Help! My home is freezing cold

Before spending money on additional heat sources you need to work out why the existing heating isn't enough.

Are the radiators hotter at the top or the bottom? If hotter at the bottom they need bleeding, if at the top they need the sludge removing. https://www.247homerescue.co.uk/how-to-clean-a-radiator/

Where is the thermostat and what is it set at? Once the temperature is reached on the room stat, the boiler will shut down regardless of whether the other rooms are up to the temperature you want.

Do you have TRVs (valves with numbers on the dials) on all your radiators? What are these set to?

Have you calculated whether the radiators are the correct size for the rooms? http://www.bestheating.com/btu-calculator

What is the capacity of your boiler? Is it more or less than the capacity needed for the total maximum output of your radiators?

Do you have a programmer for your heating? Is there one zone or two? And have you got the timings right for when you need the heat? Some programmers use outside temperature or even weather forecasts to pre-heat so that your requested temperature is reached at the time you want the heating on - others start the boiler then.

Have you had the radiators balanced so that the heat is being distributed effectively between them? https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/how-to-balance-radiators/

There's lots more to look into, but the first place to start is with ensuring that the heating setup is suitable for the property and the way you want to use it. You may need to get a plumber in to balance the radiators if this isn't something you are comfortable doing as a DIY job. The same goes for dealing with sludge.

In the meantime, look into improving insulation - I assume you've already got your books unpacked Books on external walls are good insulation! Check for draughts and where appropriate add/replace draught excluders - you may find some windows need replacing. Use heavy, ideally thermally-lined curtains and blinds. You can layer them as well - blinds close to the window, curtains on poles and by stringing curtain wire along the poles you can add a layer of fleece. BUbble wrap can also be applied to panes of glass (I do this on my single-glazed front door). Ensure keyholes have covers (I put them on the inside of the door rather than the outside, as they are more useful for blocking draughts).

In the spring you might want to check your loft insulation to see whether you need to add more, and your windows to see whether any need replacing.

Another thing is curtains - most people seem to close curtains when they go into a room to start using it, regardless of what time that is. So a sitting room might have its curtains closed when you go in about 7ish after eating in the kitchen, or a bedroom might have its curtains closed when you go up to bed about half-ten.
what works better is to go round just before dusk when there's still enough daylight to move around the house without lights on and close all the curtains then. That way as the temp starts to drop outside, you aren't letting heat out of the room. Even with double-glazing, the heat will go out through uncurtained windows and the temperatures start dropping as soon as the daylight goes.

We also use a "stone pig" - a Victorian hot water bottle that is actually a bottle, made of thick, heavy ceramic stoneware. You fill it from the kettle, warming it slightly first by swilling round a bit of hot water, and then screw the filler-cap on firmly. It then lies on its side, cap uppermost, and in our experience it will stay hot, not just warm but actually hot, for a good ten hours inside a bed under the covers. Obviously you need a bedstead with a foot to it or else you kick it out and it probably would go through the floorboards
But it's also excellent during the day to rest my feet on, or simply to leave in a room to take the chill off it.
It's a form of mini storage heater, I suppose. Cost of boiling 1.5 pints of water = ten hours of heat covered or 4-5 hours of heat uncovered.

you can find them in charity shops for a fiver or tenner - I would add a bit of silicone to the cap's screw to help ensure no leaking (I've never had one leak and I've used them for forty years, several different ones growing up and my own one now); I just cut a ring out of a bit of old torn silicone kitchenware.

Hi

Definitely important to block up your chimney if you have an open fire that you dont use. Our LR with an open fire is noticably colder than the rest of the house without the fire lit.

Agree also about drawing curtains, making sure cavity wall insulation is done if you can, closing internal doors - especially if there are rooms that you dont really use, and having door curtains over draughty exterior doors. A cold, windy day is an excellent time to walk around your house trying to find draughts and work out if there is anything that can be done about them.

Working out electricity costs for any heater is easy. Look at your electric bill and find out how much your electric costs per KWH. So say thats 15p then a 2KW heater will use 2 x 15p per hour = 30p. Now that doesnt sound much but run that for 4 hours a day 7 days a week and you are already up to £8.40 a week.

Remember that something like an oil fired radiator with a thermostat will cycle on and off so wont be use the full 2KW all the time, but best to overestimate!

An electric fan heater gives a blast of instant heat that is gone quickly when it is switched off whereas an oil fired radiator takes time to warm up but can be set at a low temperature to take the chill off.

But the golden rule is that electric heaters are expensive and the ones that are low cost will be low wattage and probably ineffective for anything other than a broom cupboard!

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