To think more cold houses will mean more damp houses?

[NamelessNancy]

Lots of talk about delaying turning the heating on, dropping thermostats, heating people not the home. Whilst to a degree (no pun intended) that's all doable, if combined with things like drying washing indoors, won't it cause a lot more damp? Obviously I don't think we need to heat out houses so much we're wandering around in t shirts with snow on the ground outside but it's still going to be necessary to heat the buildings rather than just the inhabitants. I'm a bit worried that people are going to not only suffer with being uncomfortably cold this winter but it will mean more are exposed to damp, mouldy living conditions. No answers I'm afraid (would appreciate some if anyone else does?)

Ventilation not insulation 🤦‍♀️

@Baystard assuming you have windows and a fireplace though

Windows and fire = ventilation and warmth 😉

Yes there are windows and fireplaces (no problem with ventilation - plenty of cold drafts) but it wouldn't be possible to replicate, with open fires, the constant all-over heat from central heating. I imagine one room was kept reasonably warm and the others warmed only occasionally.

What I'm getting at is that ventilation is more important than heat.

It costs about 5.3p per day.

Thanks @Momo8 that's a lot cheaper that I'd have expected. Is that on the current price cap?

In terms of electrical heating, it’s all 100% efficient - so you get what you pay for.

If you look at the Nuaire Flatmaster (simple PIV system), on its medium setting it’ll cost about 6.5p per day to run. If you put the heating element on, it’ll cost an extra 24.5p per day to run.

All good, and worth it for drier air, but a 30w heater that costs 24.5p a day isn’t doing much other than taking the chill off the draught. A little electric fan heater might be 66x as powerful, but will cost 66x the price to run.

Yes

This happened in our last house. When humidity reaches a certain level you just cannot physically heat a home. Ends up an irreversible situation. Even if the boiler is on 24/7 at molten level.

Open plan is a nightmare for it.

Only thing which actually solved it was a log burner, whilst ventilating. Once the humidity was down the house worked fine.

A dehumidifier helps. Anyone drying clothes indoors who can afford one, should buy one.

This is my concern about not heating all rooms.

In our old house - stone, not brick, terraced, no damp course, bricked up fireplaces with no ventilation and a shitty extension for the downstairs bathroom - I religiously left a small downstairs window open every night, bedroom window as well.

We ran a dehumidifier in the bathroom. Door into kitchen (kitchen led onto bathroom) was kept closed while we were home so moisture from cooking, showering and drying clothes didn't spread to the living room.

Clothes were dried on a clothes horse in the bathroom, next to the radiator and often with a towel or sheet draped over the top and down the back of the radiator.

I put a lot of effort into preventing damp caused by condensation.

Current house, early 60's semi with loft and cavity wall insulation but ancient aluminium double glazing that sucks the heat out and can't be locked ajar, so no leaving a downstairs window open at night - though there is some ventilation as the kitchen has a fan.

Getting a new boiler installed soon if all goes to plan. Current boiler is 35 years old. Had new front door and back door not long before COVID, made a huge difference!

Just had the most exposed wall sealed, and any gaps in the mortar filled (rest is pebble dashed), on the grounds any damp seeping through makes the wall colder and therefore attract condensation.

Apart from that, dehumidifier is still going, and usually still pop open window at night.

I guess my main advice is get a decent dehumidifier, ventilate as much as possible over night and confine drying clothes to one room.