So How Do Air Source Heat Pumps Work?

Air Source heating pumps are beginning to gain in favour as more and more people explore alternatives to gas and oil. The technology has actually been around for a number of years and has been used across a wide range of countries with varied climates. Many people with an eye on green issues are also keen to look at the credentials of Air Source as a means to help lower their carbon emissions.

So how do they work? Looking much like an air conditioning unit they are often sited outside the house and absorb heat from the air. Sounds like magic. True enough lots of people find it difficult to understand how heat can be extracted from outdoors even when it’s cold, working happily at temperatures as low as -20 degrees C. In truth they are very much like refrigerators but instead of taking heat out from the inside, they take it from the outside and push it in. Air source pumps are either ‘air to air’ which simply produces hot air, or are ‘air to water’ which as you might imagine heats water up to a temperature of around 55 degrees C. Although much lower than the temperatures created by a regular boiler they are often used in conjunction with under floor heating but can also be used to heat radiators, albeit with less efficiency. As air source heat pumps work at lower temperatures they tend to favour homes that are well insulated. It is common for systems to be run continuously in order to maintain a constant temperature; unlike boilers which are often timed to run intermittently, lifting temperature at certain periods and allowing them to fall at other times.

There are some wide and varied estimates concerning efficiency figures. If you have an interest in green issues there are some suggestions that CO2 is reduced by up to 75% compare to more traditional heat sources. Running costs are also very good but this does depend a lot on how well insulated individual houses are. There is generally no need for any maintenance just fit the system and let it run. Many manufactures claim their system will operate for up to 20 years. Installation cost is somewhat more expensive than a replacement boiler but in theory the efficiency gains should help provide payback at around the 5 year mark. So it really is a slightly longer term investment for most homeowners.

If you are really in to being super green then air source units can be run from solar panels which can potentially provide power during the daylight hours. Assuming you don’t want to gain from government tariffs, running air source in this way does provide a smug feeling of self sufficiency. As with many green options they are so often restricted by cost. In reality removal of a regular boiler and replacing it with air source may not practically provide all your hot water needs so a proper assessment will need to be carried out. An expert installer should be able to examine how the how is used by its inhabitants and the demand for showers, baths etc, as well as determining if the house is efficient enough from the point of view of heat loss.

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Paul Coupe is Online Marketing Manager for Quote4Removals.
http://www.quote4removals.com

Heat Recovery and Ventilation Systems

Looking for a neat way to remove damp and stale air from your home? Well it’s easy enough to achieve by simply opening a window, we’ve been doing it for years. So why do we need a new way of doing it? The answer in a word, well two words to be exact – Heat Loss. We all spend a lot of money these days heating our homes and every time we open a door, window or switch on an extractor fan that heat is seeping away along with the moisture we intend to remove. So along came some clever people to re-write the rules. Heat Recovery and Ventilation is the clever way to ensure a home is properly supplied with clean air whilst recovering heat in the process.

So here’s a brief summary of how it works. By removing warm moist air from a home through a series of ducts, air is then passed through a heat exchanger and ejected outside. Fresh air is then taken back into the exchanger in order to warm it before passing it back into the rooms of the house. So effectively the warmth from air inside the home is recovered before the air actually get expelled. New air coming into the home gains warmth from the heat which was gained from the previous step. The heat exchanger will recover over 80% of the heat which otherwise would be lost. Some systems will bypass the heat exchanger on particularly warm days so as to help bring indoor temperatures down. During times when particular areas of the house are producing increased moisture, such as a kitchen or bathroom a good system will focus more heavily to rebalance these areas.

Heat recovery and ventilation is another good choice for those with green principles. They work well in a Passive House situation or can be used in conjunction with air / ground source heat pumps. Because air can be filtered the process will provide improved air for anyone who suffers from air born allergies. It’s also a great way to cut down the level of dust that normally moves around the average home and clean up general smells from cooking and smoking etc.

Like so many modern products such as this, it’s always best to have your house properly assessed before getting a system installed. Cost is dependent on the size of your house but figures start at around £1500 for a 2 to 3 bedroom properties. The main heat exchanger is often positioned in the loft but can also slot into a cupboard, utility or garage. Perhaps not really a job for the do it yourself enthusiast. Systems should be planned out by someone with experience and a good understanding of how best to test and calibrate everything. Ultimately the system will need to be finally commissioned by a qualified person. Some thought should also be given to maintenance as filters, fans and heat exchanger will all need to be cleaned to ensure good quality air is supplied efficiently to the home.

