How to heat/insulate a small cottage?
Discussion
We have a small detached outbuilding converted into a granny annexe (@50m^2) that we plan to use as a holiday let. It has fibre glass insulation in the roof space, thick solid walls and solid concrete floors. It has electricity and water, but no central heating and the hot water comes from a tank with an immersion heater.
The plan is to lay engineered wood in the living room and hall, lino in the bathroom and kitchen and carpet the bedroom.
The conversion was done in the 80s so it's unlikely there's insulation under the floor. We could lose and inch or so head room so I figure laying some insulation between the floor and covering is the way forward. But what's best? The wood floor will protect what's in the living room, but what can we lay under carpet and lino?
As far as heating goes, it's tempting (as the budget is a bit tight) to fit a couple of leccy panel radiators in the living spaces and an electric towel rad in the bathroom and have done with it. Leccy UFH is an option but apart from the look I can't see any advantage.
It's tempting to try to appeal to the lentilists with ASHP (or GSHP, but we'd need a borehole) and woodburner for the winter months but I'm not convinced the investment would pay off.
So does anyone have any other ideas?
Cheers
The plan is to lay engineered wood in the living room and hall, lino in the bathroom and kitchen and carpet the bedroom.
The conversion was done in the 80s so it's unlikely there's insulation under the floor. We could lose and inch or so head room so I figure laying some insulation between the floor and covering is the way forward. But what's best? The wood floor will protect what's in the living room, but what can we lay under carpet and lino?
As far as heating goes, it's tempting (as the budget is a bit tight) to fit a couple of leccy panel radiators in the living spaces and an electric towel rad in the bathroom and have done with it. Leccy UFH is an option but apart from the look I can't see any advantage.
It's tempting to try to appeal to the lentilists with ASHP (or GSHP, but we'd need a borehole) and woodburner for the winter months but I'm not convinced the investment would pay off.
So does anyone have any other ideas?
Cheers
I would suggest cork tiles in kitchen and bathroom, even a thin layer is a very good insulator.
A heat pump that provides heating and cooling is a reverse cycle unit - an inverter type slows the compressor down as the room comes up to temperature rather than switching off - they cost more but are more economical to run.
You should be able to get a small heat pump fitted for about a thousand - and it will cost about a third of normal electric heaters to run.
Work some figures out, you may be surprised how much a heat pump can save over the years.
A heat pump that provides heating and cooling is a reverse cycle unit - an inverter type slows the compressor down as the room comes up to temperature rather than switching off - they cost more but are more economical to run.
You should be able to get a small heat pump fitted for about a thousand - and it will cost about a third of normal electric heaters to run.
Work some figures out, you may be surprised how much a heat pump can save over the years.
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