Loire Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Hi allAm considering having a pompe a challeur installed. I've found excellent information on here and thank you very much for that. Old house, around 170 sq meters, plus lots of basements and attics, virtually no insulation but will get some asap, but need to keep warm now.I have two questions:How loud is the noise from the external unit?The only place it could be installed is about three meters from my neighbour's house and if she could hear even a whisper of a noise she would complaint, which I would rather avoid. I appreciate that it's difficult to describe noise in a forum but any info gratefully received. The potential installer has told me that the unit in the room blows hot air into the room and you can feel a sort of draft. Without sounding too precious I hope, I detest drafts, and my tolerance level is very low due to a (physical) illness. Can anyone who has one give me an idea of whether the "draft" is very noticeable?If I don't go with a pompe, considering having radiateurs a inertie. Anyone any comments on those? Sadly I can't have wood burner, pellets incl, heating as my house is attached to a listed church, and it's impossible to have one installed per the norms with the Architects des Batiments de France constraints. Kind regardsLoire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 If her house is a old stone house she probably won't hear it unless she has a window opposite. Even then if it is double glazed she will probably only hear it when the window is open. Considering you are only interested in heat in the winter and not cooling in the summer it should not be a problem as that is the time when she is most likely to open the window and unit won't be on. If you by an 'inverter' type it will start at full speed then reduce speed as the room gets to temperature and there will be less noise.The unit in the room produces what can be best described as a gentle breeze, sort of like an electric fan heater on the lowest speed. However the hot air is not like a fan heater, it will be between 25 and 35 deg depending on outside temperature. I find it quite pleasant but thats me. It also oscillates i.e. goes up and down but you can tell it not to. Just wait till it is at the top then turn the oscillation off which should stop the air from going over you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 The fan noise will vary on the size of the unit and manufacturer but around 45db at a couple of meters so noticable but maybe you could baffle it some more.The draft is warm air so not so annoying as cold.How about infra red panel heaters, new technology that heats the person and objects rather than the air so more comfortably feeling like the feeling of being in a room with double glazing, you can get quite warm but the air temp stays much the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loire Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Thank you Quillan and Theiere so much for those most helpful replies which tell me exactly what I need to know.Theiere, excellent suggestion about the infrared panel heaters. Seems like they might be just the job, not least as they are good for musculo-skeletal illnesses. The possible affects on metabolism are very enticing!Shall try now to find some French websites and suppliers. Could well be the way forward, leaving me more than anticipated for insulation. Kind regardsLoire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 If you want some of those infrared panels we have four down in the garage in their original boxes. Biggest waste of money I ever had.If you want instant heat to supplement any form of heating I cannot speak highly enough of these electronic paraffin heaters. I know many other forum members have the same and they are excellent. Much better than the 'gas bottle in a box' heaters as they leave little or no condensation.http://www.leroymerlin.fr/v3/p/produits/poele-a-petrole-a-injection-electronique-qlima-sre3330c-3-kw-e1400621676They are all basically the same and I have seen them cheaper when out and about. There is only a slight odor when they start and when you turn them off. They are very economical, you can put them on a timer so its nice a cozy when you get up. You can also set the temperature. Very safe, if you tap them with your foot (gently) as you pass they turn off. I swear by the things as does many others. Buy the cheapest fuel by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 [quote user="Quillan"]If you want some of those infrared panels we have four down in the garage in their original boxes. Biggest waste of money I ever had.[/quote]More information please Q, are they the FAR infrared type? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 To be honest I don't have a clue. We bought them from Darty two years ago (2012). We wanted them for the office because they 'heat people' like you said but everyone said they felt cold so we put a normal fan heater in there instead. They were not cheap either although I forget the price now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Someone up near Chancer has bought 6 and I am hoping to go there with my thermal imaging camera to check it all out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Update to the paraffin heaters. Browsing through the postal junk mail today I see Leclerc are selling the same unit for 174 Euros, thats a good buy if you're interested. They are also selling the 'petrole' (paraffin) for 20.50 so I will be off to buy some at the weekend as thats a good deal as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lehaut Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Burning one litre of paraffin produces one litre of water, so there must be some condensation. The effects can be limited by extracting the air from the room ie good ventilation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 [quote user="Lehaut"]Burning one litre of paraffin produces one litre of water, so there must be some condensation. The effects can be limited by extracting the air from the room ie good ventilation.