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In 2024 & 2025 I am installing a retrofit central heating R&D system in my own home which will use off peak surplus renewable energy between 11.30pm and 05.30am to replace a gas boiler. This hybrid gas/off peak electricity solution will use immersion heaters to pre-heat the return water supplied to a gas boiler. The gas boiler will stay in place as a ‘back up’ and take over if and when there are problems with the national grid power supply.
There may sufficient surplus wind energy to run the central heating at times when the temperatures are not extreme (eg when temperatures are only 0 Deg C). At such times 100% of the power could be through surplus wind power from the grid at off peak times and stored in heat stores. At times when temperatures are as low as -10 Deg C a gas boiler can provide all of the central heating but any pre-heating of the water will reduce the volume of gas needed. As a global solution it is possible for homes with hybrid systems, to switch back to 100% gas heating when there is no surplus renewable energy.
This R&D project will be used to validate a hybrid heat pump with energy storage solution:-
2024
In my own home 100% of domestic hot water is already supplied through either solar thermal or with an immersion heater using off peak electricity at 7p a KW. Fitting of a stand alone gas boiler to supply central heating only throughout the house is in the first phase. It is thought that to maximise the heat dispersal into the home that both wall hung radiators and skirting board heating may be required.
In my home 100% of my domestic hot water can be supplied with my wood boiler which I now wish to contribute to the central heating in my home (see lounge plans)
2025
4 number 1,000 litre heat stores with my patented WrightChoice heat store devices will be installed on the west side of my house (in buried tanks). They will be close to the kitchen and the gas boiler and buried so as to be unobtrusive. Water from the 4,000 litre heat stores (buffer tanks) will be used to pre heat water on the boiler return. I already have a domestic hot water 500 litre heat store with pre-set outlet temperature control in place so temperature control is known by me to be easy to achieve but it does require validation. I will be looking for a University or Technical Institution to help validate the R&D.
The drawings detail the works for phase one.
