ᐅ Is a Shared Heating System Practical for Two Semi-Detached Houses?
Created on: 21 Feb 2011 21:17
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xe-on
Hello everyone,
My brother-in-law and I will each be building a semi-detached house on the same plot in a few weeks. We both agree that we want to build a prefabricated house from the same company and at the same time.
We also both want a basement where the heating system will be installed. So far, so good. Now the question has come up whether we want to have a shared heating room in the basement and supply both semi-detached houses with one gas condensing boiler.
The cost advantages are obvious. But I am not entirely clear about the downsides, especially regarding legal and insurance implications. It would mean that this shared heating room is accessible from both basements through a door for each half, so there would essentially be no “wall separation” between the two semi-detached houses.
I’m also not sure how this might work in the future. For example, if one party faces financial difficulties but the heating breaks down and needs to be replaced. You’d always be dependent on the other party. What about if one party wants to rent out or even sell their half of the semi-detached house—would that be more complicated? I feel like the negatives might outweigh the cost savings. Or am I being too negative and pessimistic? I really don’t know what to think and hope to find some good advice here.
Besides that, one company told us that by building the two semi-detached houses as “one house,” the costs could be reduced even more (savings of 40,000 €). I’m a bit skeptical because two other companies have told us differently so far. After all, what really has to be doubled? Heating, chimney, and gas connection. That shouldn’t add up to much, especially since we want to build at the same time. For example, scaffolding would only need to be set up once, and the construction site setup would also only need to be done once.
I hope you can help reduce my uncertainty and give me some good advice.
Looking forward to your answers,
Good luck xe-on
My brother-in-law and I will each be building a semi-detached house on the same plot in a few weeks. We both agree that we want to build a prefabricated house from the same company and at the same time.
We also both want a basement where the heating system will be installed. So far, so good. Now the question has come up whether we want to have a shared heating room in the basement and supply both semi-detached houses with one gas condensing boiler.
The cost advantages are obvious. But I am not entirely clear about the downsides, especially regarding legal and insurance implications. It would mean that this shared heating room is accessible from both basements through a door for each half, so there would essentially be no “wall separation” between the two semi-detached houses.
I’m also not sure how this might work in the future. For example, if one party faces financial difficulties but the heating breaks down and needs to be replaced. You’d always be dependent on the other party. What about if one party wants to rent out or even sell their half of the semi-detached house—would that be more complicated? I feel like the negatives might outweigh the cost savings. Or am I being too negative and pessimistic? I really don’t know what to think and hope to find some good advice here.
Besides that, one company told us that by building the two semi-detached houses as “one house,” the costs could be reduced even more (savings of 40,000 €). I’m a bit skeptical because two other companies have told us differently so far. After all, what really has to be doubled? Heating, chimney, and gas connection. That shouldn’t add up to much, especially since we want to build at the same time. For example, scaffolding would only need to be set up once, and the construction site setup would also only need to be done once.
I hope you can help reduce my uncertainty and give me some good advice.
Looking forward to your answers,
Good luck xe-on
S
solartherm19691 Apr 2011 12:01Putting family circumstances aside for now, I’m thinking about costs. It’s probably cheaper to have one somewhat larger system than two smaller ones. You can think of it like a shared apartment, which is usually more cost-effective per person than each having their own apartment, since infrastructure like bathroom and kitchen is shared. The same applies to heating systems with heating medium and maintenance. Best regards!
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perlenmann1 Apr 2011 13:12You can move out of a shared flat very quickly, and everyone buys their own refrigerator. But with a house, it’s different. It’s probably cheaper to have just one gas supply and one central heating system. However, just the billing alone—if you were to regulate it using evaporators (or however)—would also cost money. I would never consider the savings.
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freiburger2 Apr 2011 06:53123david schrieb:
.....Also, a gas heating system is no longer up to date. I also wonder why so many people install an air-source heat pump. Thanks to advertising, people are being sold a pig in a poke here.
Why exactly should a gas heating system no longer be considered up to date?
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solartherm19696 Apr 2011 13:56It is certainly possible to move out of a semi-detached house. After all, the shared aspect concerns only the heating system, not a common bedroom. And the billing should not be an issue. Just look at how this is managed in apartment buildings.
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