ᐅ New heating system with pellet boiler or infrared panels plus domestic hot water

Hello,

we currently have a lot on our minds. After receiving several photovoltaic system offers and considering many aspects, we feel quite uncertain. I will describe our current situation and our plans.

We are renovating an old half-timbered house (about 160m² (1,720 sq ft) when completed) which has a southwest orientation. The heating system runs on gas but needs to be relocated (down to the basement), and the chimney also needs to be replaced. The entire heating piping must be renewed. We were leaning towards a pellet heating system in the basement (with storage and auger). Recently, we also started exploring infrared heating systems. We want to become largely self-sufficient in energy.

We have photovoltaic offers for around 4.xx kWp, 9.9 kWp, and also 15.6 kWp systems.

In principle, we find the idea of installing as much photovoltaic capacity as possible to be sensible. However, systems above 10 kWp seem to become complicated due to renewable energy regulations (Renewable Energy Act).

We would also like to partially heat our domestic hot water with solar energy. As far as we know, full coverage is not possible. The gas heating system only has a relatively small hot water tank, so we plan to install a new one.

Infrared heating is our latest confusing topic. Would you recommend it for a recently insulated older house? This option could save us from replacing all the heating piping and modifying or building a new chimney.

The problem is, how would we then heat the water in the bathroom? In the kitchen, a small tankless water heater would be sufficient. But for the bathroom? Using a tankless water heater for a bathtub doesn’t seem very economical, does it?

The photovoltaic system would be installed within the next two months, with the rest of the work following over the next year. How would you approach this whole topic? It’s quite extensive, but I would appreciate different opinions.

Thank you very much in advance.

SUMMARY: How should I heat my domestic hot water? Is it possible to heat a well-insulated house solely with infrared heating? We do want to have a fireplace in the living room.

Do you want to heat your water with an immersion heater? It’s unclear whether that’s the best choice. An interesting concept for self-sufficiency is the “solar house” – basically a large water tank heated via solar thermal energy, which can also provide heating during cloudy days. However, this system is quite large and rather difficult to integrate into an older building.

Otherwise, photovoltaic (PV) systems aren’t bad – but they work better in combination with heat pumps and the screed storage effect (during the day when the sun shines, set the heating 2-3°C (4-5°F) higher and use that heat at night).

I’m not very familiar with pellet systems – maybe there are sensible options with PV as well.

Infrared heating is probably difficult to implement in new buildings because of electric heating… but is that an issue in older buildings? I’m also unsure about that. Check out Heizungsvergleich, where there is some information on this topic.

To summarize: in my opinion, a combination of pellet and infrared heating with photovoltaic is not economical. It’s better to choose either one or the other.

Why not stick with gas? Our newly installed gas heating system includes a 210 l (55 gallons) hot water tank.

How was the water heated before?

Since it is an older building, I assume radiators are installed, right?

In what way are pellets supposed to be more independent than gas?

Hello,

in principle, it is possible to heat a house solely with infrared heaters.

Friends of ours also equipped their house, built a few years ago, with only infrared heaters – in addition, there is a wood stove in the living area.

However, it must be clearly stated that an infrared heater works by radiant heat – which is a very different type of heat compared to “regular” radiators or underfloor heating. Therefore, I strongly recommend experiencing such a heating system in operation to get a feel for how it works.

Regards,

Dirk

Hello,

Doc.Schnaggls schrieb:

In principle, a house can be heated using infrared heaters.

That is correct; with a smart agreement with the energy provider, they can also run under the heat pump tariff if no photovoltaic system with storage is available. However, there are much nicer options for radiant heating; of course, these are more expensive than the mentioned infrared heaters.

Doc.Schnaggls schrieb:

What must be clearly stated: an infrared heater works with radiant heat – which is a very different type of warmth compared to "normal" radiators or underfloor heating. Therefore, I strongly recommend seeing such a heating system in operation to feel how it works.

That is also good advice, because radiant heating really works differently; the air in the room remains untouched. Nevertheless, there is no cold feeling in the room as long as the calculations for the later size of the radiant heater are correct.

Regards, Bauexperte

[RADIANT HEAT is "different," but by no means a disadvantage; the indoor climate is very pleasant. Infrared heaters and underfloor heating are not mutually exclusive in principle. We have electric underfloor heating wherever there are tiles, and in rooms with parquet flooring, we use infrared heaters. It works perfectly. Of course, it must be clear that heating with electricity is not particularly efficient. However, if you have a low-energy house where the remaining heat demand is low, in my opinion, this is a sensible alternative. Whether this is the appropriate solution for an older building, as mentioned here, I would doubt. But I am just an amateur;)

Best regards]