I'm trying to cut our enormous oil bill and heat our house in a more sustainable way. We currently use a Worcester Bosch Heatslave 26/32 Oil Combi providing hot water and heat to 12 radiators. I now want to introduce alternative heating sources into the mix. The plan therefore is to fit a vented thermal store system.
I would estimate we need around 10-12KW heating plus hot water.
Initially I'm looking at connecting a Clearview 650 with boiler (either the 27,000btu or 40,000btu unit). We have a free wood supply from our neighbours sawmill and our 6 acres of woodland. I would also at this stage be looking at connecting a conventional (condensing?) oil boiler to provide back-up. Eventually I intend to add solar, and ultimately an immersion run from a micro hydro system (producing around a constant 1KW).
What I'm finding most confusing is information regarding thermal store sizing. There seem to be two camps regarding this, one saying I need a smallish store of 250-350Litres, and another recommending a monster 1500Litre store.
What size of store do I really need?
I would estimate we need around 10-12KW heating plus hot water.
Initially I'm looking at connecting a Clearview 650 with boiler (either the 27,000btu or 40,000btu unit). We have a free wood supply from our neighbours sawmill and our 6 acres of woodland. I would also at this stage be looking at connecting a conventional (condensing?) oil boiler to provide back-up. Eventually I intend to add solar, and ultimately an immersion run from a micro hydro system (producing around a constant 1KW).
What I'm finding most confusing is information regarding thermal store sizing. There seem to be two camps regarding this, one saying I need a smallish store of 250-350Litres, and another recommending a monster 1500Litre store.
What size of store do I really need?