, while avoiding the risk of running out of heat in cold periods?
Ideally, I would like to commission an independent energy consultant for such a concept, but I have no idea how to find someone who approaches this in a technology-neutral way while keeping an eye on political decisions that, of course, cannot be predicted now regarding how they will develop over the coming years. If you act too early, you might regret it later when stronger subsidies become available; but if you wait too long, you might have to endure rising oil and electricity prices for a longer period. Besides, I simply no longer find it acceptable to burn oil or gas.
Matthias
I am the type of person who likes to address and solve things before they become a problem. Therefore, I am considering whether there is a sensible way to move away from heating oil without switching to natural gas. Based on some basic data, can you roughly estimate what might be possible?
The total usable area of the house is 300 square meters, of which 178 square meters (about 1917 square feet) is living space. The difference mainly consists of basement rooms, which I partly use for my freelance work. Two adults and one child live in the house; both adults also work from home. We use about 3,000 liters (approximately 792 gallons) of heating oil per year (around 10 liters (2.6 gallons) per square meter including hot water) and consume about 8,000 kWh of electricity, as we also charge two electric cars.
The house is built with 24 cm (9.4 inches) thick solid Liapor elements, which provide excellent thermal buffering: in summer it remains cool for a long time, and in autumn it stays warm for a long time. Outside, there is 6 cm (2.4 inches) of mineral insulation, followed by a 4 cm (1.6 inches) air gap, and then a brick cladding. The wooden windows are double-glazed. The house has a carpentry-style roof structure with 20 cm (7.9 inches) of mineral insulation, and during the interior work we paid close attention to precise airtightness.
The oil-fired central heating system is now 22 years old but still runs very well. We do not have underfloor heating but radiators in every room. The flow temperature is about 40°C (104°F), and we operate a heating curve roughly as flat as that used for underfloor heating. Our roof shape (half-hipped roof with four gable dormers) is not suitable for photovoltaic panels; however, the garage roof (gable roof with about 30° pitch, ridge orientation north-south) offers space for about 70 square meters (around 753 square feet) of photovoltaic panels, half facing east and half west, with no shading from trees. Between the garage and the house, I have already installed a 5x16 square NyY cable (50 meters long (164 feet)) because that is where the cars are charged. So, if photovoltaic panels are installed on the garage roof, the inverter and control system could be housed in the garage, and there is also space beside the garage for battery storage. There is sufficient garden space for ground collectors as well.
Now I am wondering: is there a reasonable overall concept involving photovoltaics, battery storage, heat pump, and flat plate collectors? I would like to remove the oil tank but do not want a gas connection. Under these conditions, is it possible to achieve a relatively high degree of self-sufficiency for much of the year, so that only a small amount of electricity needs to be purchased, while avoiding the risk of running out of heat in cold periods?
Ideally, I would like to commission an independent energy consultant for such a concept, but I have no idea how to find someone who approaches this in a technology-neutral way while keeping an eye on political decisions that, of course, cannot be predicted now regarding how they will develop over the coming years. If you act too early, you might regret it later when stronger subsidies become available; but if you wait too long, you might have to endure rising oil and electricity prices for a longer period. Besides, I simply no longer find it acceptable to burn oil or gas.
Matthias
Pianist schrieb:
...A lot of my pipes also run under the screed. If the heating pipes had been added there as well, it would have caused complete chaos.
...because the coordination between the screed contractor and the heating installer did not work well, the screed along with the tiles cracked one after another in all rooms with loud banging noises....
All of this together led me to decide to stick with traditional radiators. Since many relatives and friends also reported serious problems with their underfloor heating, we decided against it as well. One had to break up the entire screed twice.
For your issue with "too small" radiators, at least in theory, there is still the option of forced convection to increase heating output at low supply temperatures. Especially with 3-layer flat convectors, the warm air flow can be significantly improved without major reconstruction by installing slowly rotating fans (12cm (4.7 inches)) beneath the heating panels. However, you still need to set the heat pump’s supply temperature higher, which unfortunately reduces heating efficiency.
P.S.: And don’t forget to document this extensively on video ;-)
That’s how it was done back then, but if the solution today is to replace the radiators with 33mm (1.3 inches) ones, then that is an acceptable effort. Does anyone have an idea how to find a really smart, independent consultant in Berlin who will review it with an open mind?
Pianist schrieb:
I was told that heat from below is not good for the body,Do you still remember that probably very interesting explanation?https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
B
Benutzer20021 Dec 2021 10:41konibar schrieb:
For your problem of "too small" radiators, at least theoretically, the option of forced convection could still be possible to increase heating capacity at low supply temperatures. Especially with triple-layer flat convectors, the warm air flow can be significantly increased without much modification or effort by installing slowly rotating fans (12cm (5 inches)) under the heating plates. However, the heat pump’s supply temperature still needs to be set higher, which unfortunately lowers the heating efficiency.You are describing radiators that are exactly available—just professionally designed—specifically for heat pumps, meaning for low supply temperatures.Otherwise @Pianist: Don’t believe everything a friend of a friend’s sister says, or assume that isolated cases (like cracked screed) apply to most new buildings.
Pianist schrieb:
Does anyone have any idea how to find a really smart independent consultant in Berlin who will review things impartially?You can take almost any experienced energy consultant or simply an engineering firm that will do the calculations for you (e.g., Heckmann).11ant schrieb:
Do you still remember the probably very interesting explanation?No. That mainly came from the only civil engineer in the family circle, who always had an opinion on everything and somehow came across so convincingly that people believed him and followed his advice. He was already old at the time and has been dead for a long time now.Matthias
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