Keeping warm for winter
Feature
Neill O’Neill
As winter rolls around once again and cold, wet darkness descend earlier each evening, people’s minds invariably turn to how they will heat their home. With more options than ever for creating a cosy life, people in Mayo beat the chill in many ways.
New and old homes are heated by very different methods. Most modern houses have oil-fired central heating systems while apartments tend to be heated by electric storage heaters. The arrival of gas in many parts of Mayo in the coming months and years will add an extra option to new and existing home owners, though the cost of installing this as a heating option will deter many, despite the long-terms benefits of a cleaner fuel that never has to be ordered.
Solid fuels The tradition of burning solid fuel on open fires remains very much alive and well in Mayo and across the country. There is no substitute for the warmth and cosiness of an open fire but they can be impractical as they will not heat an entire house to great effect. Coal is the most popular fuel for open fires, though many people will use logs and briquettes, while the age-old routine of saving turf during the summer for long winter nights is still very much a part of life in rural parts of Mayo.
An average house with an open fire or stove burning for ten hours a day will use no more than three bags of coal a week. Usually, two will be sufficient and these will often be supplemented by logs or briquettes.
Fuel merchants have increasingly switched to smokeless fuel in recent years, which apart from being better for the environment, leave less soot residue in the chimney and less ash and debris in the fireplace. A bag of smokeless fuel costs around €14 while a bail of peat briquettes retails at €3.50. That equates to a maximum price of €49 per week to keep a stove or an open fire burning for 70 hours.
Many householders in Mayo also burn turf which is hard to put a monetary value on as the fuel is not as widely traded today as it used to be, and people obtain it from their own bogs, or from neighbours and friends. Turf has been burnt in Irish fires for hundreds of years but the heat and benefits from it are not as good as with other fuel types, and it is easily the most labour intensive way to heat your home, as many hours of work are required to cut and save turf.
Oil Oil-fired central heating has risen considerably in prominence over the last decade and is the way most modern homes are likely to be heated. Most new housing developments in recent years would have been built with oil burning central heating systems as standard. For convenience and hassle-free comfort it is a system that most householders would recommend. Unlike solid fuel fires, every room will be heated to the same temperature by oil, and the system can be timed to optimise both energy and fuel consumption.
Around €600 will fill a standard 1,000-litre oil tank and if the system is timed prudently, to be on at times when the house is occupied, this tank could last the majority of the year. In new and well-insulated homes oil-fired central heating is a wise and proven choice, as heat will build up quicker and last longer, thus saving overall on energy costs. An average house in Mayo should require their 1,000 litre oil tank to be filled no more than twice a year. This is taking into consideration reduced usage hours during the summer and periods of hot weather and prolonged usage in winter months.
Gas Where homes are heated by bulk gas at present the system operates in a similar way to oil-fired central heating. Tank sizes vary but an average household tank containing 1,000 litres will cost €600 – the same as an equivalent fill of oil. This one fuel source can be used for several tasks, including cooking, home heating, operating tumble driers, open fires and heating water.
Natural gas, which is piped into Ireland from overseas and is a different product than bulk gas, (which is a by-product of the crude oil refining process) will be an option in parts of Mayo in coming months, when the county taps into the national grid. Customers wishing to bring natural gas into their homes will have to pay to bring a connection from the mains pipes (currently being laid on roads around Westport and Castlebar) to their front door. Thereafter, a constant supply of gas will flow into their homes for which they will be billed every two months. Aside from being on tap, natural gas is cheaper per unit than bulk gas and can also be used for all the same functions as bulk gas.
However, in the past year the price of natural gas has been rising steadily and in the year up to July 2007 the price had risen by 20 per cent, compared to a three per rise cent for bulk gas. The price of oil is set by a volatile global market and factors such as world politics and the weather cause extreme undulations in this. In the 12 months up to July this year the price of oil dropped by over six per cent, but a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico or a missile strike in the Middle East could drive this back up to a record high at any time.
Wood pellets Wood pellet burners have become popular in recent years. They operate on the same premise as an oil burner in that the fuel is burned to create heat, which is piped through the house and also heats water. These systems give off a minimal amount of emissions and in a world where carbon footprints and the environment are buzz words, they are one of the most eco-friendly options for heating. Burning 1,000 litres of heating oil releases 1,916kgs of CO2 into the atmosphere, whereas burning two tonnes of wood pellets will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately two tonnes. In fact, a tree dying in your garden will cause more environmental damage than a wood pellet burner.
However, wood pellet burners can be laborious to operate in that they require cleaning every two to three weeks and have a lot of mechanical and moving parts that will need occasional maintenance. Also, the pellets are useless once they become damp and should be stored in special bins, from where an auger feeds them into the burner. A four-tonne bin to hold the pellets will cost you €1,900, and you need the space to locate it. To fill this bin will cost an extra €940 but this equates to one year’s supply of home heating fuel. A grant of €3,000 is available to encourage these environmentally-friendly home heating options.
New and Environmentally Friendly Methods There are, of course, some modern methods of home heating with new technologies becoming available all the time. These tend to consist of a one-off installation expense with small running costs, usually associated with energy consumption and maintenance. The main advantage of these is that grants are available for their purchase and installation and they begin to pay for themselves as soon as they become operational. Some require electricity and one requires the burning of fuel. They effectively operate in stealth and are all available in Mayo, from Heat Solutions Limited, who are home heating specialists based in Claremorris.
Many new homes have underfloor heating installed, which gives a balanced and controllable temperature in all rooms. This costs around €3 per square foot to buy and install and works in the same way as a regular radiator system. Hot water runs through the underfloor pipes the same as it does through radiators, and the system can also be operated off a heat pump. Running on nightsaver electricity, this can be a cheap and effective way to heat your home. It can be installed in older homes but the hassle and extra expense involved with this will rule it out for many people. It is approximately one third dearer to install than a regular radiator heating system.
Solar power is a heating method that is growing in popularity across the county. With installation grants up to €3,000 available and more than enough light year round, despite the constantly overcast Irish skies, a couple of solar panels on the roof of a household will provide most of the hot water needs of an average home. A three or four panel system will typically cost up to €8,000. However, solar panels are most practical where there is a high volume of hot water usage and they will not meet your home heating needs. Payback time is typically between ten and 20 years.
Another environmentally friendly option available in Mayo is geothermal technology where pipes laid externally (such as in the garden) collect heat from the soil or air and feed this into a condenser which converts it into a gas. When this gas cools it becomes a hot liquid which is sent into a heat exchanger and around the house by a heat pump. This system requires no maintenance and is clean, safe and green. The pump works off electricity, which, after installation, is the only expense you will encounter when heating your water and home this way. It could cost up to €13,000 (depending on the size of your house) to buy and install this system with a €2,500 grant available. This system, which provides 100 per cent of hot water and almost all your home heating needs, will have paid for itself in five or six years.
Wind energy is another source of power and heating that could soon be commonplace in Irish homes. The technology that could see small domestic turbines appearing in back gardens is at an advanced stage, and it is thought that these systems could provide up to 95 per cent of the energy needs of a household. However, these systems are expected to cost in excess of €25,000 and would-be suppliers are waiting to see if any Government grants for their purchase and installation will be forthcoming.
