Elfinsafety – Member
Yeah but your ignoring individual physiology, Crikey. Makes me laugh when people bang on about ‘putting extra clothes on’ rather than being comfortable in yer own home.

Went round a neighbour’s earlier; he’s got his balcony door wide open. I din’t even take me coat off. He thinks it’s funny that I think it’s a bit cold; it’s some silly macho crap he’s got going. Truth is, he’s got high blood pressure, and drinks from about noon. so he simply does not in any way feel the cold like I do. come the summer, if it gets about 75ºF, he’s ‘too hot’. So he’s a moany bastard from about May to October. I, on the other hand, am fine in warmer temperatures.

In my experience, those who originate from warmer climes tend to suffer the cold more than those who originate from the UK or Northern Yerp. It’s all about physiology; an Ethiopian can run about in the hot sun, whereas a White Scottish person would keel over as their bodies can’t physically cope with the heat in the same way. Horses for courses. Not to mention sunburn…

I have my flat at 20ºC during the day. Just right and comfortable if I’m wearing a jumper. Don’t care what others think; if you want to live in a fridge, wearing all your clothes, you are free to do so in the comfort of your own home. Just don’t expect me to come and visit bringing a nice bottle of wine or some snacks.

Interesting to hear someone who frequently talks about social cohesion, the plight of the under dog e.t.c take the view point of as long as I’m ok screw the effect on others. I say this as the attitude you have presented, intentionally or not is one where by the use and moderation of energy within your home is not a subject over which you feel you should take any responsibility.

Edukator – Member
Windows are generally quoted for UW, the thermal resistance of the whole window. Secondary glazing will give you UW = 2. To get the R of the window R = 1/UW so for secondary glazing R = 0.5. Similar to an 1890s wall.

Approximate UWs for different types of glazing.

Single glazed = 5.7

Double glazed = 2

Double glazed 4/16/4 = 1.4

Best triple glazed or double with thermal memebrane 0.7

A recent double glazed window in an 1890s house will lose less heat than the wal around it.

So go ahead, CaptJon, you’ll beter than halve the heat loss from the window.

Cheers for the info. Sounds like i’ll notice the difference.

…and our physiology is all the same. I suspect you are mixing it up with culture, sociology and some other ologys.

Physiology hasn’t suddenly changed, our lifestyles have, and no one ‘needs’ the heating on all the time or we wouldn’t have survived as a species.

put a jumper on.

Also, having the heating on all the time makes you fatter.

Probably explains why everyone in the uk seems to be fat these days.

The heating on all the time guy – assuming like you say the 13 minutes per hour that the burner is firing on full, and a 25kw input combi boiler (pretty small one), and gas at 6p / kwh (roughly the average price paid), that’d be 35p an hour, 8.40 quid a day, 58.80 a week, and assuming very conservatively that you have the heating on for 10 weeks total, best part of 600 quid.

Wireless thermostat costs from about 30 quid, is a ten minute job to fit and keeps the house efficiently at the temperatures you want, where you want. We fitted one because the baby’s room needed a minimum temp at night or else she woke up (set to 16 in her room at night, and rarely turns on except in mid winter). Didn’t buy an electric heater for her room as I worked out that the cost of heating one room with electric was going to be roughly the same as the whole house with gas) . To money saved is massive – pre thermostat, we got a bill for 100 quid more than normal, after thermostat, even including last years snow, bills roughly similar to pre kid.

Edukator – Member

This does use more fuel that letting the house go cold:

“Run this with lower set back temperatures (10-14degC) to ensure the house is maintened at a sensible temperature then requires less energy to get back up to temperature. Doesn’t use a lot less fuel but is better for the house”

No it won’t.
Not in the way they are using the heating already as long as they don’t try and overheat. You’ll probably find the house rarely drops below 14degC anyway but when it get’s properly cold it’s far better for the house to remain at a background temperature than let it drop to whatever.

Old old house likely means thick walls. Let these go cold and they’ll suck the heat out of the property before the thermal mass is reheated. Keep it warmish and you can ramp the temperature back up to occupation temperature easily. This of course assumes that the heating system is sized correctly for the property and can heat it to the required temperature.

You know it’s not physiology!

