most economical way to heat water

[mrsbodgit]

We are doing up our new to us house and need to find a better way to heat water for bathing in summer.
Present set up
oil combi boiler (so no hot water cylinder)
no gas supply
house stands north/south with east west facing roof angles and no south facing area suitable for solar options.
We expect to live there @ 15 years.
Would installing a hot water cylinder and immersion and linking that into the existing internal hot water plumbing system be my best bet? Is it even possible to do that?
Your thoughts would be much appreciated please!
I think ground/ air heat recovery systems might not recover costs in 15 yrs.

 

[Burnerman]

Only my opinion but your oil combi - especially if its a heatslave type - should provide ample hot water for showering at least. Granted they won't be happy serving two showers at the same time unless its in the summer but otherwise it should cope well enough.
As with all combi's, when there is a demand for hot water the heating circuit takes second place but as its for a short duration that doesn't matter.
If you are considering solid fuel then its possible to link a 'standard' oil boiler together with a boiler from a wood stove etc - this requires large tanks in the loft and a professional installation......space may be an issue here.
John

 

[Madrab]

Again this is just 1 persons opinion, but it's a hard one to call really. You're looking for the nirvana that everyone wants at the moment I think
With fossil fuel energy prices all on their way up, any replacement of your current system, would be hard pressed to recoup the costs over 15 years.
Renewables - ground/air recovery systems or wind would all cost you in the short term and again would you recoup costs just for hot water, probably not.
You can install a hot water cylinder and link that into your hot supply pipework without an issue, but using an immersion system isn't cheap either given electricity prices.
So difficult to recoup any outlay at the moment, to replace what's in place, over the next 15yrs IMO.

What you need is a river in your back garden and a waterwheel driving a generator 24/7 free leccy

 

[mrsbodgit]

thank you John and Rob I have a wood burner which I will have on during the winter together with the oil fired central heating so hot water will not be an issue in the winter , my concern really is the economy of having to heat water in summer using oil.
Thank you both , sorry if I was not clear!
Sally

 

[Burnerman]

I guess its time to google solar panels and the like....but I've no ideas of the prices / installation costs / grants etc at the moment!
My next door neighbours have such a system, and it seems to keep them happy during the summer.
Personally I'd stick with the combi and buy the kero in mid summer - they don't waste much water or heat and its there on demand - but thats just me.
John

 

[carryoncamping]

I installed a solar thermal panel from www.solarproject.co.uk 2 years ago.
Whole thing cost about £800 to install and integrate into my existing cylinder.

I'm self sufficient for hot water for about 6 months of the year.

I'm contemplating whether to install a back boiler into my wood burning stove to heat the water for the other 6 months of the year. Post regarding the project is here: //www.diynot.com/forums/plumbing/schematic-of-combined-gas-solid-fuel-ch-system.385579/