Saving heat with carpets?

Reed_Richards

If you are using radiators then replacing the existing radiator with one with a larger surface area to give you a better heat output would probably be cheaper than buying and fitting a carpet.  If your current radiator does not have fins between the panels (or is only a single panel) then this is easily done without taking up any more wall space. 

markin

From the previous thread Its an under sized type 22, And then the is/was the single glazing in the kitchen and upstairs and bare floors.

An extra rad, TRV's, And double glazing would be my choice over a new carpet, Can always lay a large area rug cheaply.

EssexHebridean

Hoenir said:

Have you considered using a rug (or two even) strategically placed.  Get a reasonable quality though. 

As the OP’s Mum has Parkinson’s this may well not be a safe option for her if she is still mobile. 

michael079

markin said:

Did you get off E7, Did they agree to combine readings or fit a smart meter?

Did you get TRV's fitted so you can control the rads in other rooms, Radiator Fan, Or up-size the rad? 

Is the a door to the kitchen with the single glazed window? I think doing the remaining windows would be better.


EDIT: Reading the November thread it seems your still using the Electric heater!

As i said in the March thread, put it in fan mode and point it at the rad to boost its output, Set the heating to a steady 26c and leave it on 24/7, Gas is cheaper.

*Note to others, the room actual temp was around 20c with it set at 30c out in the corridor.

Hi, yes we got a smart meter installed. The rads already have trv's and I also used chimney blocker.

There is a single glazed window in the kitchen, and others upstairs and the front door could do with replacing, but all that would cost much more than a carpet?

I did forget abort the fan trick facing the rads, I will give that a go 👍🏼

FreeBear

michael079 said:

FreeBear said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

A carpet and good underlay can truly make a huge difference.  Especially if by wooden floorboards you mean just the bare floor.

I covered the (suspended) timber floor in my lounge with aluminium foil - The extra wide stuff used for cooking your Christmas turkey. On top of that went 5mm woodfibre boards (the stuff used as laminate underlay), followed by 11m foam carpet underlay. The gripper rods around the perimeter of the room had to be screwed down rather than nailed, but this wasn't a difficult task (used 25mm screws). Once the carpet went down, it felt real nice under foot, and the room is so much easier to keep warm. Much of the reason for that is the multiple layers killing any draughts coming up through the gaps in the floorboards.

That sounds great, what a plan. Will the screwing be a lot of extra work for the carpet fitter? 

Yes, it is extra work, and if you are paying a fitter to install the carpet rods (and foil & fibre boards), it will add quite a bit to the bill. I did all the prep work myself including fitting the underlay, so all the fitter had to do was lay the carpet.

michael079

markin said:

From the previous thread Its an under sized type 22, And then the is/was the single glazing in the kitchen and upstairs and bare floors.

An extra rad, TRV's, And double glazing would be my choice over a new carpet, Can always lay a large area rug cheaply.

I would prefer the double glazing but that could be quite costly right now. Perhaps the extra rad and carpet for now would be good? 

michael079

EssexHebridean said:

Hoenir said:

Have you considered using a rug (or two even) strategically placed.  Get a reasonable quality though. 

As the OP’s Mum has Parkinson’s this may well not be a safe option for her if she is still mobile. 

She's isn't too mobile, but carers do use a lot of equipment to transfer her and I'm thinking it might get a bit inconvenient 

michael079

Reed_Richards said:

If you are using radiators then replacing the existing radiator with one with a larger surface area to give you a better heat output would probably be cheaper than buying and fitting a carpet.  If your current radiator does not have fins between the panels (or is only a single panel) then this is easily done without taking up any more wall space. 

It's a double one, with fins between the panels. Is it maybe too small? 90cmx60cm

markin

Are the doors to seal off the kitchen and hall? If so then the rad and carpet would be the cheapest option, And fit draft seals on the doors bottoms.

Just cheap carpet and underlay £12-15 a sqm? Plus fitting £250-400?

Rad is undersized or the room would be 30c! Used a a calculator and it recommended 2 600x 1400,  At 12,053 BTU each

"Room is 17 square metres and 2.64cm height."

QrizB

markin said:

Used a a calculator and it recommended 2 600x 1400,  At 12,053 BTU each

Which calculator was that?

That's a *lot* of radiator. 12000 BTU/hr is about 4kW, so you're suggesting the room needs 8kW of heat!