# Heating syystems



## Scouse bird (Feb 7, 2015)

Hi all
We have recently purchased a house near the river Mosel....not in a flood plane though!
The house has night storage heaters . We dont plan to live there full time but it was cold in the house in December plus it takes overnight to yeat the place initially.
Can anyone advise me on the cost of installing oil central heating or would we be best with wood burning stoves to augment the existing heating. 
The house is 400 years old in good condition but is mainly of wood construction.
Also how expensive are storage heaters to run? 
We expect to be there ten weeks per year. 
Many thanks in advance. 
Great to have this forum.


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

Night storage heaters are outdated (some contain dangerous materials like Asbestos!) and, like any electric system, very expensive to run (the price differential of night and day power has evaporated in most areas). Oil and Gas central heating systems are more comfortable and cost less than a third for the fuel, but more for installation - depending on the size of the house it can be a EUR10-30k investment. Contact a local expert (Heizungsinstallateur) for details and a quote.


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

Also, for wooden (or half-timbered) houses, any heating and heat insulation system must be very well planned and executed to avoid condensation and rot within the walls. Just the normal "off-the-shelf" systems do more harm than good!
(I have renovated several half-timbered houses to modern standards, so I know.)


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## Ben-HH (Jan 8, 2015)

Scouse bird said:


> Hi all
> We have recently purchased a house near the river Mosel....not in a flood plane though!
> The house has night storage heaters . We dont plan to live there full time but it was cold in the house in December plus it takes overnight to yeat the place initially.
> Can anyone advise me on the cost of installing oil central heating or would we be best with wood burning stoves to augment the existing heating.
> ...


Stick to the night storage heaters if you only stay there for a few weeks per year. Once you get used to the heaters it actually works. I used to have them and at the end they "we got along quite well" 
Yes, running costs for these heaters are higher than oil or gas but if you take into account initial investment for a new system you can high likely keep the current heaters running for many, many years...

Cheers


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