Just to be clear, the battery would be one designed specifically for this purpose e.g. from Givenergy, Tesla or whoever.
Heat in the home
Re: Heat in the home
Re: Heat in the home
The economics are very dependent on the electricity price which as you will be aware has been shooting up. If you can buy electricity at 5p/kWh at night as opposed to 25p during the day the calculation looks a lot better. Of course, the future price is uncertain so this might turn out to be a gamble.geocycle wrote: ↑28 Nov 2021, 5:06pmWould be interested in what you find out. We had a survey from Eon for 18 solar panels on optimal sw facing roof. Even with a battery it would never really break even as we were not using enough electricity. We have gas central heating. The gap between the feedin tariff and the usage tariff was too much to make sense. We also wouldn’t get a buffer even with a battery if there was a power cut without additional circuitry. Maybe charging an ev would make it more worthwhile.
This chap is doing an experiment at the moment:
https://youtu.be/d4ttp7I9ZJk
Last edited by Phileas on 28 Nov 2021, 5:41pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Heat in the home
It's huge.
Bought it from a friend 20odd years ago, and I did the plumbing, as I've done all of it throughout.
Without going into the loft and measuring, it's a standard diameter - perhaps a little wider - hot water tank but maybe 6ft or 8ft tall.
It's fed from a "coffin tank" right in the very top of the roof.
The water supply from the mains is ok with pressure, but the flow is poor due to the long run of a threequarter inch plastic pipe. Turn on two taps, and they both go down to a dribble. Consequently, the shower can't be fed from mains water and hot water, but from the coffin tank and the hot water .......... making them the same pressure and flow. The loft coffin tank is huge, so we have no end of hot water supply and two hot water taps can be used at the same time. Both fires feed the coil in there, so when we have hot water, we have tons of it.
Southwest Water told us years ago, that we wouldn't get planning permission here because they couldn't supply mains water within spec. Back in 1952 when this place was built, the planning system didn't exist.
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: Heat in the home
It's only a small 500mm rad set to max, just felt it now as it has just turn off and I can't put my hand on it.philvantwo wrote: ↑28 Nov 2021, 1:48pmHow can a radiator get up to temperature and dry a towel in 12 minutes?
Re: Heat in the home
Does no-one else set temperatures below 18?
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Re: Heat in the home
I used to set it to 13 or 16 when out, but the new heating controller seems stupid when in room temperature target mode, doing nothing until the house cools too much, then putting all radiators on full blast! That was rather expensive and the house wasn't even warm.
So I think I'm going to set it to normal-4°c next time we're out all day, which I think should be 15, but the remote control doesn't understand relative settings so we won't be able to turn it back up before we get home. That's a bit of a first world problem, though.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Re: Heat in the home
Our bathroom towel rail radiator is the first in the house to heat up and it cannot heat up and dry a towel in 12 minutes.I doubt any radiator could?yakdiver wrote: ↑28 Nov 2021, 6:06pmIt's only a small 500mm rad set to max, just felt it now as it has just turn off and I can't put my hand on it.philvantwo wrote: ↑28 Nov 2021, 1:48pmHow can a radiator get up to temperature and dry a towel in 12 minutes?
No because that is too cold.I would need a jacket on in our house if the Thermostat read 18°.Our heating is on whether were home,out or on holiday.I once left it off whilst we went away one February and the house was like a freezer when we got home.Had the heating on constant and it took two full days for it to feel warm!
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Re: Heat in the home
I was brought up in a house with no central heating at all. We had electric three bar fires in the living room and aside from the cooker in the kitchen and a draw string fan heater the rest of the house was completely unheated.
My bedroom was probably 8 and 12 degrees, I can't say it ever bothered me, but I suppose when you don't know any different, it doesn't. I do remember waking up one morning in January to icicles inside of the windows though
Re: Heat in the home
I was too until CH was fitted in the late 70s.I used to walk around to my Grans on the way to school and light her coal fire so the living room was warm when she got up and she would have hot water.Both ours and her house were freezing first thing in the morning I hated waking up cold.Slowtwitch wrote: ↑28 Nov 2021, 9:54pm I was brought up in a house with no central heating at all. We had electric three bar fires in the living room and aside from the cooker in the kitchen and a draw string fan heater the rest of the house was completely unheated.
