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My studio is a bit chilly at the moment and was after ideas for some sort of heating.
The studio is 30'x10' with the ceiling open to the height of the pitch roof. It's of modern construction and has plenty of insulation and is in the middle of a run of units so only has two external walls of 10' each.
I use a gas space heater to ramp up the temperature before shoots and viewings but it's a bit of a faff to clear the thing away during a shoot.
There's only electric and it has to be safe from little hands when kids are running about on a shoot. Any suggestions anyone?
Tony
Thats the heatpump cycle for you. I'm not into the thermo dynamics and the refrigerant cycle, but it's provable.
Concider that the Government runs a programme called ECA(enhanced capital allowance) which requires air conditioning to excede the 3.5 requirement in heating to be suitable.
The fact is that people view air conditioning as a waste of energy, and when cooling a space you may agree with this, but for heating it's just brilliant. That is why we are seeing heat-pump boilers coming into the commercial market place.
If you've got a couple of acres of spare land, you could consider a ground source heatpump. Complete waste of capital, but very efficient.
So, an efficient means of heating a space with only electricity, then heat pump (air conditioning) is the way to go.
But a heat pump is a major capital expenditure. With 2kW electric heaters or fan heater available for around £15 it would be interesting to hear after what period heat pumps become cheaper overall.
The temperature in my studio was -4C most of last week -I have an interest
My leccy bill usually trebles over the winter months compared to the summer when I have no heating so it could be a wortwhile investment.
That is one issue with heatpumps, capital expenditure. Efficiency is high, best of the bunch.
Running costs are low, but for say a run of the mill 5kw, you'll be looking towards £2k/£2.5k to install. Payback is long, but life span can exceed 12 years if looked after.
So, lets do the maths for an electric heater compared to a AC unit.
Electric 5Kw @10p/KwHr, 10Hr/day, 60% usage, 120days a year equate to £360 per year - I've assumed 100% efficient, which they aren't.
AC 5Kw @10p/KwHr, 10Hr/day, 60% usage, 120days a year equate to £120 per year @ 350% efficient
So you're £240 in pocket each year, payback is going to be 10 years, if fuel prices stay the same.
Plenty of hot air coming from my landlord!
I've seen units for few hundred quid which are A rated and give out 15000 btu of heat which should be enough for the space and would mean it would pay for itself in a couple of years. (But I'm still open to other offers)
So 15000btu eq approx 4.3kw.
I pressume you're talking the B&Q special or even one that vents out to atmosphere. Sure, they're going to be better than direct electric heating, but open windows and doors add to the load, unless you put a hole through the wall at just the right size.
I've done that for a couple of clients for somewhat less than £2.5k originally stated. If you're willing to install yourself, then the capital cost will be even lower.
I'd like to see the spec grade 'A' for under £200 as there are some 'cheap' Chinese kit on the market. That said, they may suit your application down to the ground. What you need to find out is it's EER & COP. Should be clearly stated, as there used for 'grading'.
Hadn't even thought of looking at high street retailers. This is one of the units I've seen - but more research will be needed.
Cheers for your help so far.
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