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

Thrugelmir

lisyloo said:

but people voted for this lot.

Never used to be this level of benefits or a Nanny state. People helped each other. Not grabbed the biggest slice of the pie for themselves at every opportunity. 

badmemory

lisyloo said:

but people voted for this lot.

And one of these days we will hopefully figure out why.  I tend to think it is that people have delusions of grandeur & think they are better than others so will be on the winning side.  Unfortunately it rarely turns out like that & they land up well the only word for it is     s h a f t e d.

LadOnTheHill

Heat the person, not the place.

You don't need your home to be warm (caveats to this below), you need your body to be warm. There are folk climbing up mountains, or meandering through Antarctica, who are warm enough because they have enough clothes on. An extra layer of clothes doesn't cost anything extra to run, but will help keep the warmth that your own body generates, in. Electric throws are also good and very very cheap to run. You can even get electric pet beds.

If you keep the air in your home dry enough, you won't get mould. You don't need to heat to prevent mould, you need to dry the air. A dehumidifier will draw the moisture out of the air so you can pour it down the drain. No moisture = no damp = no mould. Heating to prevent damp is effective, but what you end up with is damp air rather than damp walls. As soon as you stop heating, the damp will condense back onto the walls and you'll be back where you started. Take the moisture out of the air and get rid of it, and the temperature can get much lower before you have a problem.

If you're getting damp back into the room somehow, such as through a leaky window letting outside air in, a crack in the external wall, or just simply breathing, then you'll need to do something about that. If you can dry a room out sufficiently, and then prevent more moisture getting back in, your damp problem will be solved.

badmemory

Just having a gas fire or cooker going will increase condensation.  The only time in years when I have had condensation was a couple of months ago when my boiler packed in & I used my cooker for heating.  My bathroom keeps clearer with a dehumidifier than with an extractor fan & I don't get a draft.

LadOnTheHill

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6332107/frugal-fuel-tips

A thread about saving money on fuel.

wrf12345

Insulation board (celotex) in most of window recesses and hidden by curtains - most of the heat will be going out of the window?

And replace the lights with led bulbs, cheap from Poundland, to make up for the loss of light.

Peggy0628

A lot of replies, some helpful (thanks guys) and some downright patronising/condescending (nothing like kicking a person who's already down, huh? - I hope you never end up in my situation). I won't be posting on this thread again...

TBagpuss

I'm sorry that you are in this situation. I am not sure whether you are still reading given your last post, but if you are, I would suggest the following:

• If possible, check the lost for insulation and add some. I appreciate that you shouldn't have to, you landlord should be getting it done, but if they won't, then adding some yourself may well pay for itself in savings on your heating bills.
• Consider putting oil board behind the radiators to minimize heat lost out through the walls.
• If the windows are poorly fitted. try to deal with this. You can buy rolls of padded tape (I'm not sure what the correct name is) but  bubble wrap can be very effective too -the windows in my house don't fit well and I am saving up to replace them, but hive found that bubble wrap make a huge difference - open the window, but folded trips of bubble wrap round the frame and close the window - no more drafts! 
• Draft excluders for the bottoms of doors - of course there are lots you can buy, but rolled up newspaper , then bubble wrap, then an old towel or curtain will work well. 
• Heating the space you are in - a small, plug in oil filled radiator can give you a lot of heath quickly and for a short time. IT may well be cheaper than having the central heating on full time, if you put it on for an hour or so when you get in .
• layers - consider buying a few sets of base layers - legging and long sleeved tops to wear under your other clothing - and also layer up with thin jumpers under a thicker one - it lets you stay warmer and more comfortable even if you can't afford to het the room to the temperature you'd like.
• An electric under blanket and  things like plain or heated throws can also allow you to be more comfortable at relatively low cost.
• Having the heating on for a bit longer but with the thermostat set a bit lower may help with the damp.

Also - I would write to the landlord and explicitly request that they take steps to improve the insulation and request that they have individual thermostatic valves fitted to the radiators , mention that the property suffers badly from damp and mold and that these measures would help reduce those defects. (I appreciate that he may ignore the request, but if he does it may make it harder for him to try to blame you for any damp or mold related issues when you come to move out.