2950 60 kw combined wood and pellet boilers

Where is our expert on geothermal

As for Pellet Stufa - - there is many threads on this subject!

I was really interested in anyone's experience of large pellet or wood boilers rather than stuffe.

John Salt

I don't know if pellet boilers are suited to low temperature underfloor heating. We were told they are best used for radiiators. It might be there is a very sophisticated one available which can burn clean at low temps. Many only burn clean utilising secondary and tertiary combustion when fully engaged and running at above 60. Not so clean when in a standby mode. However there are boilers which close down completely then re-ignite on demand rather than maintaining a tiny pilot. Perhaps Andy S will know if solid fuel can be that controllable for low temperature systems. I suspect you would be looking at something like Windhager

I'll look them up. Thanks

I'll look them up. Thanks John Salt

John, in the members list there is a member called Andy s, if you click his name and send him a private message, he will give you some good advice, however, he's busy with an Ice Hockey tournament this week, so it may be a day or two...:)

I am following this thread with interest, and when Andy S returns I'd much rather he typed his views into the forum here, rather than send a private message!!

[QUOTE=Relaxed]I am following this thread with interest, and when Andy S returns I'd much rather he typed his views into the forum here, rather than send a private message!![/QUOTE]

I thought i typed my views about your approach to life and the way you conduct yourself in a previous thread? This type of posting is utterly pointless and it is actually nothing to do with you whether someone pm's me or not. Nor is it your business whether i respond or not. PM Meaning "private mail"

I said before, i felt you had little to offer society other than contempt. I stand by that comment and can only see your post here as a way of belittling GeorgeS and admonishing for being helpful.

As it is, the subject is a little more detailed than can be put forward on a forum of this nature. and if anyone wishes to pm me they are welcome.

When i get a minute i may also respond publically when i've read the tread a bit better.

Regards

Andy

PS: Hope the punctuation is to your liking

Andy S -

I wanted to hear your response -

Please - go public with it -

keep the site a useful - informative site

I think I still owe you a nice meal or two tho! for your help with my floor.

As a separate issue are there any architectuaral salvage sites in SoutherTuscany / Umbria / Lazio.

Plenty in the Viterbo region. Sure you will come across plenty once you start investigating.

.

All I wanted was to know a bit more about the subject of pellet/wood boilers -just like you!! Che?

Geothermal....I'm here!!...... Largish farmhouse probably a non-starter for Geothermal in Italy. The difficulty with Geothermal is that it requires a reasonable electricity supply for a reasonable size house. Most people in rural houses in italy just don't have enough power. (if you need typically 8-12 kVA of heating that would be 2-3 kW of electricity PLUS when the pump kicks in it will peak temporarily at a much higher rating probably tripping out the supply. Plus you are still at the mercy of ever increasing electricity prices. Pellet Stufa seem to be the way to go since the power consumption electricity wise is much lower and wood is a renewable energy. I suppose we could still be held to ransom like LPGF gas but competition is much greater amongst the pellet manufacturers and is only likely to increase as this technology catches on. The downside to wood is the maintenance/complexity reliability issue. Heat pumps are very reliable proven technology (who doesn't have a fridge these days) and you can tend to forget about them rather than having to load the boiler every few days.
heat pumps are also not good for 'starty-stoppy' lifestyle like a holiday home as they are intended to keep a warm house warm. There is something called a 'dead-battery effect' -effectively a heat pump is a fridge in reverse. It moves heat from a large space (collector water source, ground, air etc and by compressing it into a small area provides heating for water/space in your house etc. It is really though doing this by trying to cool the ground /air/water outside by removing heat from it. If you start by circulating cold coolant (your house starts cold) then the process can take a long time to get going unless you have an initial secondary heat source and/or start the system a zone at a time. I know this sounds strange but remember a heat pump is sized to keep the space at a constant comfortable temperature. It is a bit like setting off with a very small engine pulling a very heavy load. Once you get up to speed it is OK but if you keep stopping it takes ages to get going again!. i suppose you could set it up to accept SMS messaging and phone ahead a couple of day before you arrive but that is a different topic covered elsewhere in the forums.

[QUOTE=Cassini]I don't know if pellet boilers are suited to low temperature underfloor heating. We were told they are best used for radiiators. It might be there is a very sophisticated one available which can burn clean at low temps. Many only burn clean utilising secondary and tertiary combustion when fully engaged and running at above 60. Not so clean when in a standby mode. However there are boilers which close down completely then re-ignite on demand rather than maintaining a tiny pilot. Perhaps Andy S will know if solid fuel can be that controllable for low temperature systems. I suspect you would be looking at something like Windhager[/QUOTE]
We too are looking at UFH with wood boiler. The way to get around the high temperatures produced is by using a 'heat store'. All heat produced by the boiler/ solar panels/ gas (you can have multiple heat sources) etc. ends up in a large sealed/ heavily insulated water tank. The heat is exchanged via coils from the various heat sources. Similar coils act as heat exchangers to take heat to where it is wanted. e.g. mains water is fed through a heat exchanger to provide DHW. The UFH feed is also passed through a heat exchanger but the temperature flow rates etc as it passes through the heat exchanger is controlled so that it is not too hot (typically 30-40C) unlike radiators which are typically 80C. If the flow rate is not sufficiently adjustable the excess heat can be fed via another heat exchanger back into the heat store. It is perfectly possible to provide DHW at one temperature and the heating feed at a lower temperature this way.
The larger the heat store the more water can be drawn without a large temperature drop but the counter argument to that is if it is too big the heat source may not be able to get it up to temperature in the first place. our Geometra quoted a case where someone built a huge heat store (ooo's gallons) & well insulated (under a swimming pool). It was heated during the summer months by a substantial array of solar panels. It contained enough heat to sustain all the DHW and heating requirement for the house during the winter months topped up only by the meagre amount of sun available during that time. Sound a bit risky and prohibitively expensive to build to me.