Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

pineapple wrote: »

If I ever got a lodger we would end up VERY closely acquainted indeed...

That's an interesting idea.

Sadly, I'm a one woman man, and what with me and GQ being an item.

ivyleaf

pineapple wrote: »

I used to think like that but I suspect such services now exist mainly for the top end of the market - offering a concierge type package of services.. Especially now that for common bods like me. there are sites like rightmove, where you can home in on properties meeting certain criteria in a jiffy.

Anyhow we were forecast heavy rain in this locality but it is heavy snow....
Talking of weather just saw a depressing infographic on where climate change is taking us. I'm a bit sceptical of how much man is contributing to this and even more sceptical of how far we can turn back the tide. If I was just starting out in life I would be heading for pastures new - especially if I lived in the Netherlands...
It was a concern to hear some spokesperson say 'coal is out' - just as I am about to fork out on the multifuel stove. . It won't happen overnight of course, but if they can create incentives for renewables, they can create disincentives for solid fuels. Pineapple can feel, in her waters, a new tax heading her way.

The part in bold describes my feeling about it too

pineapple

Frugalsod wrote: »

Also if you can insulate your home to a high enough standard then you will not really need much fuel to heat it. A very well insulated home can be heated up solely by the bodies of the occupants depending on its size.

I saw a news item about someone who spends less than £50 pounds a year on energy. However the house was designed and built with that in mind. At the other end of the scale you have old cottages like mine with rubble walls and flag floors direct to the ground. Our options are a bit more limited and frankly the upfront costs are prohibitive.

pineapple

ivyleaf wrote: »

The part in bold describes my feeling about it too

Piers Corbyn of Weather Action believes that most changes are solar driven - ie the sun is actually cooling - and that governments should be investing more in coping infrastructure rather than tryng to play King Canute

http://www.weatheraction.com/

pineapple

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Sadly, I'm a one woman man, and what with me and GQ being an item.

Say it ain't so...

[Deleted User]

We've got a 4 bed seventies box with a single storey extension downstairs across the whole rear of the house, we've insulated everywhere it's possible to insulate with the maximum recommended depth, have double glazed windows everywhere now (many years with a couple of original single glazed units) and we keep it toasty with just the inset stove which we don't light until mid to late afternoon unless it's actually freezing outside. We Don't and haven't run the central heating since we had the stove installed and the house retains an ambient temperature that is very comfortable. We use the boiler to heat the water in the tank for an hour twice a day, we leave the radiators open in all the upstairs rooms so that the water thermo syphons to them when the boiler is on and again get background heat I also still have an airing cupboard which stores all the linens and has the added advantage of warming the bedroom it's in. The boiler is in the utility room and I dry all the winter washing in there to use so use the heat generated. We don't have a radiator in the kitchen at all as it warms up with cooking heat. We find over the years we've got used to a slightly cooler living environment and have rugs to wrap in on the sofa and armchairs, have thicker socks in the winter and put on an extra layer if we do feel the cold. We modern folks have got used to a very soft life compared to how it was 50 years ago when one room with a fire in, no indoor loo and ice fans on the inside of the windows when it was really cold were normal haven't we?

moneyistooshorttomention

I'll admit to not experimenting to see how low my house will go if not heated at all. I think it probably holds its heat pretty well - cavity wall insulation, doubleglazed windows (which obviously aren't "quite" as they don't keep out all the sound doubleglazing normally keeps out - but I think probably function fairly reasonably in that respect at any rate). I've made sure the loft insulation is 12" thick. There is decent carpeting with thick underlay on all except kitchen and bathroom floors (very necessary when the floors are concrete!).

With that - as far as I've noticed to date = the house temperature seems to go down overnight to 17/18 C. So it must be holding onto heat pretty well.

I don't know what the temperature would go down to if I left the house unheated in the daytime (rather than having it on much of the time then and with the thermostat set at 21C).

It's reassuring to know that it looks as if the house wouldn't descend to hypothermia levels of temperature if left to itself and its just a question of adding enough heat to make it comfortable.

Doveling

Kittie- if you're reading. Forgot to thank you for the heads up about the weather. Pineapple's post reminded me.:)

Our house is 1911 semi. Can't have cavity wall insulation and can't afford to have the internal insulation done as it would mean taking down original, ornate plasterwork then putting it back again. Pricey:eek:

Good insulation in the loft and under the downstairs boards plus double glazing.
Thick curtains and snuggly throws. I want to get some of the wool ones from the NT that Fuddle bought.
A Welsh blanket is on my birthday wishlist

We don't have carpets either, just large rugs over the floorboards.
Do have multi-fuel stoves though

I've never experimented with temperatures either, suppose I should

fuddle

Can be bought online Doveling http://shop.nationaltrust.org.uk/recycled-woollen-rug/p389 but you can't choose the colourways.

mardatha

This house is built on a steep hillside, the top end has 1ft clearance under the floorboards but the lower end has over 5ft, there is a hatch in the hall that opens and you can get down and walk around. So I think that helps keep the house cool and dry, it has never been a damp house. But fitted carpets are a must - in high winds our last carpet lifted off the floor in ripples(verrry spooky lol), this time we got a heavy wool one. Bare floorboards I hate - reminds me of Dickens with poor people liiving in cold hovels lol. I think we def need to invest in warm good clothes, because being cold is miserable & dangerous.