heating a barn - opions
Discussion
Hi All,
any suggestions as to a good way to heat a mazzanine room in a barn convertion with no central heating? did think of a wood burner -0 but as its going to used as a bedroom sometimes and work space others not really suitable, but to clumsy guests buring the house down.
has electric wall heaters in there at the moment but they chew through electricity.
current favourite is a gas fire / wood burner as we can route a pipe up the outsid e of the building and use botttled gas ( no mains gas) ..
but any other suggestios would be greatly appreciated? is there a solar panel option perhaps? of mini wind turbine?
these are pretty cool but very ££££
http://www.quietrevolution.co.uk/products_in_devel...
any suggestions as to a good way to heat a mazzanine room in a barn convertion with no central heating? did think of a wood burner -0 but as its going to used as a bedroom sometimes and work space others not really suitable, but to clumsy guests buring the house down.
has electric wall heaters in there at the moment but they chew through electricity.
current favourite is a gas fire / wood burner as we can route a pipe up the outsid e of the building and use botttled gas ( no mains gas) ..
but any other suggestios would be greatly appreciated? is there a solar panel option perhaps? of mini wind turbine?
these are pretty cool but very ££££
http://www.quietrevolution.co.uk/products_in_devel...
Try a woodburner with single skin stainless steel flue painted matt black. Route as much of it around the room as you can to dissipate heat into the room and where it exits the room continue in something like "Metalbestos Twinwall." OH used to have a stove business and this is tried and tested BUT you MUST use well seasoned hardwood logs only. NO softwoods and definitely not unseasoned.
If you're feeling really adventurous you can also build in a smoke box where you can cold smoke cure your own meat and fish.
If you're feeling really adventurous you can also build in a smoke box where you can cold smoke cure your own meat and fish.
TWSTEEL said:
Try a woodburner with single skin stainless steel flue painted matt black. Route as much of it around the room as you can to dissipate heat into the room and where it exits the room continue in something like "Metalbestos Twinwall." OH used to have a stove business and this is tried and tested BUT you MUST use well seasoned hardwood logs only. NO softwoods and definitely not unseasoned.
If you're feeling really adventurous you can also build in a smoke box where you can cold smoke cure your own meat and fish.
i thnk any sort of solid fuel wood burner is out - we have a few in the house and as good as they are, lugging loads of wood through the house and up stairs every day in the winter isnt really an option. something we can either set with a timer or be happy leaving on with a constant fuel supply - hence the gas styled ( yes i know they are a bit crap but needs must etc) If you're feeling really adventurous you can also build in a smoke box where you can cold smoke cure your own meat and fish.
yes fat fingers typing on the opiates fired wood burner....
You should at least consider a heat pump - with a good one the running costs will be around a quarter of the present electric heaters. Something like an 8kW Mitsubishi will use under 2kW when running flat out, and should cost well under fifteen hundred installed.
A decent heat pump is always the most energy efficient way of heating, but that doesn't mean it is the best choice when fitted costs are taken into account - and if free firewood is available.
A decent heat pump is always the most energy efficient way of heating, but that doesn't mean it is the best choice when fitted costs are taken into account - and if free firewood is available.
tegwin said:
Why not fit underfloor heating....or...get some of those clever skirting boards that are infact radiators... Hook them up to an air or ground source heatpump and jobs a goodun!
thats a good thought, but very expensive option to heat 1 room...and its above an open bay garage and has a hardwood floor - which having layed it , will never come up as its a pain in the arse to put down.... heated skirting is a good call though...
Air source heat pumps are easy to install and will reduce your electricity bill by a factor of up to 3 or 4. Essentially they're air con units running in reverse and are good options if you have no other source of fuel.
Solar is a no-go unless you're putting in a full wet system. You'd need a big accumulator tank (1000 litres plus) to store the heat, and would probably need to install under floor heating rather than rads as solar produces a lower grade heat particularly during the months that you need it.
If you want to burn things, consider a wood pellet stove. They have the advantage of being easy to feed (pellets are a bit like all-bran, easy to pour from a bucket into the burner) and burn away to almost nothing, so you don't end up with tonnes of ash to empty away. They're much tidier than a log burner and pretty much self contained.
It sounds like it's too late to say - the first rule is insulate, insulate, insulate. Once you've stopped the heat from getting out, then you can get yourself warm.
Solar is a no-go unless you're putting in a full wet system. You'd need a big accumulator tank (1000 litres plus) to store the heat, and would probably need to install under floor heating rather than rads as solar produces a lower grade heat particularly during the months that you need it.
If you want to burn things, consider a wood pellet stove. They have the advantage of being easy to feed (pellets are a bit like all-bran, easy to pour from a bucket into the burner) and burn away to almost nothing, so you don't end up with tonnes of ash to empty away. They're much tidier than a log burner and pretty much self contained.
It sounds like it's too late to say - the first rule is insulate, insulate, insulate. Once you've stopped the heat from getting out, then you can get yourself warm.
jaybkay said:
You should at least consider a heat pump - with a good one the running costs will be around a quarter of the present electric heaters. Something like an 8kW Mitsubishi will use under 2kW when running flat out, and should cost well under fifteen hundred installed.
