House cold when windy

Crazy_Diamond

In December last year we moved to a newish house (built in 1995) but have found it to be freezing cold especially when compared to our last house (although both scored E on the energy certificate). Since December our gas bills have been around 3 times those of our old house (which was oil).

I am wondering what we can do to improve things. I have had people round to inspect the loft insulation (supposedly there is 100mm so we will not qualify for any grants and they said we would not get our money back if we paid to top it up). The house is timber framed so no scope for cavity wall insulation. I have had the boiler inspected - although it is original to the house it works ok and I don't think it would be worthwhile replacing it.

The house is on a quite exposed site and is noticeably colder when it is windy. However I have been round inspecting for drafts and can't find any (it has double glazed timber framed windows whihc seem to seal ok).

Any ideas what we can do to improve things? I am wearing two jumpers atm because it is only 12 degrees inside and that is despite having the heating on for an hour this morning in June!

Taadaa

We live in a windy place in a 1970s house. We get a draft when it's really windy - like the past couple of days - and I am fairly sure that additional loft insulation will help, as it seems to be coming from the light fittings in the living room ceiling (downlighters). So you might not want to spend the money on additional insulation, but it will be cheaper longer term. The recommended amount is 270mm these days, so yours is well short.

Have you thought about losing a bit of useable internal space and boarding the inside and insulating in between? This is an option used for many timber framed homes. The issue is that although you might be warming the inside, the bigger the difference between the inside and outside temperatures, the quicker the heat transfer will be, made worse by lack of insulation.

phill99

Additional loft insulation will ell tremendously. It's easy to DIY but remember to wear long sleeves etc and a dust mask. It's very cheap to buy and will take just a few hours, and will save you a lot of energy in the long term. Try and add another 200mm on top of what you have got.

Extra draft proofing is always useful.

auntymabel

Might be worth looking into the Green Deal scheme which is due to start this autumn. It specifically mentions solid wall properties.

Norman_Castle

Look for gaps inside and outside between the window and door frames and the walls. Between walls and floors, and look anywhere pipework goes through the floor or walls. Pipework out of site behind kitchen cupboards and bath panels is rarely finished well.

iamcornholio

The problem with timber framed houses is that there is no "thermal mass" properties of masonry walls. This means that they heat up quickly, but cool down quickly too - as the walls do not hold any heat. External wind can cool and draw out heat too

It will be difficult to trace any air leakage without an expensive thermographic survey, and even more difficult to do anything about leaks from the frame

You should be able to increase loft insulation via a £100 government deal, or buy the stuff cheap from one of the B&Q offers or suchlike

The only other option, may well be to upgrade your boiler and radiators to ensure that heating costs are as low as possible. Costs to upgrade may pay for themselves, but you need to get someone to do the sums