on heating systems...
The vast majority of Irish homes are heated by hydronic i.e. water-filled radiators. Water is pumped through circuits driven by a circulation pump and the systems are usually divided into zones controlled by thermostats. When the set-point is reached an electric valve closes the circuit and/or the pump stops and the radiators cool.
The most common heat sources are:
1) natural gas (vast majority of systems, particularly in urban areas)
2) gas oil (kerosine) via a pressure jet burner (quite common in rural areas and in many older suburban areas which were not connected to natural gas until the 1970s / 1980s)
3) LPG filled into a bulk storage tank - (common in rural areas where mains natural gas is unavailable)
People also supplement such systems with traditional sources like solid-fuel fired ranges which may provide heat to the hydronic system. These are typically found in rural areas and may burn peat (turf) or wood (less common).
Note: coal burning became rare in Ireland after the 1970s/80s due to air quality issues. It's illegal in most built-up areas (even quite small built up areas). Open fires and burners have to use smokeless fuels.
Finally, in more recent years people are adding environmentally friendly alternatives to their heating systems. These also typically work together with a more conventional heat source such as a gas boiler.
Solar is increasingly common for hot-water. Heat pumps sourcing their heat from ground or air are also increasingly common.
Wood-pellet burners using biomass are becoming popular too, although they're often a little more suited to large outer suburban and rural dwellings due to the need for bunkers for fuel storage etc.
Electric heating's not very common as it's very expensive to run relative to other fuels. However, we do have quite a lot of storage heaters these use night-rate electricity to heat bricks in radiators which is gradually released throughout the day. These systems can be very difficult to control. You set an input level which controls how much energy the heaters will store in the bricks. Then an output level which controls dampers or fans which release the heat through the day.
The more modern systems use a complicated control system which measures the outdoor temperature, then decides how much heat to store overnight to achieve a comfortable temperature during the day.
They often also have day-rate boost heaters built into the same units which use full-price electricity to provide an extra boost where necessary.
Portable plug-in heaters are also widely available in various formats i.e. convectors, fan heaters and oil-filled radiators these are rated up to 3000W and can be used to very quickly heat a room to a comfortable temp.
Open fires remain quite popular too, increasingly just for decorative and psychological value though. These either burn turf (often compressed into briquettes), wood, biomass briquettes or low-smoke coals. Or, more commonly still, they use gas to create the effect of a 'real fire'. These gas fires look totally realistic, enough to completely fool tourists and locals in pubs who occasionally try to stoke them!!
Stoves, ranges and various enclosed burners are found in rural areas in some houses and go in and out of fashion in 'yuppie' kitchens and living rooms.
