Hi All,

as winter is coming in rapidly and we are beginning to freeze at a cold house with no heating, final decision needs to be made asap - which system to go for.

Our house is approx. 200sqm and is getting insulated as much as possible but will never be airtight.

We have 2 options:

1. x2 Air to air heat pumps with ducted system - for ground floor and 1st floor.
Looks good and cheap to run but concerns are over noise level, disruptive installation of the ducts, maintenance of ducts and filters, low performance at low temperatures, dry air.

2. Infrared panels.

Also look good and no maintenance and easy to install but main concerns are running costs - currently calculated to be just over £1K for 6 winter months if operating 5h per day, at highest rate of 15p/klw. However, because of the way they work, company selling them says we would actually pay 40% less. I don't count that and only consider worst case scenario because I want warmth in the house 24/7 year round, not only when I am in particular room. I believe it's better for the building also.

Really confused as to which one to go for. Because I haven't yet worked out how much running costs for heat pump would be. But overall, we don't mind paying a bit more for less hassle and overall comfort system. We are waiting for one quote and calculations by a guy who installs ducted systems commercially, but would also like others view on that.

Could anyone advice what running costs for heat pump would be and advice on concerns we have? We had an estimate of 25klw boiler if we went for biomass.

Many thanks!