stevethayne

Have moved away from the Sunamp units, much though I love the idea. I would need multiples of the units bringing the cost closer to battery storage. And the battery storage would allow me to supplement other loads like cooking and other peak rate use that would cost 20p a unit from the grid. Gas prices are shockingly cheaper than electric per unit of energy. Half the cost of cheap rate economy 7 electricity even Making it a challenge to do what I really want to do. Come off the gas grid because of it's health and environmental impact. Even though electric heating, cooking, hot water is much more efficent per unit of energy. Air Source Heat Pumps are back in the mix for me too. rhi payments alone look like they will repay the capital cost over 7 years? And additional money if you let them monitor you. But again, without battery storage using peak rate electric. Solar by itself makes sense over the longer term. With the help of the feed in tariff it pays for itself and a little more. I use so little peak rate electricity though. What I would love to do is to have solar + battery storage + Electric boiler for heat and instant hot water. Hard to make the numbers work just yet. Making my head spin. And I like this stuff as a rule! Back to it...)

Ha! Had to google that! And yes Though the Romans did make longer lasting cement than we do today, so maybe....

Installing a wood burning stove isn't a certainty for me at the moment and not a priority. All my finances are going on solar (over 5kwh installed soon on both roofs to maximise self consumption) and some form of electric storage heating. May well post on here if I do decide on a wood burner. But either way I need to dispose of the very significant amount of cut wood I already have - and don't fancy land fill. I also need to keep cutting it to stop my neighbours and myself losing light. I want to stay with hedges for the habitat for birds, but also wooden fences in my estate are prone to vandalism. My early thoughts on an occasional use of a wood burner is 1.) Proper seasoning of the wood reduces by 90% the particilates you get from an open fire with wood not seasoned so still with high moisture levels 2.) There are chimneys and technological solutions like this one that could further reduce particulate risk. EcoStream A chimney fan with particle filter - Metaloterm PDFwww.metaloterm.com › upload › ecostre... Thank you again for the other thoughts on Sunamp. Am going to think through and further explore the options open to me.

The hope is 1.) The wood burned will all be locally sourced and in burning it carbon neutral 2.) I will be able to invest in a decent enough burner that particulate emission is minimal and filtered out as far as possible. I will need to keep cutting back the hedges anyway, and this wood would otherwise go to Veolia and probably burned in their near by incinerator!

Yes, the supplementing when needed is what I was anticipating. I have a lot of wood cut and stored in the garden. Am anticipating a wood burner, not for everyday use but for occasional days when at home all day and particularly cold.

Thanks ProDave. Really interesting. Will look into Electricaire. Wonder why people stopped using them, was it just that North Sea Gas came along and was cheaper? Will consider Economy 10. My electric car takes 4 hours to charge at 6.6 kwh though so will need to weigh that in.

Really useful, thanks Nick. I definitely intend to do work on the insulation of the house. It is double glazed but they need work to repair. Has good insulation in the loft. But aim for it to be as well insulated as possible. So if I am understanding right, to get enough rate of flow to provide heating from Sunamp units alone via the radiators would require multiple units? It is not just about the storage capacity i.e. how long the units can provide energy for before they run out and need to be recharged? I understand as well that the temp of the water coming out of the SA units is much cooler than from the gas boiler, is that what you mean by "high grade heat"?

Am new to this forum, have joined because of the Sunamp content - thank you all so much for sharing your experiences, so useful. Probably like many people, I became aware of Sunamp from a Fully Charged video about them. Am in the process of getting solar panels and, although I am on the gas grid and understand it is generally the cheapest fuel, looking to disconnect from the gas and "electrify everything" for sustainability and public health reasons. I drive an electric car as my only car so I am on Economy 7 currently. I live by myself in a 3 bed end terrace, and am out of the house a lot for work, leisure and family reasons. Am hoping to buy one or more Sunamp units to contribute or, ideally, solely supply my hot water and heating supply. I have considered Air Source heat pumps but am not convinced as yet. My heating currently has been central heating. The radiators vary from room to room from single to double panel, though none with the shark fins. They are though pretty large which I understand can help with water temperatures lower than typically from a gas boiler. The house was also built originally with a vented air system and the grills are still there. I understand these can work well wiith air source heat pumps. I know this is probably unlikely, but is there any possibility of them being used with the Sunamp products? So the flow of air passing over the heat exchanger instead of water? I have a hot water tank with electric immersion which I intend to keep as back up. And an electric shower, likewise I intend to keep as back up. I like the idea of just heating the little bits of water I need ie to wash my hands - as I need it, via the Sunamp units So. Ideally I would like Sunamp unit or units - I understand they are modular? Sized to charge from economy 7 or when available solar electricity Providing heat in the winter and hot water throughout. I am prepared to under spec initially and then expand the Sunamp capacity if needed. Note, my heating needs really will be modest. Quite happy just to heat one room for instance. Am thinking 5 kwh as a minimum - seems to be in the region of £2,000? I hope to persuade a local plumber / electrician to install the Sunamp units based on advice given in this thread and the instructions linked to. Ideally at the same time or at least with consideration to the Solar and a wider system design. Any thoughts / advice very, very welcome!