This house is cold

samtastic7

get the loft insulation and cavity wall checked

samtastic7

aldo wrote: »

Our house is warm downstairs but freezing upstairs!
Also the windows upstairs get lots of condensation, is it just a case of a poorly ventilated house>?

your loft may be lkoosing the heat check the insulation

looktothefuture

I have a pretty large 3 bedroom house with 7 rads, one of which no longer works despite bleeding it and resetting the pipwork because of a kink!!) Our temp is set at 20degrees (my late mother-in-law superglued the temp gauge so that it couldn't be moved any higher so we are stuck with it! LOL!) and being south african from birth... this is cold!

I've adapted though, we have heavy curtains in the front room with draft extractors at the front and back doors. The rad in the spare room is switched off and the door has been closed. The rad in the hallway doesn't work so that saves us a bit... The rad in the kitchen and lounge are the only 2 working downstairs but for some reason keeps toasty!

The rad in the spare bedroom is switched off to save energy as it is the last one in the house to heat so there isn't any point in having it on anyway because no one goes into that room aside from the cats! My stepson's bedroom rad is on only on a friday to Sunday because that's the only time he's there and we don't go in his room when he's at his mothers house during the week. The bathroom and master bedroom rads are on for obvious reasons and they keep the upstairs rooms warm enough. So in total we use 4 rads out of the 7 the majority of the time... and they are on a timer to go on at 6am, off at 7am. On again at 5:30pm and off again at 9pm...!

I'd suggest though you do keep a temp gauge in each room and adjust the temp accordingly to suit...

ixwood

The old leaving heating on all day to save money chestnut!

There's loads of advice on here on various threads. Basicially, insulate, reduce drafts and wrap up.

cattie

Loulou, is your house end of terraced, as if it is it will be colder than a terraced because you have an extra outside wall? If I remember rightly you bought a Victorian house, so you'll not be able to have cavity wall insulation.

I live in an older house & I need the heating on for a good couple of hours before the house begins to feels warm.

Do you have carpets or varnished floorboards in your house? Floorboards are lovely but alas make for a colder house. If you have fireplaces are they used or fitted with inset gas fires? If not, make sure the chimney is sealed with a chimney balloon to stop the draughts.

If no gas fire in the lounge I'd seriously think of investing in one of the new high energy efficient ones that will help keep you warm without losing most of the heat up the chimney, as some of the older/cheaper ones do.

As others here have suggested, check you have decent loft insulation & for draughts around windows if no double glazing. Wear warm clothing, including socks & invest in electric blankets for the beds if you don't already have them. Remember with clothing the more layers the better. Thermal vests are wonderful for keeping you as warm as toast.

A lot of draughts get under doors so buying draught exluders could be a good idea.

I have one of the programmer's that KatP mentions & they are far better than the standard type. I particularly like it because you can pre programme & have the heating come on & off at different times at the weekend compared to weekdays. If wanted you could have the heating programmed to come on & off at a different time each day, or even to not come on on days when you may be away overnight. You can see at a glance what the current temperature is by the digital display.

dannymccann

We have a brand new house, so will come with up to date insulation. The stat is in the hall where the front door is, I just leave it on 16/17c when we are in and the house stays lovely and warm as all the other rooms (with big heavy well fitted doors) are warmer than the hall

Bryando

The council had to re calbrise? my thermostat. My house always cold, two bedrooms upper flat. just put heating on maybe a hour at 21c then back on if it gets cold. It a combi boiler, I have no faith in it. Why do people put radiotors under windows?
Anybody know why I set the thermostat at 21c the heating cuts off at this, yet if I turn the thermostat up to 30c the heating does not kick in.

space_rider

I have to have mine set at 23 if I`m sitting down watching tv. If I`m moving around the house it`s set at 21.

Cardew

Bryando wrote: »

The council had to re calbrise? my thermostat. My house always cold, two bedrooms upper flat. just put heating on maybe a hour at 21c then back on if it gets cold. It a combi boiler, I have no faith in it. Why do people put radiotors under windows?
Anybody know why I set the thermostat at 21c the heating cuts off at this, yet if I turn the thermostat up to 30c the heating does not kick in.

Two things shut off the central heating.

A. When the air temperature, in the room where the thermostat is situated, reaches the temperature set on that thermostat.

B. When the temperature of the water circulating in the Central heating System(boiler, pipes and radiators) reaches the temperature set on the boiler.

Assuming the thermostat on the wall has a dial, if you turn the dial and listen carefully you will hear a click when the thermostat is operating.

Obviously if you turn the thermostat to 30C and the heating doesn't come on then you have a fault. You might have to wait a short while.

Do all the radiators get hot all over?

Do you get hot water from the taps OK?

Have you got them turned on? Have you bled them?

Bryando

Yeah all the radiators are roasting, bleed them not long ago. Always hot water .

The thermostat on the hall wall, therefore there is no doors.