Insulating uninsulated flat

AuronGrande

I live in a council flat which has minimal amounts of insulation in the building. I do mean minimal. My place leaks heat like a sieve.

As it's council property, I can't exactly do renovations.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the place warm?

The windows and doors are fine. The heat vanishes through the walls themselves.

Because of this my heating bills are quite high.

AuronGrande

Yeah I know, my query is quick ridiculous. I thought that I might try.

Ebe_Scrooge

I'd have thought it was worth contacting the council in the first instance, see what they say ? Depending upon your circumstances, they may make a contribution towards the cost of bringing the insulation up to current standards.

CashStrapped

What type of flat is it? Property age? Are you top floor, bottom floor? How many outside facing walls? What heating system (all electric? Gas?). How do you currently use it (timer, settings, etc)? What type of meter (prepay, credit). What is your current tariff and annual energy use? When did you last check your tariff?

So many variables to your question.....hence my questions.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Whole property walls only usually, because they are almost all 100% cavity. You don't own the 'fabric' [walls & loft] even if you 100% own the flat outright. If the bricks outside are all 'long on' then its cavity if they are alternate 'long + short' on then its solid. All 100% of everyone in the block must agree to any offer even its its free and its almost never 100% owned by the LA - its fraught with issues. Speak to the managing agent / council.
________________

Help Yourself - These heat Loss Reduction Values are ish, and now very old !

- secondary glazing + insulated shutters 77%
- secondary glazing + heavy curtains 66%
- stand alone insulated shutters 60%
- double-glazing 55%
- honeycomb blinds 36%
- modern insulated roller blinds 22%

lstar337

Don't the council have a responsibility to make sure the property meets a certain standard?

AuronGrande

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

I'd have thought it was worth contacting the council in the first instance, see what they say ? Depending upon your circumstances, they may make a contribution towards the cost of bringing the insulation up to current standards.

Over the years I've contacted my housing provider (council housing) about it but they won't do anything. Before I moved in, they did add a second skin to most of the outide. eg. you have the original outer wall, then add a layer of pebble-dash with a thin layer of insulation between. The walls seperating the residences from each other is solid concrete. No gaps to pour in insulation. It's the same with the walls seperating residence from communal stairs.

The best way to insulate that I can think of is plaster boards with build in insulation.

AuronGrande

CashStrapped wrote: »

What type of flat is it? Property age? Are you top floor, bottom floor? How many outside facing walls? What heating system (all electric? Gas?). How do you currently use it (timer, settings, etc)? What type of meter (prepay, credit). What is your current tariff and annual energy use? When did you last check your tariff?

So many variables to your question.....hence my questions.

Sorry. My query is quite open ended that can result in a great deal of questions. Will do what I can.

When I redid the wallpaper when I moved in (had to, the living room wallpaper was 5 layers of wallpaper and 7 layers of paper that had chunks torn out) on of the plaster boards had a workmans signature and date on it. It was dated 1935.

I've already reesponded about the walls.

I am middle floor. Single bedsit and 2 single bedroom ground floor. Middle floor is 4 two-bedroom. Top floor is 3 two-bedroom and 1 three-bedroom. Total 11 residences. No elevator.

Gas central heating. (recently had complete new boiler and radiators installed. The last one died and kept blowing fuses. After 3 weeks the gasman still couldn't repair it so Council replaced it. Now it costs twice as much on gas.) I have 2 electric heaters tucked away for emergencies.

I keep the heating on to keep warm and to dry clothes on radiators. The thermostat is set.

Gas and leccy are both prepay meters.

I am on Ebico with moderate unit cost and no usage charges.

I compare energy prices once a month. So far if I switch I will only save no more than £10 per year. Citizens Advice says that it's not worth changing.

AuronGrande

lstar337 wrote: »

Don't the council have a responsibility to make sure the property meets a certain standard?

True. They do the best they can, but they have limits.

CashStrapped

Are you comparing with other prepay tariffs only?

Or do you also compare with credit meter tariffs?

As you are a middle flat, you should not have much to worry about above and below in terms of insulation.

How many externally facing walls do you have? Are the windows double glazed?

Looking at what you use and how you pay will probably give you a bigger saving. But, you need to start looking at what you use.

What are your current daily or annual usage figures in kwh?

If you have no idea your bills should give you a rough indication.

The combination of an Ebico tariff and prepayment meters could be costing you a lot more than you realise.

For my area, with low annual kwh for gas and electric; Going from a prepay meter on ebico's cheapest tariff with a prepayment meter to a credit meter with the cheapest supplier saves £200!

It all depends on what your annual use is in KWH. This should be calculated from actual meter readings if possible and not estimates.

AuronGrande

CashStrapped wrote: »

Are you comparing with other prepay tariffs only?

Or do you also compare with credit meter tariffs?

As you are a middle flat, you should not have much to worry about above and below in terms of insulation.

How many externally facing walls do you have? Are the windows double glazed?

Looking at what you use and how you pay will probably give you a bigger saving. But, you need to start looking at what you use.

What are your current daily or annual usage figures in kwh?

If you have no idea your bills should give you a rough indication.

The combination of an Ebico tariff and prepayment meters could be costing you a lot more than you realise.

For my area, with low annual kwh for gas and electric; Going from a prepay meter on ebico's cheapest tariff with a prepayment meter to a credit meter with the cheapest supplier saves £200!

It all depends on what your annual use is in KWH. This should be calculated from actual meter readings if possible and not estimates.

Comparing only prepay. I don't think they will allow me to go credit.

Property wise, I have 2 sides linking outside. 1 side seperating from my neighbour. 1 side to the communal stairs. Windows are double glazed but could do with some being resealed.

I only have what is on my yearly statements, and I compare with the KWH and not the cost. Apart from unit price.

I will just submit this post and immediately compare prices, including switching to credit meters.