New home is very cold!

pinkpixie_2 · 20 December 2006 at 3:09PM

Hi allNow it's getting colder we're increasingly reliant on our central heating in our new home. However, the house just isn't warm. The thermostat is now set at 26 degrees (!) but the thermometer we've put in the hall beside it says 15 degrees. This is even after the heating has been on for 6 hours. However, the radiators seem piping hot. The living room is warm if we have the radiator on and the gas fire at full blast but the other rooms are really not warm at all and we don't have the luxury of a fire in those rooms. I'm now reduced to carrying a hot water bottle around with me...First of all, any suggestions on why the house isn't warm?Secondly, any tips on how to warm it up and will they make enough of a difference? We're thinking along the lines of - cavity wall insulation, draft excluder around the external doors, maybe even larger/more radiators. Pink Pixie

Avoriaz · 20 December 2006 at 4:03PM

It is very difficult to comment without more information but here are a few possibilities.

You are either losing heat from draughts, poor insulation etc or the c/h is not set up properly or is not powerful enough.

If there is a temp dial on the boiler, what is it set at? Maybe it is set too low so turn it up towards maximum. This results in the boiler heating the water to a higher temp and making the radiators even hotter. Be careful the radiators do not get too hot, especially if you have young children.

Check all the radiators for cold spots and bleed them to remove trapped air. Are the valves fully open?

Maybe the main thermostat is faulty. Turn it up and down and see if it “clicks” at the same temperature as the thermometer.

Check for obvious draughts at external doors and windows etc and try and block them.

Is it an old house with very high ceilings? These can be very difficult to heat.

Try that for starters and come back if there is still a problem.

jennifernil · 20 December 2006 at 4:05PM

It sounds like your radiators are too small. Are they double ones with convection fins, or just singles? If they are singles you could put in double convectors using the existing pipework with minimal upheaval.
Plus of course all the suggestions above are good advice.

bullterrier_2 · 20 December 2006 at 4:16PM

I would suggest attacking in this order:

If the radiators are cold at the top, bleed them (the cold part is air).

If they are cold at the bottom, the system needs flushing (the cold part is corrosion products). If you do this, add thermostatic radiator valves while the sytem is empty (saves money and channels the heat to the rooms that need it).

Set the boiler to just below max temp to get the most out of the current radiators.

If the loft has less than 270mm lagging, top it up.

If the cavity walls are empty, get them filled!

(for these last 2, check out the Warm Front website as you may be able to get grant(s) from somebody).

pinkpixie_2 · 20 December 2006 at 4:54PM

HiThanks very much for your replies so quickly! I really am very grateful. House was built in 1994 so no high ceilings here.I will check the dial on the boiler and see how that's set, and try turning the thermostat to see if it clicks.The radiators are not cold at the top, but are a bit cold at the bottom... perhaps it needs flushing. Is this something we can do?We wondered if some of the radiators were too small, they are a bit of a mix. Some have fins and some don't, all but one are single. Don't think we'd be eligible for grants as we're not on any benefits but I gather I could get cavity wall insulation for about £250?Pink Pixie.

03022242 · 20 December 2006 at 5:09PM

i would have thought a house built in 1994 does have some cavity wall insulation

Avoriaz · 20 December 2006 at 6:30PM

I would be surprised if a 1992 house did not have adequate insulation in the walls and ceilings or an under sized C/H system so I really do think your problem is the boiler and/or radiators.

If your radiators are cool at the bottom that is almost certainly corrosion deposits. Fortunately it is fairly easily cured.

You can buy a flushing additive. You add this to the system, leave it to circulate for a while (read the instructions), then drain the system and refill. Hopefully this will flush out all the corrosion. Add a corrosion inhibitor when you refill.

A better but more expensive solution is to follow “bullterriers” advice and completely drain the system, flush out each radiator and fit thermostatic valves.

My advice is to try the flushing additive now. That will probably get you warm again. Then, next summer when you don’t need the heating you can do a proper drain down and flush everything out and fit t/valves. You can DIY this slowly over a few days without suffering a cold house, though it might mean you have no means of heating the water if you don’t have an immersion heater.

Happy Christmas.

pinkpixie_2 · 21 December 2006 at 9:58AM

Thanks everyone. We have our first British Gas boiler service end of next week so presumably he would identify a problem with the boiler relating to this? Will also look to do the flushing additive. I tried turning the thermostat to the temperature the thermometer in the hall said (just 15 degrees last night...) and no click. Also looked at the boiler but couldn't see a temperature dial on that, just on the immersion heater. Hope we get it sorted soon! Brrrr! Pink Pixie

misterthrifty · 21 December 2006 at 10:24AM

Just a quick thought, I had a brand new house that was always difficult to heat. I doscovered they had put an air vent directly behind the radiator in the sitting room (there was a gas fire) which meant the radiator was virtually useless. I covered the vent (risking death by gas) and it was a lot better. New houses aren't necesarily planned well.

Hope you sort it.

Mr T

tawnyowls · 21 December 2006 at 5:13PM

Avoriaz wrote:

I would be surprised if a 1992 house did not have adequate insulation in the walls and ceilings

I wouldn't be at all surprised - I live in a house 10 years younger than that, and although it does have some cavity wall insulation, it has the bare minimum to comply with the standards at the time. Bet the OP's house is the same. If the OP is lucky, they'll have no CW insulation at all, which will allow them to put in their own (unlike us!) and get it to a decent standard. Might be eligible for a grant to help (http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/gid/index.cfm?sec=1).

bullterrier_2 · 22 December 2006 at 12:35PM

Careful with the flushing agents - some are highly acidic and MUST be drained after 48 hours or will pinhole the radiators....best to use a "flocking" one which picks up the debris to make it easier to flush.

To be honest, I would get a Corgi registered local guy to do the flush - if he uses a power flusher you will get a much better job than is possible DIY and will not risk getting the sytem airlocked (which can overheat the boiler).

A powerflush will take 2 days (day 1 introduce the cleaner and day2 flush it out.

If you boiler is "kettling" - bumping and banging - he can sort that at the same time (which also helps efficiency).

A very quick temp fix is often to wind the valves all the way shut and then back to where they were on each radiator (cout the turns). If the pipes are 8/10mm then the valve entry is tiny and often partially blocks.

Re the cavity walls, any decent company will come out and use a ibre optic camera to check what's in the cavity now. There are subsidies for cavity wall insulation even if you earn loads! (Warm Front etc). MUCH better than installing bigger radiators as the house will stay warm overnight if lagged properly.

Topping up the roof to 270mm costs not a lot and also makes a very big (and quick) difference - use the woll that's wrapped in plastic (e.g. Wickes) a it doesnt irritate anywhere near as much.

New home is very cold!

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