A decent heat pump is always the most energy efficient way of heating, but that doesn't mean it is the best choice when fitted costs are taken into account - and if free firewood is available.
can you point me at any more info on these as i thought they were way more exspensive that that - are you talking ground source heat pump or a different type?A decent heat pump is always the most energy efficient way of heating, but that doesn't mean it is the best choice when fitted costs are taken into account - and if free firewood is available.
thanks
Tuna said:
Air source heat pumps are easy to install and will reduce your electricity bill by a factor of up to 3 or 4. Essentially they're air con units running in reverse and are good options if you have no other source of fuel.
Solar is a no-go unless you're putting in a full wet system. You'd need a big accumulator tank (1000 litres plus) to store the heat, and would probably need to install under floor heating rather than rads as solar produces a lower grade heat particularly during the months that you need it.
If you want to burn things, consider a wood pellet stove. They have the advantage of being easy to feed (pellets are a bit like all-bran, easy to pour from a bucket into the burner) and burn away to almost nothing, so you don't end up with tonnes of ash to empty away. They're much tidier than a log burner and pretty much self contained.
It sounds like it's too late to say - the first rule is insulate, insulate, insulate. Once you've stopped the heat from getting out, then you can get yourself warm.
pellet burner is a possibility - or even a pellet fired boiler is a possibility - and the room is pretty much insulated as much as possible - used tri iso super 10 in the roof and the floor has rockwool throughout..but it has on external thick stone wall that isnt insulated.... Solar is a no-go unless you're putting in a full wet system. You'd need a big accumulator tank (1000 litres plus) to store the heat, and would probably need to install under floor heating rather than rads as solar produces a lower grade heat particularly during the months that you need it.
If you want to burn things, consider a wood pellet stove. They have the advantage of being easy to feed (pellets are a bit like all-bran, easy to pour from a bucket into the burner) and burn away to almost nothing, so you don't end up with tonnes of ash to empty away. They're much tidier than a log burner and pretty much self contained.
It sounds like it's too late to say - the first rule is insulate, insulate, insulate. Once you've stopped the heat from getting out, then you can get yourself warm.
If you want a real DIY alternative, you could get a diesel hot air blower, and install it in the garage below with a tank of fuel. Then you put hot air vents in the room and everyone's toasty. You can get 3kW+ heaters on ebay (search for Eberspacher) - they're usually used in truck cabs and on narrowboats. You can get full timer and thermostat controls for them and they run fairly cheap (or cheaper still if you have access to red diesel).
We use a couple to heat our static caravan and they're great devices. You need to install them away from the living space though as they are a bit noisy - about the same as an air-con unit.
We use a couple to heat our static caravan and they're great devices. You need to install them away from the living space though as they are a bit noisy - about the same as an air-con unit.
tegwin said:
Why not fit underfloor heating....or...get some of those clever skirting boards that are infact radiators... Hook them up to an air or ground source heatpump and jobs a goodun!
Thats the future ground source heatpump. Combine this with a log burner for when it gets cold and you should have a very economical solution. funinthesun said:
TWSTEEL said:
Try a woodburner with single skin stainless steel flue painted matt black. Route as much of it around the room as you can to dissipate heat into the room and where it exits the room continue in something like "Metalbestos Twinwall." OH used to have a stove business and this is tried and tested BUT you MUST use well seasoned hardwood logs only. NO softwoods and definitely not unseasoned.
If you're feeling really adventurous you can also build in a smoke box where you can cold smoke cure your own meat and fish.
i thnk any sort of solid fuel wood burner is out - we have a few in the house and as good as they are, lugging loads of wood through the house and up stairs every day in the winter isnt really an option. something we can either set with a timer or be happy leaving on with a constant fuel supply - hence the gas styled ( yes i know they are a bit crap but needs must etc) If you're feeling really adventurous you can also build in a smoke box where you can cold smoke cure your own meat and fish.
yes fat fingers typing on the opiates fired wood burner....
mel said:
funinthesun said:
TWSTEEL said:
Try a woodburner with single skin stainless steel flue painted matt black. Route as much of it around the room as you can to dissipate heat into the room and where it exits the room continue in something like "Metalbestos Twinwall." OH used to have a stove business and this is tried and tested BUT you MUST use well seasoned hardwood logs only. NO softwoods and definitely not unseasoned.
If you're feeling really adventurous you can also build in a smoke box where you can cold smoke cure your own meat and fish.
i thnk any sort of solid fuel wood burner is out - we have a few in the house and as good as they are, lugging loads of wood through the house and up stairs every day in the winter isnt really an option. something we can either set with a timer or be happy leaving on with a constant fuel supply - hence the gas styled ( yes i know they are a bit crap but needs must etc) If you're feeling really adventurous you can also build in a smoke box where you can cold smoke cure your own meat and fish.
yes fat fingers typing on the opiates fired wood burner....
had a browse on pellet wood burners and they are looking like a good alternative - auto ignition and timer / thermostat and up to 40 hours on one load of pellets for under £2k - ok probably add another £1k for the flue and installation but its a good alternative...
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