Old Farmhouse Renovation - Questions

[stashio]

Hi folks,

 

My wife and I are in the middle of buying our next project home and as it will essentially need gutting it feels like the perfect opportunity to make sure we're as eco friendly (at least in EPC terms) as we can realistically be. The current EPC rating is F - suffice to say there's plenty of improvements to be made (it doesn't even have TRV's on the ancient radiators). The EPC gives the total floor area as 286 metres.

 

As the property has a 20+ year old oil boiler with cylinder that was number one on the to-do list when we move as we know sods-law dictates it will break the first time we try to have a shower! That's what led me down this rabbit hole of GSPH or ASPH and whether to go hybrid with the existing boiler or buy a new one in which case get a combi or not or even try to get away from oil entirely and go solar thermal but then what about solar power... and so here I am clueless and at your mercy

 

This isn't our first renovation, but is the first time we've seriously thought about energy conservation beyond loft insulation and decent windows/doors. We don't know how long we'll be at the property (probably 2-5 years) so longer-term returns isn't the goal, however anything adding value to the house post-renovation is a huge bonus. Being conscious oil will gradually be phased out, perhaps moving completely away from oil could be advantageous come resale time - not sure.

 

We've got a healthy budget to fix the whole place up inside and out over the next year or so, hopefully that will give us some options. Here's a picture of the old place:

 

Any thoughts/advice very much appreciated!

Edited February 13, 2021 by stashio

[ProDave]

As much as I like ASHP's I would not be suggesting one for this property, particularly as you might be selling in a few years.

 

It's main problem is no or poor insulation anywhere and with it's age and construction it's going to be very hard to get it anywhere half decent in that respect.  So your main problem is going to be a high heat demand and large heating bills.

[Jilly]

I don't have much to add except to say it looks to be in a lovely spot and you will love renovating it. I have an old boiler in a rented property and they don't make them like they used to, the old and simple technology just keeps going, so it may not break down as soon as you think. 

[George]

RHI takes 7 years to pay back... it may work out with the GHG but you'll need to move fast and find an installer who would install using that grant.

 

Best thing you could do in the short term is a new condensing oil boiler and new rads sized to operate at 45 degrees (where condensing boilers can actually reach the 90% efficiency rating); get the loft insulated; get air tightness improved and install whole house positive input ventilation + single room MVHR units. Do that straight away and you'll have a nice, warm house with good air quality. 

 

@Jilly Beware survivorship bias! Old oil boilers clunk on, but the effieicny drops and pollution increases. Best off being replaced when they reach end of design life. 

[stashio]

Thanks guys, I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing a trick and it sounds like basically what I thought originally which is due to the age of the property the best we could realistically aim for is insolate as much as possible, fit good quality windows/doors, new combi/rads/controls, etc.

 

I'll have a look at the ventilation options mentioned too. With all the talk of energy saving I'm still amazed we can't only heat homes one floor at a time - it's the whole house or nothing which seems so wasteful. Surely in this day and age we should have one heating circuit for the ground floor and another separate one for first floor, etc.  In-lieu of that I suppose the MVHR is a work around shifting warm air where you want it most, first floor at night time and ground floor during the day?

 

[ProDave]

11 minutes ago, stashio said:

I'll have a look at the ventilation options mentioned too. With all the talk of energy saving I'm still amazed we can't only heat homes one floor at a time - it's the whole house or nothing which seems so wasteful. Surely in this day and age we should have one heating circuit for the ground floor and another separate one for first floor, etc.  In-lieu of that I suppose the MVHR is a work around shifting warm air where you want it most, first floor at night time and ground floor during the day?

 

You can.  Simple to have an upstairs and a downstairs heating circuit on different timers and thermostats.

 

And not difficult with smart TRV's to have individual room control.

[jfb]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

In-lieu of that I suppose the MVHR is a work around shifting warm air where you want it most, first floor at night time and ground floor during the day

Normally Mvhr doesn’t move enough volume of air to be considered useful in heat redistribution.

Edited February 14, 2021 by jfb