Heating / Construction type.

[Ryan 2023]

Hi everyone,

 

I am looking to build a self build and would like some advice regarding what is the best options to heat the property / cheapest. 
 

I would appreciate any feedback regarding this topic as I want to make sure I choose the right option to keep the monthly costs down.

 

the property will be approximately 300-325 square meters, I would also like to hear what build types people would suggest I.e timber frame etc as I would also like to keep the build cost down as much as possible. 

 

Thanks again

 

Ryan 

[Duncan62]

The cheapest option is to cut you heating demand.

 

This is done by cutting your heat loss from the building.

 

This is primarily done with lots of insulation (very cheap to do) and triple glazed windows (very reasonable options exist).

 

Solar orientation, building form and air tightness also have significant effects of heat loss. 

 

Is it simply money/month or do you value human comfort too?

 

If you then follow the rabbit hole to its conclusion, you might consider building a certified PassivHaus.

 

[JohnMo]

9 hours ago, Ryan 2023 said:

300-325 square meters

First obvious measure, is build a smaller house. Unless you are a family of 10 why do you need to build so big? Look at form factor, that is shape, the nearer your building is to a cube the less heat you loose for a given floor area and room height.

 

Then airtight and insulation. MVHR to recover ventilation heat loss.

 

Heating method, generally ASHP is cost effective. Coupled with PV for shoulder season heating cost offset. A battery and smart meter allow you use time of use tariffs for lowest cost per kWh.

 

Radiators, fan coils or UFH is down to personal choice.

 

[nod]

Traditional solid will always be cheaper to build than Timber Frame or Sips While PV is all the rage Unless your electricity demands are really high It will take many years to pay for itself It pains me to say it But gas  at nearly four times cheaper than electricity is cheaper to run If available 

 

A good example would be our previous build Which we have recently sold 

Our buyer has installed a massive array of PV and heat pump 

They have taken advantage of the BUS grant £7500 Leaving them 17k to pay The salesman has as used them that this will translate into a saving of £750 If correct Is still quite a long period to break even and May want replacing by then 

Which is why we couldn’t justify it in the first place 

[SteamyTea]

As above.

Don't fall into the trap that 'it meets building regs'. 

The Laws of Thermodynamics are universal, so spend the money where it has greatest effect.

Watch out for overheating caused by overlarge glazing.

 

A house should just be a well insulated, airtight box with the energy inputs and outputs controlled.

[Nickfromwales]

13 hours ago, Ryan 2023 said:

I would also like to hear what build types people would suggest I.e timber frame etc as I would also like to keep the build cost down as much as possible. 

You can build cheaper with masonry I expect, vs a high-performance TF, but then spend more over time heating it.

If you have the budget to go for a well insulated foundation and frame package (a-la MBC TimberFrame Passivhaus spec offering (they do many different specs btw, worth going to visit the factory)) and then spend less over the lifetime of occupancy. 
You often have to make sacrifices but these will be yours to make; eg pretty things or insulation and airtightness. 

[SteamyTea]

15 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

You can build cheaper with masonry I expect, vs a high-performance TF, but then spend more over time heating it.

Or more time working to pay for the energy bills.

 

I have reduced my heating bills by 2/3^rd.

Over the 20 years I have been in this house, that has probably saved me, in today's terms, around £30k.  Not bad as I have spent about £1000 doing it.

Edited yesterday at 13:36 by SteamyTea

[saveasteading]

40 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

build cheaper with masonry I expect, vs a high-performance TF, but then spend more over time heating it.

 

From my observation of stick build in the Highlands, it was very quick and good value. It's what they did, and was second nature. There was no factory element  just a stack of 4 x 2,  another of osb and some glulam for the ridge and hips.

I wouldn't expect that in SE England though.

And the reverse applies for brick and block.

[SteamyTea]

50 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

From my observation of stick build in the Highlands, it was very quick and good value

An American friend of mine, who worked for a large Architect practice had never heard the saying 'put all your money into bricks and mortar'.

Took her a while to work out what it meant, and confirmed her suspicions that the British are backward looking and parochial.

[marshian]

9 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

An American friend of mine, who worked for a large Architect practice had never heard the saying 'put all your money into bricks and mortar'.

Took her a while to work out what it meant, and confirmed her suspicions that the British are backward looking and parochial.

 

When you live in an area impacted by Huricanes and Tornados in the USA - you build cheap as it's cheaper to rebuild - Bricks and mortar don't fare any better when faced with a powerful force of nature

[JohnMo]

22 minutes ago, marshian said:

 

When you live in an area impacted by Huricanes and Tornados in the USA - you build cheap as it's cheaper to rebuild - Bricks and mortar don't fare any better when faced with a powerful force of nature

Or you build with Durisol ICF 

 

[Nickfromwales]

21 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Or you build with Durisol ICF

Nah....Durisol did nothing there to protect the glass in the windows  

[SteamyTea]

41 minutes ago, marshian said:

you build cheap as it's cheaper to rebuild

I would say that housing in the USA (well PA where I lived) was made to a very high standard.

Most were factory build, so probably cheaper as they could build thousands out of shared components, but not low quality.

My Aunt lives in Halifax, NS, Canada. Her road is the poshest in the province. You can tell who are the British immigrants as they build the brick houses, most of the rest are TF.