Where on earth do i start.
May 1st 2016, 9:59 am
#16
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
We were lucky in that we bought a a house that is only 14 years old and built to a very very high standard..
Only been here 4 months, but already we can feel the difference in the outside and inside temps - and we have two woodburners too.
Look at different areas - we bought in the Algarve 12 years ago, thinking the family would prefer it and so would see more of them.
Not a hope.
So now, this is for us. We're having a pool put in, we have 3 acres of land - most of it being looked after by a lovely young farmer and we're more than happy.
Look outside of what your thinking about - it sometimes works.
Only been here 4 months, but already we can feel the difference in the outside and inside temps - and we have two woodburners too.
Look at different areas - we bought in the Algarve 12 years ago, thinking the family would prefer it and so would see more of them.
Not a hope.
So now, this is for us. We're having a pool put in, we have 3 acres of land - most of it being looked after by a lovely young farmer and we're more than happy.
Look outside of what your thinking about - it sometimes works.
May 1st 2016, 10:05 am
#17
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
If you're on a limited budget, central heating may not be the best answer for you. Air conditioning units, which serve the dual purpose of cooling or heating might be worth considering instead and are cheap to run once installed, although admittedly you probably won't get the entire house toasty warm throughout with them.
A log burner in the lounge is always a nice feature, too but I like the option of having both.
A log burner in the lounge is always a nice feature, too but I like the option of having both.
May 1st 2016, 10:23 am
#19
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
No central heating, just very good iinsulated walls and roof as well as high spec windows.
It is b+ on the energy certificate, so we're more than happy to live without central heating.
We use wood for the wood-burners, but our neighbour swears by pellets. Each to their own.
It is b+ on the energy certificate, so we're more than happy to live without central heating.
We use wood for the wood-burners, but our neighbour swears by pellets. Each to their own.
May 1st 2016, 11:00 am
#20
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
No central heating, just very good iinsulated walls and roof as well as high spec windows.
It is b+ on the energy certificate, so we're more than happy to live without central heating.
We use wood for the wood-burners, but our neighbour swears by pellets. Each to their own.
It is b+ on the energy certificate, so we're more than happy to live without central heating.
We use wood for the wood-burners, but our neighbour swears by pellets. Each to their own.
May 1st 2016, 11:20 am
#21
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Joined: Aug 2013
Location: Suffolk,UK; Alentejo, Portugal
Posts: 14,932
Re: Where on earth do i start.
No central heating, just very good iinsulated walls and roof as well as high spec windows.
It is b+ on the energy certificate, so we're more than happy to live without central heating.
We use wood for the wood-burners, but our neighbour swears by pellets. Each to their own.
It is b+ on the energy certificate, so we're more than happy to live without central heating.
We use wood for the wood-burners, but our neighbour swears by pellets. Each to their own.
May 1st 2016, 1:00 pm
#22
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Location: central Portugal
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
FWIW, when we bought our place we had a wood burner linked to radiators but it was a constant PITA with feeding, cleaning & stock & eventually I got rid of it & replaced it with a wood pellet burning boiler and although expensive to buy, it's worth it's weight in gold. Pellets are available everywhere & it's the easiest thing in the world to clean & feed.
We also have a diesel boiler that is now used as a standby/emergency boiler but I've never had to use it in the 3 years since I installed the pellet boiler & it costs something like 5 or 6 times more to run than the pellet boiler.
May 1st 2016, 2:16 pm
#23
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Location: Suffolk,UK; Alentejo, Portugal
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
Bearing in mind that Portugal is covered in trees and (I'm told) produces more wood per km2 than anywhere else in the world and that there are wood pellet production factories with millions of Euros invested in them every few miles I reckon it's highly unlikely the price of pellets will ever get anywhere near that of electricity or gas etc.
FWIW, when we bought our place we had a wood burner linked to radiators but it was a constant PITA with feeding, cleaning & stock & eventually I got rid of it & replaced it with a wood pellet burning boiler and although expensive to buy, it's worth it's weight in gold. Pellets are available everywhere & it's the easiest thing in the world to clean & feed.
We also have a diesel boiler that is now used as a standby/emergency boiler but I've never had to use it in the 3 years since I installed the pellet boiler & it costs something like 5 or 6 times more to run than the pellet boiler.
FWIW, when we bought our place we had a wood burner linked to radiators but it was a constant PITA with feeding, cleaning & stock & eventually I got rid of it & replaced it with a wood pellet burning boiler and although expensive to buy, it's worth it's weight in gold. Pellets are available everywhere & it's the easiest thing in the world to clean & feed.
We also have a diesel boiler that is now used as a standby/emergency boiler but I've never had to use it in the 3 years since I installed the pellet boiler & it costs something like 5 or 6 times more to run than the pellet boiler.
We burn Azinho and Estevas, you can get Eucalyptus if you beat off the bakers, but as for factories......... They are promoting pellet boilers all over Europe, so Portugal will go chasing an export market if demand rises - leaving the home consumer chasing a dwindling resource.
May 1st 2016, 2:39 pm
#24
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
I think we're back to the generalization discussion! Come to the Alentejo and tell me about the trees and factories!
We burn Azinho and Estevas, you can get Eucalyptus if you beat off the bakers, but as for factories......... They are promoting pellet boilers all over Europe, so Portugal will go chasing an export market if demand rises - leaving the home consumer chasing a dwindling resource.
We burn Azinho and Estevas, you can get Eucalyptus if you beat off the bakers, but as for factories......... They are promoting pellet boilers all over Europe, so Portugal will go chasing an export market if demand rises - leaving the home consumer chasing a dwindling resource.
