Bye bye coal, hello expensive heating.

[ShooTa]

With solar as cheap as chips I would retain the electric for the 9 months of the year when solar is useful as these old houses require a lot of heat. The more that you can get for free the better. As for open fires do you actually mean open fire or fireplace with a stove in it. Chimneys are a wonderful way of removing all your expensive heated air and throwing it into the atmosphere whilst replacing it with cold draughts. Does not have to be like this but a lot of owners of old properties do not recognise the problem and then put in oversized heating systems to compensate for the problem rather than remove the problem.

but they are fantastic at doing what they were meant to do - heat the chimney mass - ie the giant night storage radiator.. too many of the studies fail to factor this into open fireplace fires.

 

[teslacoils]

Becalm yourselves. You can still buy "housecoal" in dumpy bags, and anthracite coal (IE the good stuff).

 

[renewablejohn]

but they are fantastic at doing what they were meant to do - heat the chimney mass - ie the giant night storage radiator.. too many of the studies fail to factor this into open fireplace fires.

Lets not get carried away the UK chimney mass is nothing like a Swedish Masonary stove.

 

[JCB_JCR]

but they are fantastic at doing what they were meant to do - heat the chimney mass - ie the giant night storage radiator.. too many of the studies fail to factor this into open fireplace fires.

Seal chimney off at head height inside fireplace with steel plate and stick woodburner pipe into it = best of both.. no drafts and giant storage heater
Not sure the powers that be like unlined chimneys though

 

[renewablejohn]

Seal chimney off at head height inside fireplace with steel plate and stick woodburner pipe into it = best of both.. no drafts and giant storage heater
Not sure the powers that be like unlined chimneys though

Will still have a draught unless the woodburner has an external air supply which I would always recommend otherwise the air in the room has to keep the fire going.

 

[john432]

Everyone will ultimately have to have air or ground source heating, new builds by 2050, though some homes unsuitable. Something to consider. https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2016/02/pros-and-cons-of-air-source-heat-pumps

Ground source heating? I'm in Wales not Iceland!

 

[matthew]

Will still have a draught unless the woodburner has an external air supply which I would always recommend otherwise the air in the room has to keep the fire going.

Cat flap???

 

[renewablejohn]

Cat flap???

Do people still put cat flaps in doors. Could never understand how you restrict access just to your own cat.

 

[4course]

think i will just buy a wagon load of coal and store it for future use will be far cheaper than putting in a new system and you cannot beat a roaring fire on a cold winters day snuggled on the settee with a glass of your choice and the love of your life snuggling in ( golden retriever or the mrs )

 

[Kidds]

think i will just buy a wagon load of coal and store it for future use will be far cheaper than putting in a new system and you cannot beat a roaring fire on a cold winters day snuggled on the settee with a glass of your choice and the love of your life snuggling in ( golden retriever or the mrs )

Wrapped in a blanket with a blue nose. I have lived in houses with an open fire and they are not very warm, especially if you compare the same house with a log burner fitted.
I understand the quaintness of open fires and the smell of singed dog hair where the spark landed on Fido but for warmth and economy of fuel they are not a patch on a log burner. Then again log burners are a dusty smelly faff compared to oil, gas, air source etc
Each to their own but whatever I do it will never be going back to an open fire.

 

[Farma Parma]

Wrapped in a blanket with a blue nose. I have lived in houses with an open fire and they are not very warm, especially if you compare the same house with a log burner fitted.
I understand the quaintness of open fires and the smell of singed dog hair where the spark landed on Fido but for warmth and economy of fuel they are not a patch on a log burner. Then again log burners are a dusty smelly faff compared to oil, gas, air source etc
Each to their own but whatever I do it will never be going back to an open fire.

Log burners not bought n installed for nowt neither
Stuff it open fire here for as long as possible
Yes we dont use much coal more so to light it, logs after that & very dry ones at that plus dry briquettes sourced via windfarm payout to local parish.
Oil boiler takes care of rest of house & hot water.
that was all installed at my cost 9 years ago & iam stuffed if iam changing any of that in any hurry neither
House/Farm isnt mine & LL has no interest in helping with heating of any sort.
Best thing we did here was rip out oil guzzling Rayburn Cooker.

 

[4course]

Wrapped in a blanket with a blue nose. I have lived in houses with an open fire and they are not very warm, especially if you compare the same house with a log burner fitted.
I understand the quaintness of open fires and the smell of singed dog hair where the spark landed on Fido but for warmth and economy of fuel they are not a patch on a log burner. Then again log burners are a dusty smelly faff compared to oil, gas, air source etc
Each to their own but whatever I do it will never be going back to an open fire.

ah you have mentioned the dog but you have missed the life enhancing effects of the warmth of an open fire whilst snuggling the mrs which far outweighs mere economy and a sterile enviroment ( ho ho)

 

[Kidds]

ah you have mentioned the dog but you have missed the life enhancing effects of the warmth of an open fire whilst snuggling the mrs which far outweighs mere economy and a sterile enviroment ( ho ho)

And I must assume you never experienced the effect of a draught free living area and the removing effect on the missus' clothing when the heat of a log burner kicks in.
All this time you have been poking your fire hoping for more warmth I have been poking my missus instead.

 

[4course]

And I must assume you never experienced the effect of a draught free living area and the removing effect on the missus' clothing when the heat of a log burner kicks in.
All this time you have been poking your fire hoping for more warmth I have been poking my missus instead.

ah you young uns will never learn mrs fans the flames i merely douse the fire ( ho ho)

 

[Kryten]

The OP is wrong. You are still able to burn coal and wood where you were allowed to previously. What you can't do is buy coal in 20kg sealed bags.

 

[FonterraFarmer]

I grew up in London and the fogs were terrible, everyone burned coal.

Who had the great idea to put a coal fire power station in the middle of London, out of curiosity???

 

[deere 6600]

We swapped our (coal) open fire a few years ago for a wood burner stove best home improvement ever ,fire on house warm even turn the central heating down now plus I tidy up fallen trees to fuel it

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

No change here.

Had an email from our coal merchant saying we can still buy coal in 20kg sealed plastic bags, but the delivery lad has to knife them all open before he leaves.

Fully bonkers.

 

[harrow]

Who had the great idea to put a coal fire power station in the middle of London, out of curiosity???

There was quite a few London coal powered power stations with the coal being delivered on the river thames.

 

[Overby]

No change here.

Had an email from our coal merchant saying we can still buy coal in 20kg sealed plastic bags, but the delivery lad has to knife them all open before he leaves.

Fully bonkers.

How does that get round the regs? Genuinely interested.