Best way to run the heating/keep warm this winter?

Apodemus

knightstyle said:

... a perfectly insulated house will need no heating. 

Well strictly speaking a perfectly insulated house, with no heating will remain at the ambient outside temperature on the day that it was sealed shut.  If there are human and animal residents, then there will be a source of heating and the building will warm, at least until the oxygen or food runs out and aerobic respiration stops.  If you want to bring in external air, then you need to add perfect efficiency from your heat recovery ventillation in addition to your perfect insulation.  And if you want to nip out to replenish the food supply, then you need a perfect heat exchange in your perfect air-lock front porch between your two perfectly insulated doors...etc...    Does this house belong to a Mr Schrodinger?

twopenny

Yes to foil behind radiators but have it 3-4inches at the sides and if under a window sill or shelf take it in a curve to the front of the shelf.and stick to direct the hot air into the room.

Close internal doors and check for draughts under. An old towel folded is a good draught excluder and can quickly be folded away/chucked in a basket.

Fleece blanket over the sofa adds a lot of warmth. And another to snuggle under. Quick to Poundland or charity shops before it gets cold and everyone is after them.
When sitting keep feet off floor. Remember grannys footstool? Thats where the coldest bit of the house is. Huge difference to your feet.

Remember onsies? So warm and cosy. I have tops and bottoms in that material. I look funny but it just makes people smile and I'm as warm as toast. They come to the shops shortly and go quickly
Propper slippers too indoors.

Exercise. You stay warmer for longer.

Short showers. Make it a competition. 

We are looking very much at how our great grandparents kept warm pre central heating but we are luckier. We have options.

Slinky

We're having new radiators and a new boiler installed as part of our house renovation. We'll be putting foil behind the radiators, as we had before with the old rads. I remember quite vividly seeing a TV programme back in the 1970s/80s where they put an infra rad heat camera pointed at a house. You could see the radiators glowing through the brickwork. They then put some foil covered board behind the rads and the change in colour a few hours later was significant.

Bendy_House

Slinky said:

We're having new radiators and a new boiler installed as part of our house renovation. We'll be putting foil behind the radiators, as we had before with the old rads. I remember quite vividly seeing a TV programme back in the 1970s/80s where they put an infra rad heat camera pointed at a house. You could see the radiators glowing through the brickwork. They then put some foil covered board behind the rads and the change in colour a few hours later was significant.

Hi Slinky.

Are you going 'oversized' while you are at it? Seriously worth considering - they will provide the same heat output but with a lower water temp = more efficient boiler performance. Also hopefully future-proofed for alternative heating sources such as ASHPs.

The new rad sizes might shock you, tho'...

Slinky

Bendy_House said:

Slinky said:

We're having new radiators and a new boiler installed as part of our house renovation. We'll be putting foil behind the radiators, as we had before with the old rads. I remember quite vividly seeing a TV programme back in the 1970s/80s where they put an infra rad heat camera pointed at a house. You could see the radiators glowing through the brickwork. They then put some foil covered board behind the rads and the change in colour a few hours later was significant.

Hi Slinky.

Are you going 'oversized' while you are at it? Seriously worth considering - they will provide the same heat output but with a lower water temp = more efficient boiler performance. Also hopefully future-proofed for alternative heating sources such as ASHPs.

The new rad sizes might shock you, tho'...

We did consider it; have gone for a boiler which is hydrogen ready hoping that technology will be up and running by the time we need it. With the cost of electricity at the moment, the air source heat pump in a 1960s built house looked a frightening proposition.  Didn't really want the oversized rads yet.