My bedroom was probably 8 and 12 degrees, I can't say it ever bothered me, but I suppose when you don't know any different, it doesn't. I do remember waking up one morning in January to icicles inside of the windows though
I think this is why I have our house nice and warm...because we can
A friend has a modern house with underfloor heating and for me it's always too cold.I don't get underfloor heating at all,your feet feel warm but the rest of you is cold
Re: Heat in the home
Depends how wet the towel is to start with...Hellhound wrote: ↑28 Nov 2021, 8:53pmOur bathroom towel rail radiator is the first in the house to heat up and it cannot heat up and dry a towel in 12 minutes.I doubt any radiator could?yakdiver wrote: ↑28 Nov 2021, 6:06pmIt's only a small 500mm rad set to max, just felt it now as it has just turn off and I can't put my hand on it.philvantwo wrote: ↑28 Nov 2021, 1:48pm
How can a radiator get up to temperature and dry a towel in 12 minutes?
Too cold? Ok, I'm wearing a t shirt, a thin jumper and a hoody... but that's not exactly bulky hot clothing. At the moment my sleeves are rolled up as well, currently 14 degrees in here (not spending too long in the office, so I'm not heating it again today).No because that is too cold.I would need a jacket on in our house if the Thermostat read 18°.Our heating is on whether were home,out or on holiday.I once left it off whilst we went away one February and the house was like a freezer when we got home.Had the heating on constant and it took two full days for it to feel warm!
Nearly finished with a new church building and when we first fired the heating up it took two days to go from the entire structure being at or about freezing (all the steel, the screed, the blockwork etc) to being too hot.
My office (not a small room at all, and it's only got one wall connected to the house, it's a single storey extension so 5 external faces) can br brought up by a couple of degrees in about half an hour - it *never* used to warm up until I put the smart heating in, the length of pipe is just too much, so the rest of the house would be warm (and shut off the heating) before this rad got anything.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Re: Heat in the home
Overnight, yes. We turn it down to 17 at bedtime. I wouldn't want it much cooler than that because then we might get some overnight condensation and then mould would occur in the coolest corners. At the moment we have no mould, in spite of doing some of our clothes drying on airers.
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Re: Heat in the home
I wonder if we've all become soft.
Like others I was brought up where we only warmed one room (open coal fire). We didn't have any other form of heating in the house.
Winters were much colder and it was quite common to have ice on the inside of the bedroom window. This was always open a crack, summer and winter.
We didn't have a bathroom and baths were done in front of the coal fire.
If you felt cold you put on another layer.
Today my SIL expects to walk around in shorts and a tee shirt in every part of his house.
If you are unwell or sick then you need a warm house, most of us don't and have become soft.
I still don't have central heating but use a woodburner, and turn the heater on in the bathroom just before showering
I did fit storage heaters 10 years ago but rarely run them. The one time I ran them for a period the bill was huge.
Like others I was brought up where we only warmed one room (open coal fire). We didn't have any other form of heating in the house.
Winters were much colder and it was quite common to have ice on the inside of the bedroom window. This was always open a crack, summer and winter.
We didn't have a bathroom and baths were done in front of the coal fire.
If you felt cold you put on another layer.
Today my SIL expects to walk around in shorts and a tee shirt in every part of his house.
If you are unwell or sick then you need a warm house, most of us don't and have become soft.
I still don't have central heating but use a woodburner, and turn the heater on in the bathroom just before showering
I did fit storage heaters 10 years ago but rarely run them. The one time I ran them for a period the bill was huge.
Re: Heat in the home
If I go down the electric heating route, I anticipate being stingier with the heating. I admit I usually wear a single layer although in cold weather I sometimes turn the thermostat down and put on a fleece.
Re: Heat in the home
Yes Franco, but you mentioned 16.5 degrees..it was 0 degrees here this morning. How would you fare with continuous temperatures like that? 200 to 500 miles south makes quite a bit of difference. I once experienced 44 degrees C in southern France. Absolutely hated that.
Al
Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......