[/quote]I don't know anything about that but what I do know is we had a gas bottle heater and the water ran down the windows but with the paraffin heater we get nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loire Posted November 15, 2014 Author Share Posted November 15, 2014 Thank you all for the very helpful information. Lots for me to think about. The electronic paraffin heaters sound interesting, and would be a useful back-up if electricity cuts, though could consider using them at other times too.Kind regardsLoire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 [quote user="Loire"]Thank you all for the very helpful information. Lots for me to think about. The electronic paraffin heaters sound interesting, and would be a useful back-up if electricity cuts, though could consider using them at other times too. Kind regards Loire[/quote]The type I gave a link to requires electricity for the timer and fan. You can buy the 'stand alone' version for around 60 to 80 Euros and they do not require electricity. We have one of these but hardly use it as we seldom get power cuts here (about one every four years or so). The differene between the two is that the cheaper one, although has a very small adjustment, is basically on or off and uses a load of paraffin. The electric one varies the heat output when it gets the room to the desired tempreture then 'idles' thus it is very cheap to run (about 5 ltrs per week which is about 4 Euros worth of fuel). Actually having just worked it out and thinking of the price of wood here for our fire it is actually cheaper to run. The other thing is that it is pretty much instant heat as it only takes about two minutes before you recieve the hot air. Trust me and buy one, you won't be disapointed. The timing function is actually quite useful and we use that to start it in the morning before we go downstairs to a nice warm room. During the day we set the temp to 18 deg which ticks over quite nicely and keeps the room at around 20 to 21 deg. They are I should point out a supliment to your existing system.PS Most of the supermarkets sell paraffin in store this time of year and the bigger ones (LeClerc for example) allow you to refill your containers at the petrol station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG MAC Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Quillan,Does your heater have a condensate tray by any chance? ie. are you not getting condensation in the air as its gathered in the flue? If there is such a beast..I want one :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 [quote user="BIG MAC"]Quillan, Does your heater have a condensate tray by any chance? ie. are you not getting condensation in the air as its gathered in the flue? If there is such a beast..I want one :-)[/quote]If your talkin about the paraffin one then no and there is no water.If your talking about the inverter a/c unit then it does not remove humidity on heat, ony when cooling in which case there is a built in tray with a pipe that goes to the outside. You can extend the pipe as long as you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG MAC Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 I was on about the paraffin one and as another respondent said the principle is pretty much a one for one in water production so I am intrigued how that works out...one day someone will figure out how to burn water I mean it's hydrogen and oxygen after all. On the AC you will be limited by the condensate pump's ability to pump a given distance but if able to set up to a fall then gravity should take care of it. Just for info - we have a guy going over to survey the well and other than the concrete biscuit in place already there's little advantage to putting anything in the well shaft other than the pipework. We do need to get clearance from the Maire though as they may insist that even although it's closed loop that the loop is raw water (I would prefer treated to protect the equipment but can understand the sensitivity around potential pollution of the water table) I guess that means good pipe insulation and trace heating. If we go down this route we will be sure to share with the class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Well all I can say is from direct personal experience that there seems to be no water. Likewise we notice no condensation on the windows etc. I do have a weather station in the lounge which gives me temperature and humidity inside and out. I notice that the humidity in the lounge is 60% at 21 deg and the outside is 84% at 9 deg. We have had the paraffin heater on in the lounge all day (edit - because I forgot to turn it off). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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