Barn conversion near Tonbridge, Kent
Here we find ourselves down a rural unmarked lane in Kent, the site of a large barn conversion. It comprises a two storey hallway, and many original features. Much of the house is already underfloor heated, using an L&K system with around 14 separately controlled zones. What makes this system unusual is the various heat sources used to create the heating and hot water. There’s two fuel burning stoves, some solar thermal on the rooftop, and a Rayburn solid fuel stove. This was all installed by the present owners, who were almost singlehandedly responsible for the design and execution around […]
Unusual house in Reigate, Surrey, gets unique underfloor heating
This property had an old HarcoPak, which is an integrated hot water cylinder and cold water storage tank, mounted in a frame on the 1st floor. It was heated by an old Potterton Kingfisher 100BF floorstanding boiler, which had been installed with a flue a couple of inches from the rear door and an undersized gas pipe; both of which were contrary to the gas regs at the time the house was constructed, and still are. We removed the Potty boiler, leaving a large hole for the on site building team of Mizon Builders to brick up. We relocated the […]
A few words about SOLAR
Solar energy is very popular with politicians. A green argument is usually easily won and persuasive; after all, when did you last hear a politician denounce green policies? When did you last watch an episode of ‘Grand Designs’ when the words ‘ecologically friendly’ and ‘sustainable’ were not used? Trouble is, this solar energy lark is not all it’s cracked up to be. If you live in a typical UK house, your hot water energy bill is unlikely to account for more than 15%-20% of your gas (or oil) costs. Therefore, although solar generated hot water works, and it can heat […]