Well excuse me for disagreeing......... whatever was I thinking! FFS.
I'll bet a pound to a pinch of the smelly brown stuff that the majority of supermarkets, builder's merchants & farming co-operatives in even the oh so different Alentejo stocks bags of wood pellets throughout the winter.
Please do let me know if you want me to submit my posts to you for clearance before I post them in the future. (rolleyes)
Last edited by mfesharne; May 1st 2016 at 2:42 pm.
May 1st 2016, 2:41 pm
#25
Smokn Joy
Joined: Jan 2015
Location: Wonderful Portugal
Posts: 774
Re: Where on earth do i start.
boys????
May 1st 2016, 2:45 pm
#26
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
They can just make more pellets...
Or you can have a heat store tank so you can use solar heat, and only need to burn on occasion.
There are high temperature, high efficiency wood burners that will do this very well. They're available in Germany and the Nordic countries.
It's even more expensive, but after that you can burn your own wood.
I plan to build one myself one of these days; there's a great design available from a US university project done in 1979.
These burners make a LOT of heat, you need a heat storage tank. 2 or 3 tons of water will do the job.
There is a lot of power in the Portuguese sun; I did a little experiment. On the day of the winter solstice, I put a black aluminum plate in an insulated box with a single sheet of glass on top.
The plate got to 105C.
Or you can have a heat store tank so you can use solar heat, and only need to burn on occasion.
There are high temperature, high efficiency wood burners that will do this very well. They're available in Germany and the Nordic countries.
It's even more expensive, but after that you can burn your own wood.
I plan to build one myself one of these days; there's a great design available from a US university project done in 1979.
These burners make a LOT of heat, you need a heat storage tank. 2 or 3 tons of water will do the job.
There is a lot of power in the Portuguese sun; I did a little experiment. On the day of the winter solstice, I put a black aluminum plate in an insulated box with a single sheet of glass on top.
The plate got to 105C.
May 1st 2016, 6:35 pm
#27
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
So guys what is it to be.Gas,wood pellets or oil for central heating,or just a ******* great central wood burner??
May 1st 2016, 6:58 pm
#28
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Re: Where on earth do i start.
Depends on what you buy,.
We have a 14 year old 3 storey house on the caost and had an inset woodburner put in - and air-con in one bedroom, which we'd brought with us.
the house got mouldy each winter - green out the back, as no sun. Himself spent every winter, with a long pole, using bleach on the inside and bleach on the tops of the outside walls.
And yes, we ventilated as much as we could,. But seeing our neighbours (Portuguese) houses, they seemed to be okay with all the black mould.
There's an awful lot to think about, wherever you buy.
We have a 14 year old 3 storey house on the caost and had an inset woodburner put in - and air-con in one bedroom, which we'd brought with us.
the house got mouldy each winter - green out the back, as no sun. Himself spent every winter, with a long pole, using bleach on the inside and bleach on the tops of the outside walls.
And yes, we ventilated as much as we could,. But seeing our neighbours (Portuguese) houses, they seemed to be okay with all the black mould.
There's an awful lot to think about, wherever you buy.
May 1st 2016, 7:13 pm
#29
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Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 42
Re: Where on earth do i start.
Depends on what you buy,.
We have a 14 year old 3 storey house on the caost and had an inset woodburner put in - and air-con in one bedroom, which we'd brought with us.
the house got mouldy each winter - green out the back, as no sun. Himself spent every winter, with a long pole, using bleach on the inside and bleach on the tops of the outside walls.
And yes, we ventilated as much as we could,. But seeing our neighbours (Portuguese) houses, they seemed to be okay with all the black mould.
There's an awful lot to think about, wherever you buy.
We have a 14 year old 3 storey house on the caost and had an inset woodburner put in - and air-con in one bedroom, which we'd brought with us.
the house got mouldy each winter - green out the back, as no sun. Himself spent every winter, with a long pole, using bleach on the inside and bleach on the tops of the outside walls.
And yes, we ventilated as much as we could,. But seeing our neighbours (Portuguese) houses, they seemed to be okay with all the black mould.
There's an awful lot to think about, wherever you buy.
May 1st 2016, 7:19 pm
#30
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,031
Re: Where on earth do i start.
Mould problems here are usually caused by inadequate insulation combined with inadequate ventilation.
Of course if you have a leaky roof, that will do it too.
I solved the problem at our house by installing a heat-recovery ventilation system. I insulated the ceilings too, but really the walls should be done as well.
The air stays fresh with minimal heat loss in winter. Mould still occurs behind cupboards and things. I insulated the backs of the cupboards [including the kitchen]. This works very well.
Gas & oil are so expensive now that there's no point installing either.
For convenience, electric [there are various energy saving systems to spend your money on].
For economy, wood.
Pellets are a happy medium; I'm not using it and don't plan to, but I have to say that I've talked to a lot of people who've installed pellet burners and they're all happy with it.
Of course if you have a leaky roof, that will do it too.
I solved the problem at our house by installing a heat-recovery ventilation system. I insulated the ceilings too, but really the walls should be done as well.
The air stays fresh with minimal heat loss in winter. Mould still occurs behind cupboards and things. I insulated the backs of the cupboards [including the kitchen]. This works very well.
Gas & oil are so expensive now that there's no point installing either.
For convenience, electric [there are various energy saving systems to spend your money on].
For economy, wood.
Pellets are a happy medium; I'm not using it and don't plan to, but I have to say that I've talked to a lot of people who've installed pellet burners and they're all happy with it.