Home energy efficiency

[Pow-Lo]

I was going down the solid wall insulation route as I have done a fair bit, not a clue about the cost though as I was just the monkey drilling a million holes, its very effective though

At 9 years old I would hope they are A rated windows unless the PO was a real cheapskate but its worth checking that they are properly sealed both to the brick and in regards to the rubbers in the opening parts

Spray insulation to the underside of the roof tiles/slates is effective, quick and cheap but extra insulation up there in whatever form will help

The house isn’t draughty so I assume the windows are ok. What we do have is one of those motorised ventilation systems and that blows air from the loft space down onto the upstairs landing, which makes it bloody freezing in the winter.

I’m wondering if we can have some form of solid wall insulation. It’ll be eye-watering expensive though because of the size of the house and the exposed walls.

 

[slim63]

The house isn’t draughty so I assume the windows are ok. What we do have is one of those motorised ventilation systems and that blows air from the loft space down onto the upstairs landing, which makes it bloody freezing in the winter.

I’m wondering if we can have some form of solid wall insulation. It’ll be eye-watering expensive though because of the size of the house and the exposed walls.

Solid wall insulation is designed for houses just like yours mate, it is preformed 50mm polystyrene boards that lock together and are fixed with a stainless peg in a specific pattern, once that is done it is covered with a stainless mesh that is secured into the pegs and is then rendered, I don't have a clue on current prices

we used to do it on solid wall and preformed concrete houses as contractors to councils across the country ....... its noisy (drilling) a little messy (poly from cutting the boards) and disruptive (scaffolding) but it is supposed to be effective
Whether it would provide energy savings above the cost of installation in a reasonable time period I really don't know so that is something you would have to weigh up yourself

 

[derek kelly]

How about solar pv panels and a battery? Economy 7 meter if you use electric off-peak or if you want to charge a car at night.

Had economy 7 in Chelmsford, absolutely shite.

 

[andyBeaker]

The house isn’t draughty so I assume the windows are ok. What we do have is one of those motorised ventilation systems and that blows air from the loft space down onto the upstairs landing, which makes it bloody freezing in the winter.

what on earth is that….can you elaborate?

 

[Pow-Lo]

what on earth is that….can you elaborate?

Badly worded by me but one of these things:

Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) Units and Systems

Positive input ventilation is a simple solution to cleaner air. Explore our range of cost-effective and energy-efficient positive input ventilation units. Shop now!

www.nuaire.co.uk

I'm not convinced but Mrs P reckons it's essential in a house as old as this. I want to disconnect the f'ing thing but I'm just a dumb sailor and she's the brains in this house.

 

[Pow-Lo]

Solid wall insulation is designed for houses just like yours mate, it is preformed 50mm polystyrene boards that lock together and are fixed with a stainless peg in a specific pattern, once that is done it is covered with a stainless mesh that is secured into the pegs and is then rendered, I don't have a clue on current prices

we used to do it on solid wall and preformed concrete houses as contractors to councils across the country ....... its noisy (drilling) a little messy (poly from cutting the boards) and disruptive (scaffolding) but it is supposed to be effective
Whether it would provide energy savings above the cost of installation in a reasonable time period I really don't know so that is something you would have to weigh up yourself

It would certainly make a difference but I very much doubt the savings would offset the cost. Mrs P reckons the cost of re-rendering the house alone would be well over £20k. Factor in the cost of the insulation and we're talking serious money.

If the insulation saved us £100/month on our heating bills, which is very optimistic on my part, it would take almost 17 years to recover the cost of just re-rendering the house. With the cost of the insulation on top, I doubt we'd recover the total cost in my lifetime. That said, I'm going to look into it and maybe get a quote. Never know, we might be eligible for a grant; the Soviet Republic of Wales is committed to reducing carbo emissions in a very unrealistic timeframe so there might be some incentive to get us peasants to comply.

 

[andyBeaker]

Badly worded by me but one of these things:

Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) Units and Systems

Positive input ventilation is a simple solution to cleaner air. Explore our range of cost-effective and energy-efficient positive input ventilation units. Shop now!

www.nuaire.co.uk

I'm not convinced but Mrs P reckons it's essential in a house as old as this. I want to disconnect the f'ing thing but I'm just a dumb sailor and she's the brains in this house.

That isn’t going to help! Pulling in cold air from the attic at this time of year BRRRRrR…..

Can only imagine it was installed to help with a damp problem at some point. I am absolutely not an expert but I’m not sure it will be doing much good at this time of year pulling colder air in? Opening a few windows and getting a good draughtbthrough the house when the weather allows would probably be just as effective.

if damp/mould is an issue it might be fairly simple to install a full recirculating system to cover the first floor assuming there is a decent attic space.…..it will pull warm air out of the house via an electric fan, send it through a heat exchanger (no moving parts) and use the heat to heat up fresh air from outside that is pumped back to the house. Really simple system that is used in most passive house builds and one I will be definitely be using if I ever get to build my own place. Which would be a lot easier if I hadn’t sold the plot we found

 

[Centaur]

Never mind all this crap. I can see her! Hoooooooorrrrraaaayyyyy.

