Oct price cap increase likely to push energy bill to over £10k... for a family of 4...

RobM99

Maybe a daft question, do you have a tank jacket? 

Magnitio

xeny said:

I've done it several times as a DIY job and consider it one of the easier ones, there's no measuring, drilling or cutting. The wiring side is as complicated as wiring a plug, although you want to check the power is off first.

Immersion heater spanners are about £10 and there are howtos on youtube, which a gaming PC should easily be capable of displaying at a high level of detail.

Removing an immersion heater that has been in a copper cylinder for many years can be very difficult as the cylinder can distort or rupture. I had this issue, but as the cylinder was 25 years old, I changed it for a new one with better insulation and without all the limescale on the coil.

Happy_Sloth

RobM99 said:

Maybe a daft question, do you have a tank jacket? 

yes the boiler has a tank jacket  

xeny

Magnitio said:
Removing an immersion heater that has been in a copper cylinder for many years can be very difficult as the cylinder can distort or rupture. I had this issue, but as the cylinder was 25 years old, I changed it for a new one with better insulation and without all the limescale on the coil.

Ouch!. I live in a pretty hard water area, so immersion heater replacement has been pretty frequent, so I've not encountered that. I tend to put PTFE tape on the threads on installation to avoid leaks which I'd hope would help with the element seizing in the cylinder

Happy_Sloth

Magnitio said:

xeny said:

I've done it several times as a DIY job and consider it one of the easier ones, there's no measuring, drilling or cutting. The wiring side is as complicated as wiring a plug, although you want to check the power is off first.

Immersion heater spanners are about £10 and there are howtos on youtube, which a gaming PC should easily be capable of displaying at a high level of detail.

Removing an immersion heater that has been in a copper cylinder for many years can be very difficult as the cylinder can distort or rupture. I had this issue, but as the cylinder was 25 years old, I changed it for a new one with better insulation and without all the limescale on the coil.

Ours is very old at least 30 years i think and it's HUGE which i also think is part of the issue heating it as it's much bigger than standard.   

I wouldn't want to mess with it personally but it's on the to-do list to replace i'll probably get a smaller one. 

There would be room in the cupboard for a boiler but it's right in the center of the house so there is no-where to vent which is why i assume the boiler is positioned where it is.  

Either way the whole setup needs re-working it's on the plan when our finances stabilize. 

Broomstick

Sea_Shell said:

On the door issue, I'm not sure there is much you can do about it.   (Ours is the same)

Any sort of curtain is fine for insulating a closed door, but would be a PITA to wrestle with each time you use the door.   Especially if it's inward opening.

The late night kids probably wouldn't close it either!!

You just have to be quick...and avoid chatting with any callers/deliveries etc.

Or if you're not expecting anyone... don't open the door!!!!   It'll be Trick or Treat season soon😉... IGNORE 🤣

This might be a solution with the problem of both inward opening doors and forgetful children...   I didn't know what rising curtain rails that open and close with a door were called but, after a search, have discovered that they are portiere rods.  There seem to be lots of manufacturers.  I have no connection to this particular firm but they have a very clear video explaining how the mechanism works.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdj-Wrj9qgk.
It looks as if there are simpler versions as well as different styles from different manufacturers.  All quite expensive but maybe worth it?

Sea_Shell

Obviously stopping draughts is going to benefit our bank balance, but what about our health?

Is it healthy to be "sealed in" our houses all winter?  Surely we need some ventilation?  But with ventilation comes heat loss.

Where hangs the balance?

QrizB

Sea_Shell said:

Obviously stopping draughts is going to benefit our bank balance, but what about our health?
Is it healthy to be "sealed in" our houses all winter?  Surely we need some ventilation?  But with ventilation comes heat loss.
Where hangs the balance?

0.6 air changes per hour seems to be accepted as sufficient:
https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/UserFiles/File/Technical Papers/BRE_Passivhaus_Airtightness_Guide.pdf

Very low air leakage rates are required by the Passivhaus standard and must be demonstrated for each certified building by means of a “blower door” air tightness test. The air change rate must be less than or equal to 0.6 air changes per hour, under test conditions.

For comparison a typical British house might leak 10 air changes per hour.

Sea_Shell

QrizB said:

Sea_Shell said:

Obviously stopping draughts is going to benefit our bank balance, but what about our health?
Is it healthy to be "sealed in" our houses all winter?  Surely we need some ventilation?  But with ventilation comes heat loss.
Where hangs the balance?

0.6 air changes per hour seems to be accepted as sufficient:
https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/UserFiles/File/Technical Papers/BRE_Passivhaus_Airtightness_Guide.pdf

Very low air leakage rates are required by the Passivhaus standard and must be demonstrated for each certified building by means of a “blower door” air tightness test. The air change rate must be less than or equal to 0.6 air changes per hour, under test conditions.

For comparison a typical British house might leak 10 air changes per hour.

Interesting, thanks.

Looks like we've still got a loooong way to go (typically) to get from 10 to 0.6 😉

What's that as a % reduction?  

QrizB

Sea_Shell said:

QrizB said:

Sea_Shell said:

Obviously stopping draughts is going to benefit our bank balance, but what about our health?
Is it healthy to be "sealed in" our houses all winter?  Surely we need some ventilation?  But with ventilation comes heat loss.
Where hangs the balance?

0.6 air changes per hour seems to be accepted as sufficient:
https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/UserFiles/File/Technical Papers/BRE_Passivhaus_Airtightness_Guide.pdf

Very low air leakage rates are required by the Passivhaus standard and must be demonstrated for each certified building by means of a “blower door” air tightness test. The air change rate must be less than or equal to 0.6 air changes per hour, under test conditions.

For comparison a typical British house might leak 10 air changes per hour.

Interesting, thanks.

Looks like we've still got a loooong way to go (typically) to get from 10 to 0.6 😉

What's that as a % reduction?  

94 percent?