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Paul Coupe is Online Marketing Manager for Quote4Removals.
http://www.quote4removals.com

Exploring the Benefits of a Biomass Boiler

Every now and again some television program seems to mention the word biomass as if we are all supposed to know what it is. Bio would suggest some kind of renewable element is involved and mass you’d think means something bulky. So I’ll get on and explain what it actually is. Biomass comes from material which at one time was living such as wood, straw, or even cotton waste. This material is generally made into easy to handle and easy to burn pellets. During the time it took to grow, this material will have absorbed carbon which is obviously released again when burnt. Therefore biomass pellets should be produced from replenished sources, ideally from fairly local supplies in order to maintain a low carbon balance.

Burning biomass calls for a special boiler which replaces a regular gas or oil boiler. One of the big considerations is for storage of the biomass material as the boiler will need plenty of supplies. Compared to mains gas storage is possibly the biggest consideration to the whole idea. The efficiency of a biomass boiler will compare favourably to gas or oil and its low carbon credentials help make it an increasing popular choice.

Getting a biomass boiler fitted is quite easy. It is a job for a professional however, who will need to size up your property to ensure sufficient heat output. Coming back to the point about storing pellets, finding or indeed building a good sized store room is a must. Large boilers may require a space of around 3 x 4 meters to house everything but the issue could well be solved through something as simple as largish shed.

Expect to pay around £12,000 for a 3 bedroom house which will include automatic pellet feed and store. It’s a large investment, perhaps a good £8,000 beyond that of a replacement gas boiler. But you are buying into something much greener than the norm which has to be part of the reason for doing it in the first place. For new builds or homes out of the reach of mains gas this really has to be a credible alternative to oil. Once fitted running costs are pretty good. Per KWh biomass fuel can be purchased for between 3p – 4p. Contrast this with gas at around 4.8p and oil at 5.8p and the ongoing cost gives you something to be just a little bit smug about. Before you commit yourself other fairly green alternatives such as air and ground source pumps are well worth comparing with biomass as the installation costs are not dissimilar.

If you are convinced this is for you first check if there are any restrictions in your area with your local authority. If you live in a location designated as smoke free you may need to enquire after an exemption to burn biomass. With such a big push to promote low carbon housing you’d expect local authorities to be sympathetic, but you can’t take it for granted. Check this little wrinkle out first before you get too excited.

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Paul Coupe is Online Marketing Manager for Quote4Removals.
http://www.quote4removals.com

Selling Your House Without an Agent

It’s one of the top groups of people we all love to hate but is it really viable to cut out estate agents and do the job of selling your home yourself? If you are keen to do the job yourself the first thing to do is first pin point a realistic price for your house. If you live in an area where there are plenty of similar houses to yours selling fairly regularly then the task can be fairly simple. Do make sure you do some research and find out what the actual selling price was of other houses and not just simply the advertised price. This way you’ll have a good idea as to what you can expect to get.

Doing the job yourself means you have got to think like an estate agent. Pitching the house at the right price level will mean you get people through the door and hopefully some offers. Many people who go it alone look to the Internet for their advertising. There are lots of web based options some of which will also provide a board for you to stick in the garden. Firstly check out the popularity of websites and see how well they rank in search engines for your area. Chances are if you can’t easily find houses local to you potential buyer won’t either. Collate some good quality photos of your house and display the ones that sell its best assents. Don’t forget if you do get people through the door they will nearly always want to look over some printed details at a later date so if you can put together a summary handout this will be well appreciated by those with an interest.

Think about the areas you may have looked for property yourself such as local newspapers and find out what rates they charge for a private ad. Putting a ‘for sale’ board in the garden can be a much as it takes especially if you live in a popular area. Agents will be advertising hard to get buyers to your street enabling you to effectively piggyback on this traffic. If you intend using an agent at the same time do make sure they offer you and multi agent agreement or else you could still face paying them commission even if a sale comes through your own hard work.

