R
ramblehan
Hi,
We are in the process of getting a wood fired, and PV system installed, but have received conflicting advice from 3 different plumbers! We're working to a tight deadline too - and feel completely confused! Hoping someone here can shed some light.
We have a 3 bed semi ex council house. We are having a wood burner with back boiler installed - it will give out just under 3kw to the room, which is fine, and then over 12kw to water. We are also having a 4KW PV panels on the roof which will power an immersion using an Iboost.
We've had conflicting advice about what tank to use - Originally we were advised to get a 250L thermal store. There would be no oil input to this this - just PV and wood. but the plumber has "disappeared" - The next person who came along offered something similar but didn't seem to have much experience so we were not confident of his advice.
The third plumber was concerned about us using a thermal store due to impact of heating system on hot water heating (so if we used heating, the water temp would be cold) He rang the thermal store company technical department and they advised him that this system would not work (ie not enough hot water) without a 3rd input like oil. However we think he was telling them we only could generate 9kw to water. He has recommended instead that we have a 120 litre conventional water tank, with a heat leak radiator, and an all-house pump to ensure water pressure.
We have a continuous supply of free wood, and expect to keep the stove burning a lot, but there will be days when both of us are out to work so will need to fire up when we get back.
With the 120 litre tank (steel with a 25 yr guarantee) - we are worried that it won't keep water hot enough overnight, if our fire goes out and the heating is going all the time.
Can anyone give us some insight on what is the best way to go for us?
We're working to a very tight timeline and we feel like the last plumber has got us over a barrel - his quote is the most expensive, but we seem to be getting a simpler system.
many thanks for your time.
We are in the process of getting a wood fired, and PV system installed, but have received conflicting advice from 3 different plumbers! We're working to a tight deadline too - and feel completely confused! Hoping someone here can shed some light.
We have a 3 bed semi ex council house. We are having a wood burner with back boiler installed - it will give out just under 3kw to the room, which is fine, and then over 12kw to water. We are also having a 4KW PV panels on the roof which will power an immersion using an Iboost.
We've had conflicting advice about what tank to use - Originally we were advised to get a 250L thermal store. There would be no oil input to this this - just PV and wood. but the plumber has "disappeared" - The next person who came along offered something similar but didn't seem to have much experience so we were not confident of his advice.
The third plumber was concerned about us using a thermal store due to impact of heating system on hot water heating (so if we used heating, the water temp would be cold) He rang the thermal store company technical department and they advised him that this system would not work (ie not enough hot water) without a 3rd input like oil. However we think he was telling them we only could generate 9kw to water. He has recommended instead that we have a 120 litre conventional water tank, with a heat leak radiator, and an all-house pump to ensure water pressure.
We have a continuous supply of free wood, and expect to keep the stove burning a lot, but there will be days when both of us are out to work so will need to fire up when we get back.
With the 120 litre tank (steel with a 25 yr guarantee) - we are worried that it won't keep water hot enough overnight, if our fire goes out and the heating is going all the time.
Can anyone give us some insight on what is the best way to go for us?
We're working to a very tight timeline and we feel like the last plumber has got us over a barrel - his quote is the most expensive, but we seem to be getting a simpler system.
many thanks for your time.