The underfloor heating at Jennifer's renovated artisan cottage means no radiators are required. Pictures: Moya Nolan

When inches are precious, spending them on such frippery as water boilers and gas heaters is deeply undesirable. My contractor, who had the patience of Job, worked wonders with my plumber and architect to somehow squeeze my heating system under the eaves of my dormer extension, thereby saving me as much space as possible. 

Through that process, I learned a lot about what kind of heating and energy systems fit best in small spaces. I’ve also looked into renewable solutions and newsflash, having a small home throws up some constraints in this area too. 

If you’re planning to build or renovate and space is tight, read on to learn from my experience.

Plumbed heating is more expensive to lay upfront as the floor has to come up, but it is cheaper to run in the long term. Electric is a great option for upstairs or if you’re just doing a small renovation — for instance, re-tiling a bathroom floor. 

Underfloor heating works with most flooring types, although be careful with solid wood as the planks can warp. Carpet — especially carpet or underlay with a high tog value — doesn’t conduct heat well and so is not the best choice with underfloor heating.

Next, your heating system itself. The best and smallest available option is the combi-boiler. Combi-boilers heat water directly from the mains, so you won’t need any water storage tanks, and they will provide both your hot water and your central heating. 

A good combi-boiler is also more energy efficient as you only heat the water you need as you need it, rather than heating up an entire water tank. However, if opting for a combi-boiler, first check your mains water pressure — this is where I ran into trouble. 

If your mains water pressure is not high enough, a combi-boiler is not going to cut it — especially if you’re going to be running more than one shower at a time or if you like a bath (I know, not a very environmentally friendly indulgence — I’m not perfect). If the water pressure is too low, you will need a water tank and a pump and this, unfortunately, takes up space. Ideally, like me, you’ll have some attic or under eaves space which can be relinquished for the sake of a decent shower.

I am still on the fence about getting solar panels. Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Panels generate electricity and these work really well in Ireland as they only require daylight, not direct sunlight — so they work even when it’s cloudy. Solar Thermal Collectors are now also available — these directly heat water (but do not provide electricity). I have two key issues with solar panels, the main one being that I can’t fit quite enough on my little roof for it to be really worth it. 

This will vary for every home depending on roof size, orientation, and energy requirements but the key is that more roof  equals more solar panels. You should speak with a solar panel provider to assess how many you would need vs how much you can fit on your roof. 

As with all technology, the size will hopefully continue to decrease and battery efficiency will increase, to the point where it will be worth it for me to bite the bullet. My second issue is that they’re expensive — even with grants it would take well over a decade for me to start seeing savings and it annoys me that the government doesn't provide low- or no-interest loans for solar panels, but that’s a rant for another column.

Air to water heat pumps are popular in Ireland and grants are available. These systems are highly efficient and generate heat even in the depths of cold Irish winters (up to -20C!). They are basically backwards refrigerators — they suck heat from outdoors and efficiently direct it into your home. 

The issue here for the small-home owner is that while they take up no indoor space, there is a bulky unit that must be placed outside. The good news is that the smaller the house, the smaller the unit required (generally), but the smallest is still around the size of a large washing machine. 

This may not sound prohibitive to you, and perhaps you have an outdoor space where this would be unobtrusive, but for me, it was a dealbreaker — it would have dominated my tiny garden. However, if you have the space I say go for it.

A final note on water tanks — rainwater collection tanks are available and can be installed underground level in your garden, thereby taking up no space. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an option for me as I have a sump pump under my garden, but it’s worth looking into if you’re struggling with where to fit a water tank. They are environmentally friendly, and needless to say no rainwater tank will ever run empty in Ireland!

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