Heating a 2 bedroom terraced house without GCH.

GetBeaned

Hello,

My partner and I have moved out for the first time into a 2 bedroom terraced rental house in the south of England last month. Everything is swell, bar one concern: heating. Both myself and my partner grew up with GCH and never lived anywhere where it didn't exist, so moving into a property without it isn't something we even thought about; GCH might as well of been oxygen, of course it's there. Obviously it doesn't, and our property is advertised as using a wood burner as the primary heating element.

We gave the log burner a go for a couple of weeks, but we're not well versed in the art of wood fires and no matter what technique we tried, we couldn't heat the home properly, with fires usually only lasting a couple of hours and not really providing any heat and seemed act as more of a mood setter more than anything.

Thankfully we've moved in at the tail end of the cold season, and the majority of the time we've been here, it's been warm enough outside to not really consider heating, but some days and evenings it has been chilly and heating the house has me concerned for when winter does eventually come around. As such, I'd like to see what I can do to prepare for that now before it hits.

We have a oil filled heaters, and they do work to a degree in closed off rooms, but some times like today, my partner is saying she's cold even with a 1.5W heater on in the living room, even after an hour or so has gone by. For reference, the house is double glazed bar the kitchen window and doors exist for every room except the kitchen, which leads onto the stairs and living room. The EPC rating is E, and the wooden front and back doors leak noise and air like crazy.

So far, I've put up a thermal curtain over the front door which does help to an extent, but it doesn't fix the underlying issue. I've read about the double glazing film you can get for single glazed windows which I do intend to buy for the kitchen window, so I hope that helps.

Really though, I'm open to any suggestions into what I can do to heat the house. In my mind (especially since it's a terraced property), it makes more sense to try and insulate the house as much as possible rather that throw heaps of money at electric heating. That said, it's new territory for both of us so we're out of our depth. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

GetBeaned

I forgot to add, all the flooring is hardwood, and while we both much prefer the lack of carpets, we do intend to get some rugs for the living room and bedrooms. Would this make much of an impact on heat retention?

Alanp

It will benefit you greatly if you have cavity wall and good loft insulation, I work in a care home, it’s due for refurbishment, some of the underfloor heating has failed, so I’ve been fitting electric heaters, these are wall mounted they look smart, they’re made by adax, they are also wifi so you can set them remotely ( not that I’ve tried), so perhaps a couple of these or similar might help,

twopenny

You can use ordinary clingfilm for the kitchen window. Its a bit of a game but worth it. Very lightly damp the woodwork before applying will help it stick. So barely damp kitchen sponge, paper towels  and the better clingfilm. Don't try to get it perfect. That way madness lies.
Do any glass in the doors too.
Dash out now for some draught excluding foam before it disappears for summer.
Its worth doing giving you time to decide on you heating and installer. Waiting time here is October!
Find someone to help with the woodburner. They can kick out a tremendous amount of heat and when done right can warm a small house. Could be the flue  needs cleaning. 
A photo of the woodburner would help.
It is wood not multifuel or other?

coffeehound

When is the soonest that you can break out of the tenancy?

In the short term, using decorators masking tape to seal around draughty doors can make a noticeable improvement.

[Deleted User]

Have a Google at 'infrared panel heaters', not to be confused with regular panel heaters. The former control the surface temp to radiate heat, while the latter are cooler, but rely on convection which is far less efficient. Especially in a property that might not be the most energy efficient.

I have 3 infrared heaters in my semi detached house. The GCH has been bust since we bought the place and at first I didn't have the money to replace it (it's not just bust, it's ancient and completely knackered). But over the years we've found even in the coldest winters, we don't really miss central heating.

The reason: I'm a convert to infrared heating are, among other things... 
* it's cheap. I need to qualify with that with its more expensive day to day running cost than GCH on mains gas, but not much more. But there's no annual service, and the units are a fraction of the price of getting GCH installed.

* it's flexible and unobtrusive. You choose what size and style of radiator to fit where, and if you later decide to change it, it's a straightforward DIY job. No floors need to be lifted for piping or anything. The damage to the walls is no different to mounting a wall mounted TV bracket or similar. You get a wide choice of styles, including boring white ones (I have those in the bedrooms), to picture ones (in the lounge), or mirror ones. There are wall mount ones and ceiling mount. There's even stands to have them portable on the floor but I'd be skeptical of those, as you need clear line of sight for them to be effective.

* they're super efficient. Our fairly large lounge is heated off a single 750 watt radiator, and even on cold days, it's comfy in here. But it won't be using that full 750 Watts all the time. They have a built in thermostat so they switch themselves off when the room is comfortable.

* they're quick. GCH doesn't really radiate much (despite the misleading name of the radiators, which should really be called convectors). So if the room is cold, and the walls are cold, it can take a while after switching it in before you feel the benefit. The infrared units start radiating heat within minutes of being switched on. It feels a bit like sunshine.