If and when you do get people call, make sure you have a pen and paper ready to take their details. Some may find it a little off putting dealing directly with the seller so you need to be extra nice to them but still able to sell the good aspects of your house. The only way you’ll sell is to get people through the door so try to be as accommodating as possible be but do careful giving our personal details, times you are out at work or the fact you may be on your own.

It should go without saying but tidy your house before anyone comes to view it. First impressions count and many people will not be able to see past your clutter. Give those that view a good but honest overview and be prepared for questions about anything from damp proofing to the local schools. Don’t skirt round issues or worst still be untruthful as this could come back and bite you further down the line.

Just like an agent try to follow up on your viewings. Give them a call after a few days and see if you can get them to view again. If nothing else try to get a little bit of honest feedback but don’t take it to heart if it’s in anyway negative. If an offer is made be ready to write everything down and listen to any strings the buyer is attaching to the deal. It may be best to politely call people back later in order to give yourself time to consider the offer properly. If you have several offers keep everyone’s details as you may need to go back to others if your best offer falls through.

When offers do come they can catch you of guard especially if you’ve had your house on the market for some time. During the selling period it’s always good to get solicitors, removals companies and an energy performance certificates sorted so that you don’t lose a sale because the process becomes longwinded.

This article is free to republish provided the resource information below and article links remain intact.

Paul Coupe is Online Marketing Manager for Quote4Removals.
http://www.quote4removals.com

What to Budget for When Moving House

We all know that moving home is never cheap, but many forget to factor in the hidden and less exciting costs such as Estate Agents, Solicitors and Home Removals.

Let’s look first at estate agents, everyone’s favourite industry to knock. If you are a first time buyer then lucky you but for the rest of us estate agents seem to be a necessary evil. Before you instruct an agent first check out what they offer and get used to the idea of bargaining a little. All said and done you’ll probably need to face up to the idea of paying between 1% - 3% on the price you eventually get for your old house. Your agent should also be able to arrange for an Energy Performance Certificate or indeed you can organise this separately.

Solicitors, they are never cheap but are not impervious to competition. So again, get the best price you can by shopping around. As a buyer you need to face up to costs of around £500 - £1000 plus some extra for Local Searches (approx £200) and Land Registration Fee (often between £100 - £500). If you are also selling budget for an additional £400 - £600 but it may well be possible to get a good deal if you are combining both a sale and purchase.

Just as you’ve adjusted your budget for the benefit of estate agents and solicitors someone reminds you that you’ll need the services of a removals company. Once again be prepared to shop around but do make sure that you get two or three companies out to properly assess how much there is to move. Typically you’ll pay around £500 for a small house or flat and upwards of £1200 for a house depending on its size. You may be able to negotiate a better fee if you can make your move at a particular time of the month when removals firms are less busy. Reducing how much needs moving by de-cluttering will also help keep costs down. No use taking things with you that you no longer need.

One of the biggest ongoing costs you’ll ever incur is a mortgage.  Most people understand the need to shop around for a good deal these days. Much depends on how much you are able to invest as a deposit as to the deal you get. The more you put in yourself the better the interest rate is likely to be. But you also need to examine your current mortgage if you have one. Are there exit or redemption fees you need to consider, or is your mortgage portable? Even if you stay with the same lender fees of between £100 - £300 are not uncommon. Lenders will nearly always charge you a valuation fee of around £175 on the property you are buying. This fee should not be confused with a full home survey however. It may be best to instruct your own surveyor and way up the cost of either getting a home buyers report at around £300 or paying approx £500 for a full structural survey. This could just be one area where paying the extra will save you thousands at a future date. After all information is power. If something alarming comes to light during the survey you may well want to back out of the purchase altogether or use it as a bargaining tool to get a discount on the price.

This article is free to republish provided the resource information below and article links remain intact.

Paul Coupe is Online Marketing Manager for Quote4Removals.
http://www.quote4removals.com

Rain Water Harvesting: What are the Considerations?

In an effort to be more self-sufficient processing raining water perhaps seems an obvious option, but is it worth the investment? For many looking at self-building or renovating an old property, being independent with regards their water supply goes hand in hand renewables such as solar electricity generation and ground / air source heat pumps. It falls freely from the sky so why are we paying water companies so much to simply pipe it to our homes?