 

[andyBeaker]

Pow-Lo Maybe the best solution is to move to a townhouse in Maidstone?

 

[andyBeaker]

haven’t seen these before….Single,room heat recovery jobs available here https://www.blauberg.co.uk/en/blaub...MIopiGh8-a9QIV82DmCh1rNgV6EAAYAiAAEgLepPD_BwE



This is what a full,system looks,like…..essentially just a series of inlet/outlet vents in the ceilings (draws stale warm air from one source and returns fresh air to different locations via ducting with minimal heat lossand a heat pump/exchanger unit in the attic

Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery Systems | Greenwood Airvac

Heat Recovery Ventilation explained. Select your Heat recovery unit based on floor area, number of bedrooms and occupants. Click here to learn more.

www.greenwood.co.uk

schematic removed as it was the wrong type that uses a ground heat pump!

 

[andyBeaker]

Badly worded by me but one of these things:

Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) Units and Systems

Positive input ventilation is a simple solution to cleaner air. Explore our range of cost-effective and energy-efficient positive input ventilation units. Shop now!

www.nuaire.co.uk

I'm not convinced but Mrs P reckons it's essential in a house as old as this. I want to disconnect the f'ing thing but I'm just a dumb sailor and she's the brains in this house.

Looking at the manufacturers video they do a version of that with a built in 400w heater….assuming yours doesn’t have a heater that would seem to be a very good upgrade…you will still get the benefit of fresh filtered air coming in but it will be heated on the way through.

Obviously I haven’t looked at the cost….

 

[Pow-Lo]

Pow-Lo Maybe the best solution is to move to a townhouse in Maidstone?

Not with a 400 mile daily commute.

That said, it was way more energy efficient than this place but I would not willingly give up this house. For all it's faults, of which there are very few, I love it. More importantly, Mrs P absolutely adores it.

 

[Pow-Lo]

Looking at the manufacturers video they do a version of that with a built in 400w heater….assuming yours doesn’t have a heater that would seem to be a very good upgrade…you will still get the benefit of fresh filtered air coming in but it will be heated on the way through.

Obviously I haven’t looked at the cost….

I might have a look at that.

Going back to your previous post, damp and/or condensation here isn't an issue but I suspect it might have been in the past.

 

[Squag1]

if damp/mould is an issue it might be fairly simple to install a full recirculating system to cover the first floor assuming there is a decent attic space.…..it will pull warm air out of the house via an electric fan, send it through a heat exchanger (no moving parts) and use the heat to heat up fresh air from outside that is pumped back to the house. Really simple system that is used in most passive house builds and one I will be definitely be using if I ever get to build my own place. Which would be a lot easier if I hadn’t sold the plot we found

I know someone who installed this along with oil fired boiler in new house. He claimed it was very economical and it gave a pleasant atmosphere in the house. I've been in it several times but not in winter. It was pleasant.

 

[andyBeaker]

I know someone who installed this along with oil fired boiler in new house. He claimed it was very economical and it gave a pleasant atmosphere in the house. I've been in it several times but not in winter. It was pleasant.

Yup they are standard on any new decent quality housing - have to be really as new homes are so well insulated now the good old traditional,drafts aren’t there to keep the mould and condensation away!

 

[andyBeaker]

I might have a look at that.

Going back to your previous post, damp and/or condensation here isn't an issue but I suspect it might have been in the past.

It could be that the fan thing is preventing damp….only way to find out is to switch it off. Mrs P must be on a long haul soon….

 

[Pow-Lo]

It could be that the fan thing is preventing damp….only way to find out is to switch it off. Mrs P must be on a long haul soon….

We've tried, there's no way to turn it off. I pulled the fuses for upstairs and the bastard thing kept running so I can only assume it's on the same circuit as the sockets, which I couldn't turn off because my computer is running.

I think the cheapest option is to have an electrician put a switch in so that we can turn it off, try that for a few weeks and see what happens.

 

[andyBeaker]

We've tried, there's no way to turn it off. I pulled the fuses for upstairs and the bastard thing kept running so I can only assume it's on the same circuit as the sockets, which I couldn't turn off because my computer is running.

I think the cheapest option is to have an electrician put a switch in so that we can turn it off, try that for a few weeks and see what happens.

If it was installed without a switch someone with a horse called Silver must have been involved.

 

[Pow-Lo]

If it was installed without a switch someone with a horse called Silver must have been involved.

I called the manufacturers (they're just up the road from me) and he said that they're meant to run 24/7. Said his name was Mr. Turpin.

 

[andyBeaker]

I called the manufacturers (they're just up the road from me) and he said that they're meant to run 24/7. Said his name was Mr. Turpin.

I don’t doubt that for a minute but there should be a dual pole isolation switch in case it starts smoking etc…..same as extractor fan etc….