Experience of a wood burning stove and solar panels

THERE is a very interesting, and in-depth, piece by Jon Doust on his blog about installing a Godin stove and solar water heating in his home in the Vendée.

The opportunity to make these change to your home is sure to appeal to many, especially as the price of oil and gas may rise in the near future and people have an increased awareness of their carbon footprint.

Having followed Jon's blog for some time I know it wasn't a job that took just a couple of days, but he highlights the equipment he's bought and the benefits now it is installed, he writes:

At the moment we are running eight radiators off the stove with no problem at all. We are in the process of adding another bedroom and a second bathroom, and this will take the radiators up to ten. In other words, this stove kicks out enough heat to provide for a five bedroom, two bathroom house. Which isn’t bad.

There have been a couple of teething problems, the back boiler is that good it draws quite a bit of the heat away from the Godin stove's cooking area, and Jon is keen to improve the internal insulation of his home as well.

But he is very happy with the work and has even outlined the costs involved, which whilst not cheap, it is clear this is a long term investment that will reduce his bills and importantly to him produce environmental benefits.

Comments

[Chris Comley]

Back boilers *do* leech a lot of the heat the stove would otherwise output elsewhere. Well they kind of have to but this is not the first I've seen to find it to be a more pronounced effect than anticipated. :-)

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Chris, it does seem to be something that Jon is beginning to work with and I suppose others should be aware.
Many thanks for the comment.
Craig