I have not used him myself
Submitted by chrisnotton on Tue, 05/15/2012 - 20:42In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I have not used him myself yet but check out: Patrick Littlehales' informative site. http://heatingitaly.com/default.aspx What about air-source heat-pumps? I think the "carbon heaters" look like conventional electic that uses carbon resistors rather than the usual element materials. Which might be more efficient but I bet you can't get a spare parts down the local hardware store! In bocco al lupo
Be carefull with the choice
Submitted by Badger on Wed, 05/16/2012 - 10:39In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Be carefull with the choice of ASHP. The standard is based on a 7C input air temp, so the COP reduces as external temps decrease. Altitude, climate date, etc. can reduce this more, so you need to check the conditions carefully. http://info.cat.org.uk/questions/heatpumps/how-can-i-ensure-air-source-h...
Carbon Genius boiler
Submitted by belvedere on Thu, 05/17/2012 - 18:43In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I too was interested in this product but the only information I could find was produced by the manufacturer, Thermal Technology, and I couldn't find anything from customers, satisfied or not. My plumber investigated and suspects that the product is a 'bufala'. Be that as it may, I have decided on an electric water heater that incorporates an air/water heat pump - info in English here: http://www.likeonline.it/prodotti.tab.aspx?idProd=53
Belvedere The product you
Submitted by Badger on Fri, 05/18/2012 - 10:01In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Belvedere The product you are buying is basically the same as the Ariston Nuos, which came onto the market about 2 years ago. Never heard of the make you are getting. http://www.ariston.com/ww/NUOS_EVO_WH
undesirable elements?
Submitted by sagraiasolar on Sat, 05/19/2012 - 09:10In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
The laws of physics will answer this one for you. Resistive electric elements use electricity very efficiently only as far as you get out what you put in - and pay for - and certainly no more. Carbon elements don't break the laws of thermodynamics so they certainly don't have performance edge over any other resistive element. Heat pumps have come into this conversation and the comparison is easy to make. A resistive element has a Coefficient Of Performance or COP of 1 - same in same out. An air source heat pump driving fan coil units at 40c instead of your proposed radiators will give a COP of er .... consults table ... 2.5 when the outside temperature is Zero and rising to a COP of over 3 for just a few degrees above. So it produces out of thin air more times than what you paid for and in this instance is 2.5 times better than some carbon strands. Without writing the full essay, this is the way to go and if you mix a bit of wood energy with a small air source heat pump you can have a delightful heating system that won't cost the earth to run. By the way - deep snow and power cuts this winter reinforced the desirability of having mixed source systems. I have added a couple of tweaks to my standard system to make it fully workable without any power and retain some cooking facilities too. And finally my web site kindly mentioned by Chris Notton is liable to disappear any minute as Microsoft have withdrawn support so I have to rewrite it when I get some time... if you want to grab the Excel models off it before it goes now is the time. If you ever want a copy of 'The Heating Guide' just PM me and I'll happily send it to you.
Wordpress?
Submitted by Fillide on Sat, 05/19/2012 - 20:00In reply to undesirable elements? by sagraiasolar
It would be a real shame if your very useful site went off air, sagraiasolar. What's the snag? Have you looked at wordpress (a popular and full featured blog hosting site) - I'd imagine you could retain the 'heatingitaly'core word, and even if you want it 'ad free' it is peanuts costwise.
web site... heating
Submitted by sagraiasolar on Sun, 05/20/2012 - 05:41In reply to Wordpress? by Fillide
Thanks Fillide - the snag is that the web site was constructed on the Microsoft small business platform. They are no longer supporting the platform so the web site officially is not functioning although they may pull the plug properly any day now. I refuse to transfer to their new platform so I'm going to buy Xsite -pro and start again. I'm just finishing writing a technical restoration book for Kindle publishing then I'll get down to it. You might be right about a Wordpress blog .. they are a bit touchy about biz plugging though... a chum of mine who writes on things Italian was chucked off for mentioning a rental opportunity. Meanwhile though I'll continue to e-mail the newsletter to anyone who cares to be on the list so do all check in if you'd like to get it. I did a heat pump open coffee morning last month and that was fun with a slideshow - Aermec enjoyed it and have offered their showrooms in Perugia for the next one... so much to do and the strimmer is calling.
How long is the guarantee on
Submitted by Badger on Sun, 05/20/2012 - 08:47In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
ASHP guarantee.
Submitted by sagraiasolar on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 06:58In reply to How long is the guarantee on by Badger
At 2 years, they obviously do
Submitted by Badger on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 09:30In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
At 2 years, they obviously do not have a lot of confidence in their product. IVT are 5 years as standard. But, as they have only just started producing domestic ASHP's, then they have no reliability history in the market place. I only asked the warranty question, as it was not on their website, plus other searches said they were not disclosing the warranty.
ASHP reliability
Submitted by sagraiasolar on Sat, 05/26/2012 - 04:23In reply to At 2 years, they obviously do by Badger
Yes Badger I tend to agree with your sentiments. As my expectations for these things is a good 15 years of service - they're just like a fridge after all - I would think a 5 year warranty would help to overcome the apprehension some new adopters might feel. The Aermec ones use the latest scroll compressors with minimal moving parts so they should be intrinsically very reliable.
Yes, 15 to 20 years is the
Submitted by Badger on Sat, 05/26/2012 - 08:30In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Yes, 15 to 20 years is the expected life, but, you must factor in the experience of the installer. With GSHP, there are less moving parts, as no fan to break down, icing up issues etc. The price you quoted on your website, presumeably did not include the DHW tank? What is the model of the compressor, as again, their site is very vague?
ASHP installer
Submitted by sagraiasolar on Tue, 05/29/2012 - 03:01In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Badger, I don't have that much to do with Aermec but I'll do my best to answer your points. 1/. Experience of installer - as one of the biggest aircon installers in Italy there are hundreds of experienced installers all over Italy. 2/. No the price did not include a tank. 3/. I don't know offhand who makes the compressor but it is up with the most modern standards - variable speed and running on r410a
Thanks Sagraiasolar. There
Submitted by Badger on Tue, 05/29/2012 - 12:42In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec