[janed1]

I have just had a quote for heat source pump

I also live in Somerset and would be interested in looking at the wood pellet system to replace my old oil boiler - can you contact me?

[mojocafa]

I have nad nothing but grief and astronomical electric bills. Ours completely died recently and had to be replaced luckily still under warranty (2years), and even that one  has needed attention from engineer. It will be interesting and a relief to see if electric bills come down because we suspect that the original one has never worked properly. Also the engineer that has been dealing with this has had to drive from Barnsley and I am N.E Scotland, so always had to wait for it to be fixed.
My advice to anyone is don't get one

[HesterF]

I also heard that the technology is so new to this country, there aren't enough trained engineers to support the systems and it's critical that it's set up correctly. We decided to hold off on this basis.

Pellet fired boilers look much more interesting - but even more if you can get the RHIs from the government. Otherwise the set up cost for us is exorbitant - loads more than quoted below - but with RHIs you effectively get free fuel for years (how many depends on whether it'll be the soon-to-be-launched domestic scheme or the already launched commercial scheme).

H

[goosepimple]

Can't remember where I heard this from but I was told that the pellets don't store well, you have to be careful of conditions for them and length of storage can be a problem, don't know truth of that but if considering this as an option it may be worth investigating.

[Oly]

I have nad nothing but grief and astronomical electric bills. Ours completely died recently and had to be replaced luckily still under warranty (2years), and even that one  has needed attention from engineer. It will be interesting and a relief to see if electric bills come down because we suspect that the original one has never worked properly. Also the engineer that has been dealing with this has had to drive from Barnsley and I am N.E Scotland, so always had to wait for it to be fixed.
My advice to anyone is don't get one

I think a lot depends on what make you go for, there do appear to be a number of firms jumping in feet first without the experience.  Nibe seem to be the rolls royce (~£5K) and are as quiet as/sound like a modern fridge.  If Nibe can get them to work in Scandinavia then the UK should be a doddle!!  Many social housing schemes are using air source too (but not Nibe!)

[mojocafa]

Mine is manufactured by grants, my husband was on the phone to them again today!!!

[Luckyand Annie]

We had a Panasonic one installed last year and I have nothing but praise for it.  It is much more efficient than oil and although we have used more electricity it is certainly substantially less than the cost of oil for the winter.  Parts of our house date back to C18th but we gutted it in 2005 and put underfloor heating throughout.  We also don't. Have that horrid oily smell anymore.

[lachlanandmarcus]

Crikey you shouldn't have oily smells from a modern oil boiler. Also, ours was installed a couple of years ago and we don't even have to have it in the house - its in an insulated cabinet with a frost stat just outside the back of the house and it works fine even tho we are in Cairngorms and get -20 most winters....



We considered air source but decided against it both for the house and the cottage ruin which recently got PP, we are sticking to solar (cottage only as house B listed (GII* equivalent) and potentially wind in future. Mainly on grounds of cost (installation and running costs and noise). Also I kind of like the buying fuel in the summer when it's cheap and knowing then that you are set up for winter.

[nicandem]

My OH was talking to a person at her work about Air source (air to air)  He was from New Zealand where the build quality of houses is garbage.... and not much insulation, although the temp/climate is similar to ours....


he stated that air source is the commonest form of heating there and dirt cheap, about £250 a unit for 2 1/2 KW, installed!!!!


How can there be so much difference?

[mojocafa]

From oct 2012-April 2013 my electricity bill was approx £500 a month apart from airspource pump , only general usage of lights and sockets . My cooker is LPG have wood burner to top up living area and occasional use of tumble dryer.

Brand new unit installed in feb as original was faulty, so we are going to see how this winter goes and if there is no improvement with electric bills , my oh wants to go back to oil. Huge and expensive learning curve. Would I recommend it...definatly not!

[henchard]

From oct 2012-April 2013 my electricity bill was approx £500 a month apart from airspace pump only  Would I recommend it...definatly not!

I've heard similar stories from others which is why we decided against one.

[Oly]

I would look at Nibe before discounting them entirely.  There appears to be a lot of rubbish out there, but the Nibe's are excellent and a class apart...they are silient.  We discounted wood as we're too far from a good wood source/supplier (30+ miles), as such critically the moisture content would have been higher and therefore not viable...worth noting.