* you can control each room independently. Yes you can do that with modern GCH, but that's still running off one boiler, still pumping hot water through several metres of pipe before it reaches the radiator. The infrared units each have their own control. The more expensive ones can be controlled through various WiFi hubs but even the cheapos like I have work fully independently, albeit with us have to actually walk over to them to adjust the settings.

I think if I were renting, another advantage I'd put on my list is you can just take them with you if you move. Installing them or removing them is totally just a DIY job. You do have to drill 4 holes per radiator into the walls to screw the mounting brackets on, but I'm sure you could make good the tiny holes before moving on.

You can probably tell I'm totally a convert. I love them. Oh and I hope you didn't read 'infrared' and run a mile. These things aren't those awful 1970s 'infrared' (but really just red) light bulbs that added a miniscule amount of heat to a freezing cold bathroom. They're not even remotely the same. I'm on about low profile panels that look like they're doing nothing but feel like they're banging out the warmth of gentle sunshine. 

GetBeaned

Thanks for the reply.

It is multifuel. It's an Esse Montrose (unsure of model number), but our landlord who is also a chimney sweep did say we can use coal if we fancied. She did do a demo with logs for us and lit it up beautifully, but we've come no where near as close to that fire. I'll definitely pick up some draught excluder, I imagine we're losing a lot of heat through these doors.

Hasbeen

Op you can also post here: Energy on the dedicated forum for additional advice re heating etc?

GetBeaned

Beardybaldy said:

Have a Google at 'infrared panel heaters', not to be confused with regular panel heaters.

Where did you get yours I did do some research into infrared heaters, and where most people can agree convection heating is tried, tested and expensive, there seems to be a great disparity between people that love infrared heaters and those that hate them.

I do want to try them, but where you can get a fan or oil filled heater at any wattage you want for less than 20 quid, infrared heaters I've seen online seem to start at £100 for the entry level low wattage variety.

[Deleted User]

GetBeaned said:

Beardybaldy said:

Have a Google at 'infrared panel heaters', not to be confused with regular panel heaters.

Where did you get yours I did do some research into infrared heaters, and where most people can agree convection heating is tried, tested and expensive, there seems to be a great disparity between people that love infrared heaters and those that hate them.

I do want to try them, but where you can get a fan or oil filled heater at any wattage you want for less than 20 quid, infrared heaters I've seen online seem to start at £100 for the entry level low wattage variety.

I don't think I can share links yet cos I'm still new and not to be trusted
Mine came from 'the infrared heating company', but there are plenty of other suppliers. I can't recommend any one more than any other. 

I hear what you say about the love/hate thing. I think that probably comes down to lacking of planning and research. There are things that render them useless. But with careful thought they are ace.

First of all, there are online calculators that estimate your required wattage for a given room. The result of that is just one part of the mix but very necessary I'd say. 

You also need to consider where abouts in a room you spend most relaxing time. Probably wherever you've put the sofa. Then there needs to be a clear line of sight between that area and the panel(s). Where you can hide a convection heater behind things, the infrared radiators don't heat the air very much, they radiate invisible warmth out, so anything between you and them will block the heat.

As it's radiated heat, there's also the inverse square rule to consider. In layman's terms, that means you need to consider not only the size of the room, but the distance between you and the radiator. Too far away and you'll barely feel it. My lounge one is 5 metres from the sofa, and it's comfy enough. But it goes the other way too. I plan to move the first one I fitted, in my bedroom, because I've realised it's possible to actually be under the rays so to speak. It's mounted above the headboard of the bed. Which means our head and shoulders can get cold at night while the feet end is boiling. Realising this, when I later fitted one in the kids room, I put it at the opposite end.

So yes I can understand why some people hate them. There is a bit of a learning curve to get the most out of them. But with a bit of research and careful thought, I think it's possible to get it right with just a bit of effort. And if you do get it wrong, as I mentioned I did at one point, you can just take what you've learned from your first go, and apply it to a second attempt at no extra cost, other than making good the drill holes after you move the unit. 

Ectophile

Using wood burning stoves is a bit of an art.  They are all different; make sure you read the instruction manual carefully and start off with all the vents open.

Firewood is also highly variable.  When I first got my stove, i was really disappointed at how badly it seemed to burn.  Without constant tending, it went out all the time.  It turned out to be poor quality firewood - the stove was fine.

Try getting some of the manufactured "heat logs".  They are made out of compressed sawdust, and are often to be found in supermarkets, hardware stores and the like.  If they burn well, then it's not the stove that's the problem.  Firewood either needs to be stored for a couple of years, or else kiln dried, before it's any good.  Much of the stuff sold in nets is either only a few months old, or it's been left out in the rain.  If I do buy firewood, I get it in the spring, so it can sit in the log store all summer and dry out nicely for the autumn.

Moisture meters are available.  Anything above about 20% water isn't worth burning.