Hi, I have a small property in france, and it currently is heated by solar panels feeding a heatbank 350L multi coil cylinder in the loft running underfloor heating. Backup for cloudy days and winter is a 3phase immersion heater supplying 9kw of heat which mid winter can *just* keep pace with peak demands.
Now, the solar install provides nowhere near the output claimed by the suppliers (not DPS, they only supplied the tank and controls, which have worked flawlessly) in the 6 years we've had it, and it costs a fortune in electricity to heat our house in winter.
I have to retrofit another fuel source onto it, fortunately I specified a extra internal coil when the tank was manufactured to allow a boiler to be retrofit if the claims did not live up to reality.
Ive purchased a brand new 30kw lamborghini oil boiler that I plan to hook onto the extra water tank coil, and instead of the thermostat powering the 3phase contactor, I plan to get it to fire up the boiler instead.
Thats the background, location is the awkward one for me. Currently the tank is located in the loft, the floor beams were massively overspec'd when we built that level as part of the original conversion. We also floor'ed it througout and fitted proper ladder access.
Option a is to locate the oil boiler in the loftspace directly , as we also have the original chimney stack for the house still in place. But if a oil boiler is located in there, will there be any odour? also how do you arrange the fuel to be pumped up from a ground floor located tank? tank has to be located on the ground floor for refueling access. Also for tank location, there is nowhere really suitable adjacent to the house directly, and burying the tank will require fuel to be purchased with an antifreeze component, which costs more on a daily basis. How far can the oil be pumped to the boiler? is there anyone that can give me a limit on what head of oil they support .
Option b is to locate the boiler in a detached outbuilding and run insulated pipe between the boiler and the cylinder in its current location inside a insulated trench. Now I understand the pipe has to have a very good R value, and there will be some latency of response, but this is the easier install. The stack on the outbuilding will be lower than the eves of the house however although I would think you wouldn't see see sparks or smoke emitted?, it currently already has a chimney from a old wood burning stove install. There are two rooms inside, divided by a breezeblock wall, so the plan is to locate the tank in the outer room and the boiler in the inner.
Id like option A) because of the heat loss being minimised, but I can't get my head around the oil pumping requirements. Advice anyone?
I should add mains gas isn't a option (not in area) and the various propane fired boilers cost a fortune in running costs and hire of tank.
Now, the solar install provides nowhere near the output claimed by the suppliers (not DPS, they only supplied the tank and controls, which have worked flawlessly) in the 6 years we've had it, and it costs a fortune in electricity to heat our house in winter.
I have to retrofit another fuel source onto it, fortunately I specified a extra internal coil when the tank was manufactured to allow a boiler to be retrofit if the claims did not live up to reality.
Ive purchased a brand new 30kw lamborghini oil boiler that I plan to hook onto the extra water tank coil, and instead of the thermostat powering the 3phase contactor, I plan to get it to fire up the boiler instead.
Thats the background, location is the awkward one for me. Currently the tank is located in the loft, the floor beams were massively overspec'd when we built that level as part of the original conversion. We also floor'ed it througout and fitted proper ladder access.
Option a is to locate the oil boiler in the loftspace directly , as we also have the original chimney stack for the house still in place. But if a oil boiler is located in there, will there be any odour? also how do you arrange the fuel to be pumped up from a ground floor located tank? tank has to be located on the ground floor for refueling access. Also for tank location, there is nowhere really suitable adjacent to the house directly, and burying the tank will require fuel to be purchased with an antifreeze component, which costs more on a daily basis. How far can the oil be pumped to the boiler? is there anyone that can give me a limit on what head of oil they support .
Option b is to locate the boiler in a detached outbuilding and run insulated pipe between the boiler and the cylinder in its current location inside a insulated trench. Now I understand the pipe has to have a very good R value, and there will be some latency of response, but this is the easier install. The stack on the outbuilding will be lower than the eves of the house however although I would think you wouldn't see see sparks or smoke emitted?, it currently already has a chimney from a old wood burning stove install. There are two rooms inside, divided by a breezeblock wall, so the plan is to locate the tank in the outer room and the boiler in the inner.
Id like option A) because of the heat loss being minimised, but I can't get my head around the oil pumping requirements. Advice anyone?
I should add mains gas isn't a option (not in area) and the various propane fired boilers cost a fortune in running costs and hire of tank.
