House with EPC rating E - how to keep the house warm without spending a fortune?

Tahlullah.H

Completely left of field, because you either move, or pay to heat and insulate the property - buy an electric throw for when you are sat on the sofa and an electric blanket for when you are in bed.  They are inexpensive to run compared to a room heater and will keep you warm, rather than the air space around you. The cheaper versions are hot water bottles. You should be able to get both for an outlay of around £50, but they will help until you figure out your next steps.  Good luck.  

Sandtree

QrizB said:

ProDave said:

Some day, the market is going to wake up to the fact a property with such a poor EPC is worth less because it is going to cost a lot more to heat it.  I would not want to be owning a very poor EPC property when the market finally wakes up to this fact.

Potentially, the OP's rent is £150/month less than the market rate for exactly that reason. But that doesn't help the OP.

Its not even £150 less than market rate, its £150 less than the next cheapest one suggesting the average/market rate is higher

EssexHebridean

OK - skimming past the ideal world solutions (move, or heat it more) and the hindsight approach (should have looked at the EPC...) let's see if we can come up with some practical solutions for you. Ideally yes, heating the place more would be perfect, but allowing that now, and going forwards, that might not be much of an option, looking for ways to maximise the heat you can afford to produce is what's needed. 

Are there rooms in the property that you don't use, or at least rarely use? In most circumstances we'd shy away from suggesting to people that they simply close the doors on certain rooms and leave them unheated because that can cause issues with the building, but as your landlord doesn't care about you, I see little reason you should care about their property, quite frankly! 

Firstly, thicker curtains. If the ones you have are unlined, then they need either a lining, or an additional layer underneath/over the top. One of the most economical ways to do this is to double hang a second curtain from the same rail (if it's a pole type rail this works well - if it's a "runner" type it needs a slightly more inventive solution) and the secondary curtains can come from charity shops - they usually have some in at a relatively low cost.  Cloe curtains when it's dark in ALL rooms, not just the one you're in at that time. While you're at the charity shop, grab an extra one or two of the cheap curtains if they have them and roll them up into a sausage shape - the right length to use as a draught excluder for any gaps under doors. It *might* be worth thinking about getting a small oil filled radiator for rooms you want spot-heat in - for example you could run it in your bedroom on a timeswitch to come on for an hour before you get up in the morning. While electric heating is generally not as cost effective as gas, running a single electric heater like that for an hour might save you putting the whole central heating system on for that hour (and you can turn the bedroom rad off entirely perhaps?) Also for the bedroom think about some of those wheat filled bags that you heat in the microwave - you can pop those into the bed before you get in for toasty feet, and they hold the heat longer than hot water bottles do as well. The cost to heat is pennies, no more.  While you're in the charity shop have a look and see if they've got any old rugs you could add to the floors, too - it all helps. 

Candles lit in the evening can be surprisingly warming - I'm convinced it's more the feel of them than any heat they actually produce and of course all the usual safety rules apply!  You might find popping a hat on when you're sitting down in the evenings to be more effective than other layers too as if you're head's warm that helps the rest of you stay warm too. I'd also say the same about the other end - try to stop your feet getting too cold as that can interfere with sleep - or at least it can for me! A lot of folk swear by the heated throws as well now - I believe they cost pennies to run but they put the heat directly onto your body so for a relatively small initial outlay could be worth considering. also remember when you've cooked, leave the oven door open to let the heat escape fully into the room

You could also consider getting plastic film to fit secondary glazing over your windows but with it being a rented property you'd have to think how best to fit it. It's probably worth going round the widows anyway and seeing if there are any truly awful offenders for draughts - if you find any then have a think about how you might be able to tackle even just those. 

A visit to the Old Style board on here for ideas might prove fruitful - those guys are incredible at coming up with great solutions to tricky situations. You might also consider putting together your Statement of Affairs and posting in the Debt Free Wannabe section - you don't have to be in debt to ask for help, and it just could be that we might be able to identify some areas that you could make savings in that you have missed - sometimes it's easier to see the gaps from the outside? 

FreeBear

Peggy0628 said: I did point out how cold and damp the house is to the landlord (or to be exact, the letting agent) but they told me the only reason the house is cold and damp is because I don't keep the heating on all day.

You need to be addressing your concerns to the landlord, in writing, at the address provided. The letting agent is just the middleman without authority to do anything.

In principle, I would agree that the problem with damp and mold is down to the lack of heating, but there is one low cost measure that the landlord can undertake to improve matters. Loft insulation - It is not expensive, and having even just 200mm up there will reduce heat loss considerably.

ChaunceyGardiner

If you're a bit handy, or know someone who is, you could fit a basic wireless thermostat. It would probably pay for itself pretty quickly, and you can remove it and sell it on eBay when you move out.

wild666

Get a bottle of mould and mildew remover and spay it on the affected areas but don't wipe it off as the instructions say leave it on. I did that in a property in 2008 around the windows and walls that had mould, at first I wiped it off after the time specified on the bottle but one time I forgot for a few days and the mould never came back in the remaining 13 months I was in the property.  

Gerry1

Unfortunately it looks like the red lines of 'must be within 5 miles of work' and 'must be able to keep pets' will have to be reconsidered.

Needs must...

Peggy0628

Thanks for all the replies.
Just to clarify, the rent I pay is not below market value. Almost half of the houses on my street are owned by private landlords and when I talked to some of the neighbours, they all pay between £100/month less than me and £50/month more than me in rent. So I'm actually renting one of the more expensive houses in the area. I know of at least 2 neighbours who are not happy with the houses they live in but can't move as there is nowhere better they can afford - just like me.
I can't really move further than 5 miles from my workplace as I don't have a car and public transport is not an option (sometimes I finish work at 2am, or start at 6am on Sunday and buses don't run at those times). At the moment, I'm walking to work every day in all weathers (it takes me circa 80 minutes each way) to save money.

EssexHebridean

Peggy I promise you that some of us do understand the situation you're in, and that it really isn't as easy as just "move then". there are some extremely good landlords out there, but unfortunately there are also some extremely bad ones, and yes, sometimes "rocking the boat" isn't a viable option if you want to keep the roof over your head. 

lisyloo

I don’t wish to be harsh but if you have little savings (no deposit) then it sounds like you maybe living beyond your means and may need to consider your red lines (I’ve done this myself so know what it’s like).
I would have suggested a house share or lodging but that will be tricky with multiple pets.

if you have no savings, transport and the pets are limiting you then you need to consider your lifestyle as energy is going up at least 54% in April, plus food, plus national insurance.

A 5 mile radius is very limiting.

Im not saying it’s easy but could you look at moving jobs? To somewhere on a bus route? 

Having no savings is worrying. What if one of the pets needs treatment? Or you need dental treatment?