Best way to heat an old house revealed

Best way to heat an old house revealed

For many people, it is a lifelong dream to live in a period or listed property.  Perhaps you already live in a older property and are looking for some energy saving tips.

Whilst the thought of living in a house full of secrets and abundance of character can seem thrilling.  The reality can and is for many people is really quite different.

It is no secret that older homes are typically thought of as not being energy efficient, cold, draughty and costly in terms of keeping your home even moderately warm in the cooler months.

Therefore, before making the leap into these special properties it is a very good idea to be educated on the unique needs of these beautiful properties.

Easy fixes to increase energy efficiency

1. Undertake general maintenance checks on a regular basis.

Check that your gutters and downpipes are not blocked, especially after severe rain

2. Book a boiler service

Whether you have a natural gas, LPG or an oil-fired boiler, an annual service will go a long way to extend the longevity of your heating system and help keep costly breakdowns at bay.

3. Consider replacing your inefficient boiler

• A new boiler can improve your efficiency greatly. Moving from a G-Rated boiler to an A-Rated could also save you hundreds of £’s a year.
• Modern boilers can achieve efficiencies of over 93% where as boilers over 10 years old can be working at as low as 50% efficiency

4. Insulate where you can

• Insulate the roof space will help trap more heat within your home.
• Insulating above the top floor ceiling is one of the easiest and cheapest means of improving the energy efficiency of buildings and such work can be carried out successfully in older buildings if approached with some care
• Be mindful though that older properties need to be able to ‘breathe’ so it is best to stick to natural insulation products over manmade fibre glass. This is because older homes absorb and release moisture materials such as fibreglass could cause damp issues.
• Insulate with curtains – long heavy curtains also do a good job of trapping the heat in certain rooms

5. Lag pipes and hot water cylinders.

• If you have uninsulated pipes exposed to areas which are not heated such as lofts, roof space or garages you run the risk of the pipe bursting. Worse still often you will only notice this once water is dripping through a ceiling. Pipe insulation is cheap and freely available at your local DIY store and won’t take long to fit.
• Insulating your hot water tank – this is an absolute must for thermal efficiency within your home. Left uninsulated hot water will cool much, much quicker meaning your boiler will use a lot more fuel to re heat the water.  In Fact going from an uninsulated hot water tank to an insulated tank could save you over £150 a year!

6. Heat loss through windows

• • • • There is no longer a need to remove original timber framed windows. For example many companies now offer bespoke secondary glazing. This will improve your thermal efficiency whilst preserving the character of your home.

What next?

We hope this has helped you understand the essence of bringing up the efficiency of an older home. For more detailed answers or to book a survey at your property please call 01258 472132 or fill in the enquiry form.

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