Solid fuel central heating - coal... Good or bad???
Discussion
Viewed a house at the weekend that we really like. It's in a semi-secluded area that doesn't have gas mains (well, not in that street. However, it does have it in the local area!), and it has a coal heating system.
How efficient/cost effective is coal heating compared to gas? Any pro's and cons?
I am going to phone the gas board tomorrow and see if they have any future plans on finishing the full area with gas mains.
Cheers in advance.
How efficient/cost effective is coal heating compared to gas? Any pro's and cons?
I am going to phone the gas board tomorrow and see if they have any future plans on finishing the full area with gas mains.
Cheers in advance.
Not sure if this helps...
We were on LPG gas and have been round the houses investigating all forms of heating...
On thing we did look into was a multifuel boiler stove [mainly burning coal but some wood] connected to the central heating/hot water. The problems are its dirty, constant refuelling/cleaning, no RHI incentive and no way of putting it onto a timer but if correctly installed will have no issues heating the radiators. Lot's of neighbours heat their houses this way. We already run a 5kw Stovax stove and it eats about £45 [150Kgs] of coal every 6 weeks over winter plus about £80 in wood. The stove is great but a boiler stove would eat heck of a lot more.
So in the end we decided on an Air Source Heat Pump. Works as you would expect from any central heating system. Not cheap but over the RHI incentive period we get all our money back and more plus much cheaper running costs than LPG. We have friends with ASHPs and have no issues with them not performing over winter.
Cheers
We were on LPG gas and have been round the houses investigating all forms of heating...
On thing we did look into was a multifuel boiler stove [mainly burning coal but some wood] connected to the central heating/hot water. The problems are its dirty, constant refuelling/cleaning, no RHI incentive and no way of putting it onto a timer but if correctly installed will have no issues heating the radiators. Lot's of neighbours heat their houses this way. We already run a 5kw Stovax stove and it eats about £45 [150Kgs] of coal every 6 weeks over winter plus about £80 in wood. The stove is great but a boiler stove would eat heck of a lot more.
So in the end we decided on an Air Source Heat Pump. Works as you would expect from any central heating system. Not cheap but over the RHI incentive period we get all our money back and more plus much cheaper running costs than LPG. We have friends with ASHPs and have no issues with them not performing over winter.
Cheers
We had a coal boiler for years at our family home, my dad installed it in the early 1970's and it worked flawlessly for over 30 years. It ran on 'Anthracite' coal, which is a small granular type.
In the winter we had to top it up twice a day with a hod full. Had to clear out the ash once a week.
Positives, you had constant heat, even when the system was set to standby during the day, it would keep the boiler ticking over and the rads warm. It was cheaper than oil at the time, not sure now though.
Negatives, filling and cleaning are a chore but not too bad. Storing coal, we had three big coal bunkers outside, two tons a year IIRC?? Getting it in during the cold and snow was not nice. The boiler would often go out in the summer, once the water was hot, pain to re-light.
In the winter we had to top it up twice a day with a hod full. Had to clear out the ash once a week.
Positives, you had constant heat, even when the system was set to standby during the day, it would keep the boiler ticking over and the rads warm. It was cheaper than oil at the time, not sure now though.
Negatives, filling and cleaning are a chore but not too bad. Storing coal, we had three big coal bunkers outside, two tons a year IIRC?? Getting it in during the cold and snow was not nice. The boiler would often go out in the summer, once the water was hot, pain to re-light.
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