Hello forum community,
My wife and I are planning an extension to our home and are currently considering the possible heating options.
Just to explain, we are extending an existing house (built in 1975). My parents-in-law live on the ground floor, and we live upstairs. The entire building’s existing heating system (storage heaters) and hot water supply will be renewed. It is already decided that we will not install underfloor heating, and that heating and hot water will be produced centrally. The windows and insulation are all up to modern standards.
One option would be a gas boiler, but the question is how expensive the gas connection would be. For a heat pump, only an air-source heat pump would be possible because we don’t have enough space on the property for ground-source heating.
I am somewhat skeptical about air-source heat pumps. From what I understand, heating is not a problem, and hot water for showering or similar purposes up to 40°C (104°F) should still be energy-efficient. But what about the kitchen sink, where you sometimes need really hot water? To avoid constantly heating the entire hot water system to 60°C (140°F) just for the sink, I had the idea of installing an instantaneous water heater under the kitchen sink, connected to the hot water line coming from the central heating system. This way, you would have hot water immediately without delay, and since the water is preheated to 40°C (104°F), the instantaneous heater would only need to raise the temperature by about 20°C (36°F) from 40°C to 60°C.
Would that work?
How practical would it be?
Do you have any other ideas?
Thank you,
Peter
My wife and I are planning an extension to our home and are currently considering the possible heating options.
Just to explain, we are extending an existing house (built in 1975). My parents-in-law live on the ground floor, and we live upstairs. The entire building’s existing heating system (storage heaters) and hot water supply will be renewed. It is already decided that we will not install underfloor heating, and that heating and hot water will be produced centrally. The windows and insulation are all up to modern standards.
One option would be a gas boiler, but the question is how expensive the gas connection would be. For a heat pump, only an air-source heat pump would be possible because we don’t have enough space on the property for ground-source heating.
I am somewhat skeptical about air-source heat pumps. From what I understand, heating is not a problem, and hot water for showering or similar purposes up to 40°C (104°F) should still be energy-efficient. But what about the kitchen sink, where you sometimes need really hot water? To avoid constantly heating the entire hot water system to 60°C (140°F) just for the sink, I had the idea of installing an instantaneous water heater under the kitchen sink, connected to the hot water line coming from the central heating system. This way, you would have hot water immediately without delay, and since the water is preheated to 40°C (104°F), the instantaneous heater would only need to raise the temperature by about 20°C (36°F) from 40°C to 60°C.
Would that work?
How practical would it be?
Do you have any other ideas?
Thank you,
Peter
B
Bauabenteurer30 Oct 2014 06:57peterbocholt schrieb:
I wasn’t concerned about the legionella... just about rinsing off greasy residues...Ah, I use the kettle for that... if it really has to be done 🙂
Hello hello,
I believe the original poster, Peter, is not questioning the practicality of having 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) in the kitchen, but rather wants to install an electric water heater to have hot water quickly available.
None of us would heat water on the stove, use an immersion heater to prepare hot water, or rely on a kettle when washing dishes, right?
The basic need is hardly disputable, so please refer to Peter’s initial post if you have something to add.
Regards, Yvonne
I believe the original poster, Peter, is not questioning the practicality of having 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) in the kitchen, but rather wants to install an electric water heater to have hot water quickly available.
None of us would heat water on the stove, use an immersion heater to prepare hot water, or rely on a kettle when washing dishes, right?
The basic need is hardly disputable, so please refer to Peter’s initial post if you have something to add.
Regards, Yvonne
I also need to adjust to the central water heating system.
Until now, we had a boiler with short distances to the sink, washbasin, and shower, so hot water was available instantly.
I recently read a report stating that central hot water supply can sometimes be less cost-effective than the often criticized tankless water heaters, especially when water consumption is taken into account. If considering partially decentralized heating, you would also need to think about what happens with the remaining water. The less water drawn from the central system, the less practical it becomes. If no solar domestic hot water system is planned, the heating could potentially be turned off completely during the summer.
Overall, I find the water hot enough despite the heat pump, and in our case, the domestic hot water is even hotter than the heating water due to the stratified storage tank. However, the initial post mentioned that no underfloor heating will be installed. This would generally rule out heat pumps.
Until now, we had a boiler with short distances to the sink, washbasin, and shower, so hot water was available instantly.
I recently read a report stating that central hot water supply can sometimes be less cost-effective than the often criticized tankless water heaters, especially when water consumption is taken into account. If considering partially decentralized heating, you would also need to think about what happens with the remaining water. The less water drawn from the central system, the less practical it becomes. If no solar domestic hot water system is planned, the heating could potentially be turned off completely during the summer.
Overall, I find the water hot enough despite the heat pump, and in our case, the domestic hot water is even hotter than the heating water due to the stratified storage tank. However, the initial post mentioned that no underfloor heating will be installed. This would generally rule out heat pumps.
P
peterbocholt30 Oct 2014 12:41Why would a heat pump be ruled out??? Modern low-temperature radiators require a maximum flow temperature of 45°C (113°F) ... If I’m mistaken, please let me know.
ypg schrieb:
Hello hello,
I think the original poster, Peter, isn’t asking whether it makes sense to have 60 degrees Celsius in the kitchen, but rather about installing an electric water heater to quickly get hot water.
None of us would boil water on the stove, use an immersion heater, or rely on a kettle just to do the dishes, right???
The basic need can’t really be questioned, so please address Peter’s initial post if you have something to add.
Best regards, Yvonne We are responding to the initial post! The question still needs to be answered: why 60 degrees Celsius (140°F)? Just to rinse off greasy dishes? I can assure you, 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) is sufficient for that!
The necessity can be questioned because, in that case, the water heater wouldn’t make sense either.
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