Can an old house really cost that much more than a new house to heat?!

jkgray

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I was listening to local radio this morning and they were interviewing someone who had an old end-of-terrace house which they'd done a lot to in order to reduce their carbon footprint / bills.

One thing they mentioned was insulating wallpaper. Called sempatec or something like that. Apparently it's about 1cm thick, a little spongy, and you use it on the (inside of the) external walls only. Put lining paper over it and then can paint or wallpaper in the usual way. Added to loft insulation, they've increased the temps in each room significantly and halved their carbon footprint.

They also have solar panels but that's not for everyone.

Thanks for the comment but I am aware of the product you are talking about - http://www.mgcltd.co.uk/Products/Thermal_and_Acoustic_Insulation/SEMPATAP_THERMAL/
but opinion is divided on whether it means any meaningful difference.

paulsad

Our bill is similar(Jan £119 for gas £70 elec.) in a 1893 victorian semi. New boiler and no leaks but we pay variable dd with a meter read each month. On BG you can compare your usage to similar houses - ours was about £10 a quarter above the average for gas and electric so not massively dearer.


Sorry bit more just checked about £10 a month dearer sos!

Mankysteve

Gloomendoom wrote: »

rs.

Perhaps the older the house the cheaper they are to heat etc.

There so many variables it hard to say. It also worth noting that some there is some research pointing toward solid walls being more energy efficient than you'd think, but proper research hasn't been fully carried out only antidotal evidence.

I did some volunteer for a sustainable charity that was trying to get funded to research to look into this, but never heard if they got any results.

flashnazia

How high are your ceilings? Are you brother's considerably lower?