Alternative Heating

[Optimystic]

So, for the past few months we have investigated the idea of installing a wood burner. However, this is now almost a no go due to the cost of it all.. With no chimney we need an insulating Flue system which by itself will cost in the region of 3K..

So what else is there.. I dont really want to store or use gas bottles. So, what does it leave us?.. My thinking is to get a small solar panel that can charge a car battery and use this to plug in a small electric fire that would last a few hours. But im no engineer!.. Would this work? What other ideas are out there that are affordable?

Could i get several car batterys and trickle charge them with solar panels in order to use other electricals like a microwave?

[dead-man-walking]

not an ideal solution and tbh highly impractical due to the high current draw of a decent electric heater, way over the limits of the average inverter

your best alternative option and relatively cheap ( im considering a couple ) are modern paraffin heaters from japan
http://www.charliesdirect.co.uk/product ... ater-2-7kw

16 hrs from 4 ltrs isnt bad, around 50p an hour in running costs

you can store as much paraffin as you like, and if your canny, use the same fuel for your alternat cooking and lighting,
ie tilly/oil lamps and an ex army cooker or the small old presurised camping ones

having the solar powered batts isnt a bad idea as you can run small stuff off it and also rig up led lights,
hell in an emergency a couple of years ago i ran a couple of reversing lights of a car batt for a few hours

[jansman]

My Brother uses one of the portable propane gas heaters. The bottle lasts ages, they store easily and it is clean and relatively cheap. You might like to investigate paraffin-it ain't easy to get and it is as dear aspetrol.

[triffid]

I know this is not what the OP was asking but before looking at expensive heating solutions think about insulation. Virtually ALL UK homes have substandard insulation.
AND it can be FREE!
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilit ... insulation
https://www.edfenergy.com/products-serv ... 5813619713
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/freeinsulation



Also reduce demand:
Many people have heating on full & wander round in t-shirts. Wear a jumper.
Why heat bedrooms? (assuming you 'only' sleep in them )

Regarding using solar panels plus battery probably a non starter. A 1 bar electric fire uses 1KW per hour. A large array of solar panels would be needed to warm a house although the Government did offer feed in tarriffs (look up on internet) which helped some people justify the cost. But still a non-starter financially IMHO
We have an open fire (inefficient but we DO have a virtually free supply).

[Maddie_cat]

The problem with paraffin heaters is that the fumes are pretty "heady"

[Moony]

As well as insulation (the best option to start) you can also look at air tightness. Why pay to heat air up inside only for it to leak out of the house and heat the street ? Simple options like checking for leaks around door / window frames and through the roof space will make your home warmer for minimal investment.

[nickdutch]

My idea was bioethanol fireplaces.

[dead-man-walking]

The problem with paraffin heaters is that the fumes are pretty "heady"

yeah that was my concern, but apparently and from reviews on youtube etc the japanese ones are damned good,
99% efficient so no paraffin fumes except on start up and shut off,just small amounts of carbon monoxide so you need to leave a window or similar open a bit
they are used alot over there for some reason

[diamond lil]

Speaking from personal exp living 1000ft up in an exposed location - no amount of insulation and draught proofing will make you warm. It sounds good in theory but it doesn't work - if it's cold then it's cold and you need heating. Also a draughty house isn't a bad thing either - no damp, no condensation and no mould, as long as you have some kind of fire!

[Optimystic]

Hi all.

Thanks for all the replys.. some great idea's..

Insulation already done.. and new windows in too so pretty much draught free now.. and defo never heat rooms that are not being used..

Had a look at the parafin idea.. not sure about that yet.. having had a longer chat yesterday weve decided it will prolly be best to go for a calor gas fire.. The plan being that if theres an electricity outage for whatever reason, we could heat one/two rooms and keep warm!