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If you felt the squeeze last winter trying to contend with a dramatic rise in fuel bills along with running an older home, we feel you. Our article provides help and advice when it comes to heating an older home.
Whilst older properties often have abundant charm they are more intricate when it comes to heating and retaining heat. However, taking proactive approach can help to ensure your home reaches a much better level of insulation and efficiency saving on your carbon footprint and fuel bills.
Really there are two significant parts to keeping your home cosy throughout the cooler months.
What you are trying to achieve is a high level of thermal retention i.e. reduce heat loss from your home. Whilst ensuring your heat source is actually working to the best of its ability.
Single glazed windows, gaps in floor boards and a distinct lack of insulation prove to be big culprits!
Firstly see whether you are eligible for any Grants to insulate your home better. Remember though an old house needs to be able to ‘breath’ to avoid moisture and damp from becoming an issue. An experienced home insulation specialist can help provide the best insulation solution for your property.
Our home for example had no loft / roof insulation, therefore we took on the painstaking job of adding a lot of good quality insulation to the loft space. This has already made a huge difference. It is an arduous task and one that you can outsource for a price but we completed this ourselves to save money.
We also updated our old inefficient boiler to a new energy efficient Worcester 8000 system boiler. Along with new radiators and pipework to ensure minimal heat loss. Our boiler is now more than 90% efficient compared to the previous boiler which most likely barely managed to reach 60%.
You may not need a new boiler, perhaps it just hasn’t been serviced correctly, or your radiators are all clogged up, there are so many reasons why your heating system may not be working to its peak efficiency and it is always best to seek the advice of a qualified heating engineer.
Obviously changing your windows from single to double or triple glazed is going to make a huge difference. However we realise for some that is not possible (us included). Therefore we would advise heavy duty curtains on all windows and door curtains for any drafty doors. They do really make a big difference. You can also get various window sealants.
As heat pumps work best in highly efficient homes they may not always be the best choice for an older home. However modern heat pumps can work well in older properties with the correct insulation measures carried out. We would advise you get in touch and book a free of charge heat pump survey if you are interested in this route.
If you would like to speak to an experienced energy surveyor about your homes heating – fill in our enquiry form or click here or call 01258 472132 and one of our friendly team will book your complementary home survey.
