Heating systems & Heat sources - choose the right one for your property

Posted on: 02/28/2022
 

Choosing a heating system for your home is an important decision that requires great consideration. Today there are many different heat sources to choose from. Which heating system is best for you depends on your house, plot and where in the country you live. Something that is also important to keep in mind is price, efficiency, and environmental impact. Install a heating system for your villa that is fast and flexible and that contributes to as little damage to the environment as possible.

We at Ulma think it is important that you choose sustainable biofuels to heat your house. Therefore, below we will go through alternatives for heating with biofuel, but also heat sources where fuels that are harmful to the environment are used.

We hope that through this list of different heating systems you will be able to find one that suits you and your home.

Oil boiler - an ancient heating system

An oil boiler consists of an oil plant that includes everything from a storage tank to a smaller day tank, a burner, and a water heater. Using an oil boiler as a heating system and oil as a fuel has today become an increasingly rare way of heating your house.

One reason for this is that the environmental risks of burning oil have received a great deal of attention, due to the large amount of carbon dioxide emitted during combustion. According to Svenska Petroleum & Biomedel Institutet (SPBi), 941,246 m3 of heating oil was delivered to the Swedish heating market in 2016. According to Naturvårdsverkets climate calculation, the climate impact of this oil corresponds to almost 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Which in turn corresponds to just over 5% of the country's total emissions.

The price of an oil boiler as a heat source has also increased significantly in recent years. The installation cost today is around SEK 40,000. Then there are also costs for any waterborne heating system. Purchasing oil has also become much more expensive. An annual consumption costs at least SEK 30,000. However, the price can vary.

Advantages of oil boiler

  • Seen as an easy-care heating system for villas because it does not require much maintenance or daily supervision.

Disadvantages of oil boiler

  • The combustion of oil emits a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Something that is a contributing factor to today's major climate problem. If we were to replace all types of combustion with biofuels like pellets, this would have meant major environmental improvements
  • The oil boiler tank is in need of large space as well as a water-borne radiator system and a chimney for flue gases.
  • The price for installation and purchase of oil is high. The total costs will therefore be large.

Direct-acting electricity as a heating system

You can heat your house through a water-borne heating system or, in this case, direct-acting electric heating. This is the electricity you get directly to the house via the electricity grid. Elements are used here as a heat source or in some cases electrical coils in floors and ceilings that convert electricity into heat.

Direct-acting electricity is not seen today as a functioning system for heating houses. This is due to today's high electricity prices and the fact that the system makes it difficult to change heating systems.

In relation to other types of heating, direct is the most expensive form of heating. However, installation is relatively inexpensive.

How much you need to pay in electricity bills each month is difficult to predict as there are several factors at play. It partly depends on what the electricity price is that month, but also on how much electricity you consume. Normally, electricity consumption for an electrically heated villa is around 25,000 kWh per year. Here, heating and hot water consume the most energy, about 80 percent of the total electricity consumption. The rest is household electricity.

In relation to other types of heating, such as pellets, direct is the most expensive form of heating. However, installation is relatively inexpensive.

If you are interested in finding out how the rising electricity prices affect the price of heating for different heating systems, you should check out Ulma's price calculator. Here you fill in your electricity price, your heating needs, and outdoor temperature.

Advantages of direct-acting electricity:

  • Cheap to install
  • The elements require almost no care at all
  • It is easy to control the heat in your home because the electric heating comes immediately when needed and can be easily switched off
  • You do not need a wood or oil boiler and a pipe system to keep track of
  • No procurement of raw materials is needed, such as firewood or oil

Disadvantages of direct-acting electricity:

  • Electricity prices are very high today and we do not know what price electricity will have in the future
  • Electricity comes in some cases from coal, oil, and gas which are non-renewable fuels
  • If you have an old thermostat, this can give uneven heat to the house
  • Some types of electricity production are bad for the environment
  • If there is a power outage, all heat supply to your home disappears

Pellets - a heat source from bioenergy

Pellet heating is the heating system we at Ulma specialize in. Firing with pellets as fuel is popular with property owners such as houses, industrial properties, and farms. Heat pellets are made from sawdust and cutter chips, which are by-products. Therefore, pellets are also counted as a biofuel. A major advantage of pellets as a heat source is their minimal environmental impact. Pellets are also easy to store and fire in a pellet boiler with a pellet burner or pellet stove.

If you are wondering which heating system is the cheapest, we want to strike a blow for pellet firing. Pellets have a high calorific value of 5.2 kWh / kg with a low ash content, which leads to an even temperature in your property. Buying pellets is also very cheap compared to, for example, heating oil or electric heating.

Advantages of pellets:

  • In many cases, the lowest operating cost compared to other systems
  • Often pays for itself already after 3-5 winters, provided the current price of electricity and oil
  • Renewable fuel and environmentally friendly
  • A new pellet boiler requires very little maintenance

Disadvantages of pellets:

  • Requires storage space
  • Requires some supervision a few times a year

Ulma offers a qualitative range of heating systems for pellet firing. With us, you will find market-leading pellet boilers, pellet burners, and pellet stoves.