It is. A ‘typical’ Ethiopian carries a lot less body fat than a Northern Yerpean. Because they don’t need to, they don’t need the insulation as much.

An Ethiopian:

A North Yerpean:

Notice any differences?

Right. Thank you.

Interesting to hear someone who frequently talks about social cohesion, the plight of the under dog e.t.c take the view point of as long as I’m ok screw the effect on others.

Bollocks. I heat my home to a level where I feel comfortable. I accept this is warmer than the level others heat their houses to, but does not in any way make me a selfish planet raper. I don’t drive, so unless you don’t either, don’t try that one with me, eh? 😉

And as I’ve said, it’s easy to heat my flat cos it’s probbly better insulated than some damp cottage in Scotland. And a hell of a lot cheaper too. So, I probbly use a lot less energy than others do heating their homes to a lower temp.

Oh, and my clothes are smaller, thus saving on resources too. 😀

put a jumper on.

I’ve got a flipping jumper on! 😡

I want to be comfortable in my home and i want my children to be comfortable too not just in their rooms. if it gets to cold they get up. the rads all go off at about 19c and if we want to be warmer your wear more. sometimes Im happy in shorts and tee, others Im looking for as many layers as i can find. depends on how Im feeling. Just want to try and find best way to maintain a temp without going nuts.

Heat loss is proportional to the temperature of the house above ambient, Tomlevell. The warmer the house the higher the heat loss. The energy saved while the house is colder will always be greater than the energy used to heat it up again.

At temperatures below 10°C heat from the ground plays a role. A well insulated house won’t freeze even when the temperature drops well below zeo because heat from the ground keeps it above zero – one of the negatives of under-floor insulation in a house that is often inoccupied.

I live in an 1890’s end terrace with solid walls. Recently had double glazing and doors fitted plus a new 30kw combi boiler. I have a programmable thermostat set to 18’C and TRV’s fitted. It comes on for an hour in the morning and from 4:30-8:30 each evening and that’s easily enough for me. My combined fuel bill has just gone up to £74 per month from £58 but I was already £70 in credit and don’t expext to run a deficit over winter. Attic is converted but not heated so no idea of how well insulated it is. Main heat loss is the gable end I think, certainly get some condensation in a couple of points.

Well, i’ve fitted secondary film glazing to the three (big) windows which cause the greatest heat loss (two can be could only be covered by a thin blind), and put some reflective stuff behind the radiators and on the back door (wooden and drafty)

Result – i just turned my heating off.

Caveat – my downstairs neighbours have been in all day with their heating on, i’ve been using a hairdryer on max to get the film tight, and moving about a lot.

The heating on all the time guy – assuming like you say the 13 minutes per hour that the burner is firing on full, and a 25kw input combi boiler (pretty small one), and gas at 6p / kwh (roughly the average price paid), that’d be 35p an hour, 8.40 quid a day, 58.80 a week, and assuming very conservatively that you have the heating on for 10 weeks total, best part of 600 quid.

Well, we ran it that way through the snowy period last year – total bill £69 per month. Its been warm since April or so though…..

I decided you lot were right (!) and went back to timed – the result is the boiler has lost all pressure & therefore is “dead”* and I’m sitting here heating the house with the Living Flame gas fire and an electric fire upstairs 🙁

*befoere you ask yes I’ve checked everthing I can and tried to top up the water pressure to no avail…..

True to form, our Potterton boiler has suffered its annual breakdown.

Quick question if i may regarding insulation under the floor.

I have a cellar under my front room. It has 2 coal holes and a couple of air bricks. There is a radiator in there too.

Should i insulate my floor? Will me insulating it keep the room warmer above or does the radiator do a good enough job of heating the space? I can easily put up some insulation board as there is no ceiling in the cellar, just the joists.

Thanks in advance.

Depends on the temperature difference between the two areas. (The U value or loss is dependent on the temperature difference).

I reckon that if you insulate under the floor to R = 3 you will be warmer with the cellar radiator off. I’m guessing the cellar is colder than your front room even with the cellar radiator on, right? If so then you are losing heat from your front room to the cellar and insulating the floor to R = 3 will pretty much eliminate that heat loss.