How do I get my house warm this winter?

thescouselander

Canucklehead wrote: »

Hi

You need a Corgi /plumber. It would be the pilot flame injector that's blocking and producing a weak flame . It can be adjusted (sometimes) without stripping down the pilot assembly.

Corgi Guy.

I agree. Its a fairly new house so the insulation should be quite good. Its probably the boiler thats at fault.

jswaminathanuk

We never switched on heating in last winter.
Though credit goes to old neighbour around who have excess heating but there are some tips you can follow.
Put heavy curtains and close them by 3ish.
We move furnitures (storage) by the window(all our rooms have full width window) so this will give some extra protection.
we close the door of individual rooms. so our body heat / heat generated bu electrical appliance do not go to other room.
our DD was too small so we all were sleeping in one room and always closed the door of that room. every alternate day we opened the window and let the fresh air come in.
I am living in a flat so some of the tips will not be aplicable in house but they say penny save is penny earned.
Cheers

Caz6 wrote: »

Hi, my 13 year old house was soooooo cold last winter and I'm dreading it this winter so looking for some advice on what I should do - quick wins and long term investments will both be considered!

It is a 3 bed semi that already has loft insulation and wooden double glazing throughout (none of the panes have condensation between them) except for the patio door which is metal double glazing. I had the heating on full wack (radiators were too hot to touch) but when it was freezing outside I could still see my breath!

I am looking into a number of options already (e.g. UPVC double glazing, thicker & floor length curtains, sealing the unused cat flap) but would welcome other ideas and your feedback on how helpful the options I listed will be!

Something which didn't help (and I need to get fixed) is every time there was a strong gust of wind the pilot light blew out. I had a plumber round but he didn't know what to do about it!!! If you know how to fix that too I'd be grateful for your advice!!

Thx
Caz
xxx

paddy's_mum

This year, we have invested maybe £100 on a second set of curtain tracks for all windows. I then scoured the charity shops and raided my stash of fabric and bought cheaply or made lined sets of inner curtains in either matching or neutral colours. The 'best' curtains are on poles just above the batten carrying the tracks. That way, you still have your chosen colour scheme on view but the extra set slung slightly behind and below act as a thermal barrier. On cold, gale-force nights when the wind is howling, it does make you 'feel more cosy' and double sets are also effective noise stoppers.

annie123

this will help you, lots of good ideas

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=531601

iamcornholio

A 13 year old house should have reasonable insulation.

Your comment about seeing your breath leads me to suspect a heating issue

I would get your radiators, and boiler checked to make sure the boiler is adequatly sized and the radiators are big enough to heat the rooms.

Although radiators may be boiling hot, if they are not big enough for the room area, then heat will go out faster than the radiator can replace it. Same principle for the boiler.

Whilst a house may have poor insulation, it is unusual for the heating system not to be able to heat the building -albeit if a lot of heat is escaping.

Location of the property in respect of the sun can also significantly affect the ability to heat it. If it is generally in the shade and receive little heat from the sun during the day, then it makes it harder to heat on the night

03022242

hi are you sure that your wall has insulation in it? being 13 years old the house would have been constructed in 1994..

if the plans for the house/housing development were passed pre 1992 it could mean that the house has very little or no insulation in it (as the regs were changes in 1992)

just as an example i work in designing new homes for a major developer and a large site is being built in phases, the site started in 2003 (using 2002 regulations) and the site is at its 3rd phase, still using 2002 regs and wont be built until next year! the difference in wall insulation thickness between 2003 and 2006 is 20mm

iamcornholio

Either way, insualtion or not, the majority of UK houses have no insualtion and are not cold when heated - especially with a centrally heated wet radiator system.

Technically, insulation determines the heating costs and not the heating efficiency or internal temperature.

Caz6

Thanks to everyone for your advice - first things first, thick long curtains throughout and get a Corgi guy into assess the central heating system!

Think I'll see how that goes before coming back for more advice!

Thanks again!
xx