How to keep the house warm

[Careerdecisions]

We live in an Edwardian house, large rooms with high ceilings and it’s very expensive to heat in the winter. Last year with escalating costs we used a lot of heated throws and tried to stay in one room as much as possible but it was pretty miserable.

It’s starting to get colder and I’m thinking about lower cost options to make things more comfortable this year without our bills going through the roof.

We looked at replacing our single glazed windows last year and it was going to cost £15k so we didn’t go ahead.

This year I am considering-:

1. Putting in secondary glazing as a cheaper alternative
2. Getting the boiler serviced (it’s not been serviced for five years) to make sure it is working optimally.
3. Bleeding and desludging the radiators. We have one leaking too so will replace or repair it.

We already have thick curtains in place. It’s just a cold house with thick walls. Even in the Summer it’s cold inside when it’s hot outside.

Any other ideas?

Draft excluders . You’ll be surprised at how much what escapes from
the doors

You can get reflective panels that slot behind your radiators and reflect the heat back into the room. Also use draught excluder tape round the window. I have some really good stuff and it stops a lot of the cold

No open fireplace? That would be our goto option. Plenty of free pallets etc

Can you recommend the brand please?

Half our house is pretty hot (too hot!) in summer because of glass and skylights, but our living room actually has no fireplace and no radiator…. It’s freezing! We use heated blankets, wear fluffy socks and cardigans and have a draught excluder at the door. It works really well.

I'm unsure what secondary glazing is vs getting double glazed windows, but bubble wrap on windows can help insulate them too- especially in rooms you won't be looking out at the view.

A bed tent can help keep the warmth in when you sleep.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RIYDH-Portable-Sleeping-Blackout-Breathable/dp/B0BDLV9B4F/ref=asc_df_B0BDLV9B4F/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696285193871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9761335030874481495&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045053&hvtargid=pla-2281435176698&mcid=1279dc4317f83f23874c8c12c933b988&th=1&hvocijid=9761335030874481495-B0BDLV9B4F-&hvexpln=74&gad_source=1

snuggy.com/blogs/buying-guides/what-is-a-bed-tent?srsltid=AfmBOop_c_OAc4fXN5jUaMMgEnOe3q7P0RUpbtMffoDGFv9gn7dQ8-iG

Insulating wallpaper works really well, window double glazing film is a cheaper option. Foil insulation roll for behind radiators. Top up loft insulation

Dehumifier can help. A humid house feels colder.

You can also get window draught excluder, they are like a film that goes over the entire window. Have a look on eBay they have a good selection

@HotCrossBunplease Screwfix, b and q , eBay, all the home DIY stores sell it by the roll. Its about £7 a roll I think

Keep all doors closed to all rooms. Think, heat the person not the house, so heated gloves and body warmers, wool and cotton are warmer than man made fibres. Layers. Hot water bottles and warm drinks. Keep one room warm. If you have hard floors buy rugs. If your hands and feet are warm then generally you wont feel cold.
If you have any south facing windows open the curtains for solar gain and close all curtains as soon as the sun goes down. Oil filled radiators are the cheapest heating for a single room I think.
Take a look at the money saving expert site, they have quite a bit of info on this.

Primark dressing gowns. Life changing

Also, if you have your heating on less, a dehumidifier will prevent damp and condensation, especially if drying washing on an airer. We have cut right back on the heating for the last two winters, and found the following help:

• hand heaters and fingerless mittens
• Oodies - I scoffed, but we all agree that they're brilliant
• frequent hot drinks, soup etc
• wool layers - I bought merino wool and cashmere layers that a couple of years ago that I wear in rotation all winter
• cats on your lap make heated throws more effective
• electric blankets on timers in bedrooms

Our downstairs can be very cold. I’m planning on getting the draught proof tape for windows and doors, there are sort of draught excluders that you can fit to the bottom of doors that I want to get to.

I live in a Victorian house. You need to do something about those windows, lots of heat will be going straight out of those and draughts will be making it colder. Get excluders around doors and make sure you keep doors closed. If you don't use your fireplaces get those balloons to prevent draughts down the chimney. And you really need to get the boiler serviced, it won't be efficient and will cost more. I wasn't cold last year, but I do have double glazing. Could you get the worst ones replaced? Many companies will do them individually if you can't afford all at once.

Window film is a cheap and effective option. Draught excluders on all doors. A thick curtain over external doors.
Oodie/Kuddly for everyone, I live in mine in the winter!
Good quality thermal socks and slippers.
Cashmere handwarmers.
A dehumidifier makes a real difference to heating bills and prevents damp and mould and they're efficient to run. Apparently they can make it feel 2 degrees warmer.
A brilliant option for drying clothes is to pop them on an airer with a fan one side and dehumidifier the other. Last winter I was able to dry a load in about 8 hours and it cost about 75p. If you use fan heaters to top up heating in one room this can double up and get things dry quicker and minimise damp.

Definitely draught excluders, weighted ones, plus blackout curtains and rugs. Male sure you close all the curtains in the house as soon as dusk comes.
We got our windows resealed on the outside. It made a huge difference and was a lot cheaper than new windows.

Secondary glazing is really good. It’s also really good at reducing noise from outside, much better than double glazing.
If you have functioning fireplaces use them. Wood burners are more efficient than open fires but the walls of the chimney will heat up with either an open fire or a wood burner and gently radiate heat. This only works if you keep the fire in. Wood burners can get through a lot of logs. My living room wood burner uses the same amount of logs as the kitchen Rayburn. The Rayburn runs 5 radiators, heats the hot water, heats the kitchen and does all the cooking! The living room log burner isn’t lit very often now.

If you use the fireplaces do not use draught excluders, fires need a draught. Solid fuel is often more efficient to use than logs

I live in a modern house but swear by a good thick door curtain on your front door and we have a thick blanket over the lift hatch which has stopped the wind blowing downstairs.

I think you should just get the windows done one room at a time or just the rooms you spend most time in over the winter. Surely everything else is essentially wasting money? That will add value to your house and make it nicer to live in.

We have an Edwardian house and the single best thing we did was replace the windows. I hadn't realised how much warmer, quieter, more secure feeling the house would be. It feels so much more 'inside'. Even if you just get a couple of them done - the rooms you use the most or the ones that catch the worst weather.

You should really get the boiler serviced each year .

Sorry also and bleed your rads. Your heating must be costing a fortune as you don’t maintain it.

Do everything on your list, OP. Especially servicing your boiler! It's shocking that you haven't done it in 5 years. If you were renting, your landlord would have to do it yearly.

Once your heating system is working properly and more efficiently, and you've reduced the heat loss through the windows, then it'll be worth taking the extra steps advised by PPs.

I do also really recommend a big oversized fleece hoodie, I managed to avoid putting the heating on while WFH for a lot of the time last winter thanks to mine. DH mocked me for it but I don't care!

Yeah. There are a couple of safety points here. Boilers need servicing once a year and don't burn pallets in your home as someone suggests.They are often treated wood, not seasoned etc.