Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Apr 09, 2011 1:39 am We are about to embark on an extension of a house in the inner west of melbourne. As a pair of massive sooks in winter we have settled on hydronic heating throughout. Mostly because we ARE sooks but also motivated by the fact that the house has no adequate clearance underneath for ducted heating. Also the new parts of the house will be on a slab. So we have been getting quotes for a part panel part slab heated setup. The quotes have varied by as much as 8k for essentially the same job. Unfortunately the only recomended installers quote we have recieved is the highest so far. I'd like people thoughts, especially if you have this set up at home. I am happy to field a few more quotes as well if someone has any recomended installers. Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 2Apr 11, 2011 8:38 am I got my one installed by Supreme Heating in Thomastown. (http://www.supremeheating.com.au/) Very happy with the intall and price. I shopped around from a number of installers too and found that the price did vary by HEAPS! but just make sure that quality european components are used. Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 3Apr 21, 2011 2:32 am Yes i did get a quote from them, they were the most expensive of the lot. Seems by all the replies no one is mad enough to spend 15k on heating in melbourne? ok I know I'm nuts but we grew up in queensland and are not copeing with southern winters lol Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 4Apr 21, 2011 8:30 am I AM! I spent about $15k for my hydronics for 13 panels, 2 controllers and theromastic heads for each of the bedrooms. Other quotes that I got was almost $30k, so $15k seemed quite reasonable to me. I guess people aren't willing to spend that much on heating when the alternatives (e.g. ducted heating) can be had for around $3k. Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 5Apr 21, 2011 9:08 am Yes 15 Is about what I would have expected except we are going with slab heating to nearly half the house, it actually works out a little cheaper for our house. We have a lot of glass in the open plan (double glazed) so there wasnt anywhere to put the panels. My quotes have ranged from 12 to 20k, still havnt settled on on yet but we shall see how we go. Oh have you gone through a winter with your heating? how were the running costs? Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 6Apr 21, 2011 9:57 am I'm building a home at the moment in Goulburn. Apart from designing the house solar passive, I have installed pipe in the slab for hydronics. So far for pipe in the slab (110m2) and manifolds have spent $1,500. I had quotes that were ridiculous. I expect to spend about $5k all up all, heating with solar and cost next to nothing to run. I have been told it will not work with only solar except by one person, will add gas booster if needed. Anyway if you can do anything yourself you will save plenty, even getting labourers in to do it. http://www.proheat.com.au his is name Russell Probably already have a quote, it looks as though he has changed his business model. He was selling products direct to public and was more than willing to give much advice. Very knowledgeable, I did get a few things through him. Also http://www.solarsatisfaction.com.au his name Frank in Canberra. An extremely interesting bloke and well informed on the subject matter. If you purchased stuff through him you could have your own plumber install, he would help with expertise. Hydronic heating needs to be customized and tweaked to each situation, as you really do not know how the house will feel until you live in it. Good Luck Pulpo Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 7Apr 21, 2011 11:30 am In terms or running costs. I would say they were reasonable. I originally had it set at 20 degrees running 7 hours a day (2 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening) and monthly usage was about $150. Then dropped it down to 19 degrees and bill was around $100 per month. Haven't had the need to turn it back on again yet this year, but the price of gas has been going up and up. It does take a good 15 mins for the panels to heat up and I would imagine even longer still with in slab. Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 8Apr 21, 2011 11:35 am Oh, I should also add that the reason why my one was $15k was because I also added a flat cover over the top to cover the unsightly ripples of the panels at an additional cost of $100 per panel. http://rlay1.blogspot.com/2010/05/hydronic-heating.html Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 9Apr 21, 2011 8:20 pm rlay1 In terms or running costs. I would say they were reasonable. I originally had it set at 20 degrees running 7 hours a day (2 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening) and monthly usage was about $150. Then dropped it down to 19 degrees and bill was around $100 per month. Haven't had the need to turn it back on again yet this year, but the price of gas has been going up and up. It does take a good 15 mins for the panels to heat up and I would imagine even longer still with in slab. Just curious how insulated is your home? Are your walls insulated, floor, and do you have double glazing and any passive solar? I am banking on a low gas bill as i am installing all these things in the extension/renno. Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 10Apr 22, 2011 9:45 pm My house exceeds 6 stars. ICF construction, full insulation with R3.5 batts on the roof and double glazing all round. But it is a fairly large house and I have also noticed that the cost of gas has been increasing. Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 11Apr 23, 2011 9:46 am Im looking around now to see if there are any condenser type boilers on the market. I have just bought a Rinnai enviro model hot water heater heater that claims a very low gas usage, seems logical for a boiler to be the same. Re: Hydronic heating melbourne 12May 06, 2011 10:01 pm sceen7 Im looking around now to see if there are any condenser type boilers on the market. I have just bought a Rinnai enviro model hot water heater heater that claims a very low gas usage, seems logical for a boiler to be the same. Quoteing myself...how sad. But i must tell how i went. A condensing boiler is available...in fact if you live in the UK thats all you are allowed to install. Problem is... its 3K more expensive!!!! This world is a strange place, if car makers were not forced to cut emissions a car with a catalytic converter would be optional...and cost a bajillion. But because we all have one in our cars they cost 20 bucks...sort of. So as i posted earlier i bought a condensing hws... ok i got a bargain but it was more expensive than a standard unit. My long winded point is that if all we could buy was an energy efficient appliance...they would be much cheaper and we would save the world...cue music Does anyone have a suggestion for a good hydronic in slab heating speacialist who may be able to help me with an existing system and wether or not it may need a seperator… 0 4889 Currently renovating, and our main lounge is 5m x 10m, with a cathedral roof peaking at 6.5m high. Currently have tiles on concrete slab. Room is very hard to heat. I am… 0 4822 I do enjoy the drama:-D In his latest two videos he has started bringing security guards to site, I am waiting for the punch on to begin lol 6 45567 |