How to heat your converted barn
Converting a barn to a contemporary home is an exciting prospect. It is a fantastic way to realise a dream, or get some extra space to rent out. Barn conversions offer the perfect balance of rustic and modern style.
But reality can set in when the task of heating your barn conversion comes into play. In fact, it is one of the biggest challenges faced by families and builders that are looking to convert a barn. It is not the lack of options that is the challenge. Instead, it is in finding the most efficient method to heat barn conversions where the real challenge lies.
One of the initial concerns right off-the-bat is that barns are often situated in rural areas. Hence, most of these properties are located off the main gas grid. That would compel homeowners and builders to consider other heating sources for the build. But what is the most efficient method out there, in terms of cost, energy use, and carbon emissions?
With the chilly weather experienced in the UK for most of the year, finding an efficient heating system is a top priority when doing barn conversion projects.
On-grid heating for barn conversions
As mentioned earlier, most of the barn conversions are located off the main grid. However, for the purpose of consideration in this guide, there may be barn homes that are located within the gas grid. Gas is usually the most cost-efficient option here, although we always recommend evaluating renewables as an alternative. Electricity is also an option, albeit a poor one.
Although gas and electricity offer initial convenience, they are miles apart from each other in terms of cost-efficiency. Electricity heating is far more expensive than gas heating. In fact, the cost of electric heating is nearly four times than that of gas heating systems. If you are doing a barn conversion, it’s important to take note of this huge gap in terms of operational costs.
Thankfully, there are plenty of renewable alternatives for barn conversion heating, as we will now examine…
Heat pumps: The best solution?
Cost savings and lower carbon emissions make heat pumps a wise choice for barn conversions. In terms of energy consumption, heating and hot water requires heavy use of energy.
By switching to a heat pump (either with air source heat pump installation or a ground source one), you could potentially save up to 65% in energy usage and operational costs. A heat pump can provide efficiency of 300%.
Heat pumps are often the most suitable option for a barn conversion. There are two main types of heat pump to choose from: air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps.
The ground source heat pump is ideal for converting a barn, as there is often reasonable space around the property itself. Ground source heat pumps need space around the house in order to drill the boreholes or dig the trenches nearby. When installed, this system extracts heat from the ground, which is then fed through loops and passed into a heat exchanger. Heat is then delivered into the barn interior to keep the property (and its water) warm all year round.
On the other hand, the air source heat pump is another cost-efficient way to heat your barn conversion. It works by extracting air from the outside and converting that air into a heat source before being distributed indoors. These systems are typically smaller, and might not be the most efficient for heating a barn when compared to ground source heat pumps. That said, this depends on the size, heating infrastructure, and heat demands of any given property.
These systems are more expensive to install at the outset when compared to traditional boilers, but there is lots of financial help available. Over the long-term, heat pumps are typically the most cost-efficient way to heat your barn conversion.
In addition, the visual impact on your conversion design is minimal, and system installation can be worked into the existing timeline of your barn conversion project.Other barn conversion heating options
Aside from the heat pumps, there are other renewable heating options you might want to consider. All of these qualify a property owner for the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, provided your property meets the right energy standards.
Solar thermal panels are popular, offering 70% – 90% efficiency. However, these systems are not well-suited to space heating and can only reasonably handle hot water.
Biomass boilers operate at an efficiency of between 89 – 91%, and can provide heating and hot water. This efficiency is comparable to other traditional fossil fuel boilers. However, the efficiency of heat pumps comes out on top every time.
Other non-renewable options are also available, which will not qualify you for any schemes. LPG and oil are historically popular, but this support is dwindling. They are both fuels that are subject to rising prices, just the same as gas and electricity.
Delivery can be a burden, and storage of these fuels requires a lot of space. Storage containers are also expensive to buy or rent. A new condensing oil boiler will have an approximate efficiency of 93%, whereas an LPG system will usually have an efficiency of above 90%.
Summary
When doing barn conversion, you need to take into account the unique needs for your property. Regardless, finding an efficient way to heat your converted barn is of utmost importance.
Contact us for more information about heating your barn conversion.
There might be some challenges to choosing the right heating solution if the property is off-grid. In reality however, it opens up more possibilities for choosing renewable heating options – bringing optimum savings in terms of costs and carbon emissions.