[robert waddell]

o dear you have been shafted   last week before the snow we were quoted 59 pence today it is 62 with others being 65 pence    falkirk/bathgate area

[goosepimple]

Remember it really isn't easy being green, new builds are the way forward - easy to install all the bits and pieces you require.  Some installations require a small plant room.  Retro fits are always expensive and you may open up cans of worms on the way.  Stuff insulation everywhere and re-fit seals on doors and windows if they're perishing.  All the 'green' installations are expensive up front and you'll get your quickest retun out of insulating your walls and roof without a doubt.  Take to your bed now and don't get up until April, nice and cheap 

[waterhouse]

Has anyone ever considered purchasing solar panels or heat pumps to use for central heating? There definitely seems to be some sort of renewable energy bandwagon going around and I was wondering whether I was missing out. A family friend of ours suggested I check out this website: http://www.intelligentenergysolutions.com/heat-pumps---air-source_c124.aspx but I'm not too sure what to think, it's all quite pricey.

Any opinions welcome.

Anne

This stuff is still all being developed, so there's some danger that you install expensive kit which takes you down a blind alley.  If you're doing a major chunk of building work then underfloor heating or even whole wall radiators can be part of the work.  Otherwise installation is prohibitive.  Ground source generates slightly warm water while conventional boilers use very hot water - so the distribution around the house is very different.

With ground source and air source the efficiency is measured as the ratio between the energy you have to put in against what comes out.  Five to one is very good, but I suspect hard to achieve except in new builds. 

A friend has just installed quite a complex system which has a number of heat sources feeding a very large, extremely well insulated hot water tank.  He can use wood, solar, gas or electricity to heat the tank, and the tank then feeds the central heating with water at about 90C tho' I think there may be a heat exchanger between them.  He said running cost were down by three quarters, but he also installed an astonishing amount of insulation into the place.

[ambriel]

It should also be noted that if you live in an area with significant Forestry Commission plantations you can usually purchase a permit that allows you to collect firewood within a designated area. Cost-wise it's virtually free fuel, and carbon-neutral to boot.

[nick-in-ca]

can you not sigh up for a fixed price for oil for the year here where i live in Canada the oil company's fight over costumers and drop a few  pennies off the price for sigh ups
but oil is not my problem i heat with wood  it is collecting the windfalls and i never am able to gather them all up  the windfalls there is just to much and maybe i am to old   i have a 50 acre wood lot   

[chrismahon]

Last time I bought oil it was 17p! Doubt you can improve the AGA. If you get a new condensing combi oil unit you could save 20%. Efficiency claims made on condensing boilers assume a flow return temperature below the condensing point of 53 degrees. This only applies on heating startup and instantaneous hot water. Trouble is you have all your eggs in one basket with a combi.

Heat pumps are great for a new build. They MUST go into an extremely well insulated house because to get the performance claims the heating water must be at a low temperature, say 35 degrees. They will push 60 degrees with the new refridgerants but the COP drops from 4 to 2 and with the annual maintenance and capital cost they become more expensive than conventional heating. There is an awful lot of sales hype on these technologies. Air source is noisy and frosts up, ground source depends on the substrate. I'll stop there I think!