I am currently writing this sat next to an electric heater wearing a slanket. For those unaware of the unexpected Christmas phenomenon that was the slanket it’s a blanket with sleeves. Yes, you look like you’re in a straight-jacket, and it may well have been a seasonal gimmick, but for dwellers of leaky Victorian houses with no central heating it is essential attire.
So this is an overdue update on the refurb, not simply a pathetic whinge. Buying such a property and hunkering down for winter was part of the plan. That said winter turned out to be the coldest since when the Beatles starting knocking out three minute ditties was not one that we anticipated. I’m currently living a rather schizophrenic existence. By morning and night there’s plenty of layers, rediscovering the rather old-fashioned pleasures of the electric blanket and the slipper; by day stripping off the layers in my overheated office.
When I said earlier the house is leaky there have been developments on the refurb front. The back end of last year saw our windows repaired or replaced and draught-proofed as well as a replacement roof. These steps have helped but are only preparation for a bigger push in 2010. And given external temperatures heating has been in the front of our minds. Which is why the chapter on Smarter Heating in David Mackay’s excellent book Sustainabile Energy: Without Hot Air was particularly apposite. In it Mackay puts a strong argument behind heat pumps: he sets the technology up against CHP and concludes that in terms of efficiency the former far outstrips CHP, which he had previously thought was a “no-brainer”. This is in terms of the scale for domestic energy: for industrial settings CHP can work. His conclusion: after insulation and “shenanigans” with thermostats (ie. more control of them and turning them down):
we should replace all our fossil-fuel heaters with electric-powered heat pumps: we can reduce the energy required to 25% of today’s levels. Of course this plan for electrification would require more electricity. But even if the extra electricity came from gas-fired power stations, that would still be a much better way to get heating than what we do today, simply setting fire to the gas. Heat pumps are future-proof, allowing us to heat buildings efficiently with electricity from any source.
I’m interested to hear view on this from my esteemed audience. Both as a whole-scale solution for buildings generally, and purely selfishly for my personal project.
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on Jan 12th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Phil,
I agree with DM that micro CHP isn’t much to get worked up about at the moment, but are heat pumps really that much better? They are if you believe the manufacturers, but the reality is often rather less than was promised. Ultimately, it all depends on the carbon intensity of electricity which is itself a debatable topic. At the moment electricity is largely made from burning gas and wasting 60% of the usable heat in the process; the heat pump doesn’t even claw this back. So the “no-brainer” is a gas boiler.
on Jan 29th, 2010 at 11:39 am
An interesting read. I’m about to move into a house with a GCH system and a classic ‘back-boiler’. So obviously I’m looking at replacing the entire system.
Like Mark Brinkley said in the last comment, I’m sure that manufacturers will tell you all kinds of supporting facts for new technologies but is there a sustainable infrastructure in place to support them yet? …
on Feb 5th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Did either of the previous two commenters actually bother to read the article? Mackay points out that best way to get low-grade heat from a carbon fuel source is to burn it in a high-efficiency power station and run heat pumps on the electricity. This is already more efficient than condensing boilers. It is more flexible than CHP (any mix of heat/other electrical demand you like). Also it takes advantage of any decarbonisation of the grid (unlike CHP systems which are locked into using carbon fuels), but you don’t have to wait for that /it already makes sense now/. /It would make sense even with a coal fired grid vs. coal for home heating/.
What infrastructure are you waiting for?