Winter heating

I need help and advise please. I will be moving into my new property in 5 months, and would like some advise on the best form of heating. My property already has a traditional wood burner, and is pre wired for air con, however I have been told that the efficiency of wood burners is not great. Everybody seems to be pushing fan assisted woodchip burners, they say it is 90% efficiency, and cheaper to run. My problem is this, do I stay with the woodburner, convert to woodchip or go for hot and cold air con. I have to think about the cost of installation and running, and also the occasions when the electrics fail to due high demand in winter or summer, as in the case of air con. i would be grateful for any help

We run our property on hot/cold air con and bought AA+ rated units that are very economical to run, in addition we have the equivalent of Economy 7 tariff from Iberdrola, which offers 14hrs per day of half price electricity.  We tested it last summer and ran our x2 bedroom units all night for a cost of 42ct, so we believe it's quite cost effective as we have no gas alternative, or the possiblity of installing a wood burner.

Good luck with your move.

We too rely on our air con units for heating they are Panasonic  inverter units the biggest unit in the loungr diner costs about 30 cents an hour, usually even when its quite cold like last winter a couple of hours a night is enough as long as the house is well draught proofed double glazed etc.

Be aware, if you have high/vaulted ceilings I would recommend ceiling fans.

From the old principle of "hot air rises" and "cold air falls"  during the summer your A/C units may perform efficiently however during the winter months when the units are producing warm air because of the above principle your units will be heating the space above your head instead of at floor level no mater if you have the internal fan/blower unit going at full speed. The ceiling fans would direct the "Hot" air to where it should be at floor level

  I would also recomend that if you have an intruder alarm your A/C units may be able to be interlocked via a no-volt contact (normally available in most reputable alarm systems)  so that when you "arm" the intruder alarm when leaving the premises the Power is switched off to the A/C units.Perhaps the installer could advise you if this is possible

I believe there is a unit available on the market that can be bought and installed  in your premises for not a lot of money this was discussed in a previous thread and I can't remember when

I don't own a property but regularily long term rent  during the Spannish winter months therefore am liable to pay the utility bills and leaving the Heating/Cooling system on when not in the premises can cost a fortune

Hope these points help

Regards

Billy

I have  2 integrated heat/air con units, no fires, and  even though it heats the whole property plus I have a double height ceiling in the lounge,after 30 mins one system needs to be turned off. because it is too hot . It is very expensive to run (1,500e over 6 months)  in comparison to my neighbours electricty bills, but having said that  when one adds in the cost of their wood, gas bottles or oil it works out about the same.

The main disadvantage using electricity against other forms of heating though is that it  cools very quickly plus a fire always feels more cosy even when it is just the dying embers. Perhaps have just one wall unit in your lounge as a back up on the really cold days..

I have investigated the two tariff system  but it isn't practical if the heating needs to be on before 10pm. Which in winter it certainly does.

Take notice Mr Clegg ,surely your wife has told you wintertime in Spain IS cold.