Once you take a closer look it’s a little more complex than first meets the eye. It’s not just as simple as collection and use. As well as rain water there are also solutions to re-use water which would otherwise have been lost after showering, bathing etc. This so called ‘grey water’ can be used where the cleanest water is not necessary, as would be the case for flushing toilets or in a washing machine.

It goes without saying that some areas of the country receive much more rain than others so rain levels are the first thing to look at. If you fancy installing a rain water harvesting system, practically the area of roof you have will determine just how much water can be collected in any one downpour. Rainwater harvesting will call for a succession of pipes, filter(s) and a storage tank. The storage tank is often concealed underground from where water can be pumped into the house and be used in gravity fed systems like mains water.

In contrast to rain water, grey water is more regularly produced as a result of using mains or harvested rain water and can therefore provide a large saving in its re-use. Once used in showers and baths grey water can be stored in a separate tank. This water needs to be treated in order to inhibit bacteria and odours. Some systems also can be configured to release water after a set period of time so as to avoid storing it for too long. Other systems sometimes use sophisticated biological treatments and filtration though reed beds to maintain water quality.

Like all good ideas the likelihood of large scale uptake is so often determined by cost. Generally a rainwater harvesting system will set you back around £2000 - £2500. A grey water system is slightly more costly at around £2800 and will use a larger amount of energy in the action of pumping and processing. So it’s an investment that needs plenty of consideration. If you are not put off by the price the best advice is to call in a specialist company who will assess your water usage and the best way to incorporate these systems into your home. Water regulations need to be followed to so it really is a job for someone who knows what they are doing, not the best undertaken by a ‘do it yourself’ enthusiasts. Much depends on how water is used and at what period of the day. Often families who leave for work and school early each morning will not have so much use for stored grey water.

This article is free to republish provided the resource information below and article links remain intact.

Paul Coupe is Online Marketing Manager for Quote4Removals.
http://www.quote4removals.com

Budgeting for a Self Build Project

Building your own home can be one of the most rewarding yet testing ventures of your life. One of the most common issues which blight many a self build is poor control of the budget which can result in frightening overruns on costs. For many embarking on such a venture will often mean risking just about everything they have. Even if it doesn’t mean risking everything it will usually involve the sort of figures which make most people at least a little sweaty under the collar. Fail to plan and plan to fail. It’s often said but often ignored. There can be nothing worse than finally getting to build your dream home only to become financially stretched in the process.

Before starting any self-build project you need to get serious about costs. Price up as much as you can and be very realistic about time-scales. You need to look at what money you have to hand and what is coming from other sources. Once you begin setting out plans make sure you stick closely to them and avoid costly changes of direction once building is underway. Your budget will need to reflect the true costs of materials and labour in the location you are building. It’s also wise to set aside up to 15% for the unforeseen issues which nearly always arise. If you’ve maxed out your available sources of funding there may be little room to get extra money at a later date. It should go without saying but make sure any loans you take out for the build come with competitive rates of interest.

Keeping track of your cash is the key to self-build. It’s not a given that lenders will release cash as and when you need it. Often you will need to fund large portions of the build until money is released by your lenders. On a standard arrears stage payment mortgage this may mean paying for everything including the foundations and fundamental construction work before you see anyone else’s money flowing into the project. An advance stage payment self-build mortgage is an alternative worth exploring which can provide money in advance of each stage of your build. This will often mean more upfront cash to help you buy the land and the provision of funds to get building underway.

Stamp duty is should not be forgotten when self-building. It’s always worth checking out the most up to date charges but currently plots under £125,000 are free of any duty which is a nice little saving worth £1,250. If your plans are to build a Passive House you could also save on stamp duty for builds on plots up to £500,000. The house can also be sold on without the new owner having to pay stamp duty either. Don’t forget there are always costs involved in selling your old house along with the inevitable fees from Solicitors, Estate Agents and Removals Companies. Particularly if selling your old house comes at the end of the project make sure you still have something in the kitty to meet the costs.

This article is free to republish provided the resource information below and article links remain intact.

Paul Coupe is Online Marketing Manager for Quote4Removals.
http://www.quote4removals.com