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?

I haven't RTFT so apologies if this has all been covered. I live in an Edwardian house too so feel you but we do have double glazing thankfully!

Things you haven't mentioned in your OP:

• We have an electric blanket on our bed.
• I often use a hot water bottle or heated wheat bag on an evening when I'm watching telly or when I go to bed.
• thick draught excluder for the porch door.
• Attached those brush-like draught excluder things to the bottom of of the front and back door, as well as the letterbox.
• Keyhole cover for the back door.
• We don't really heat the kitchen, it does have a radiator but we keep it on very low as we don't really spend time there unless cooking, in which case that warms the room up anyway. So we keep the kitchen door permanently closed.
• The coldest bedroom is my DC1's and we use an oil filled heater in there on a low setting overnight where needed instead of having the whole central heating on.
• We have two dehumidifiers - one we use in our bedroom to minimise mould growth and help dry laundry but they also actually help to heat the room. The other we use in DC1's bedroom to avoid mould growth but likewise it does help to heat the room.

As previous posters have suggested, I have curtains hanging over doors to colder rooms as well as outside doors. Makes a huge difference. Ikea do 250cm drop thermal curtains. Also I have blackout blinds as well as curtains on bedroom windows.

I wouldn't! Open fireplaces can cause draughts in the rest of the house so don't heat up more than the room and pallets are not suitable for burning. We've got a log burner (and use hardwood) and it's made z big difference to the draughtiness.

Open fireplaces are the best thing for keeping an old house draught free. You do have to use them though.
Most pallets these days are heat treated but they burn fast especially on an open fire. Much better to buy smokeless fuel and then you’ll only need to refuel 6 times a day.
I have very high ceilings and have just swapped from a heat pump (we froze due to running costs) to solid fuel central heating (we now have more hot water than we can use and the house is hot). I am mainly burning pallets atm but I have to fuel it every hour.

I wouldn't have an open fire again if you paid me!
The faff of cleaning it and lugging fuel in (6 times a day?! What if you are out at work?) and having to mess around lighting it and then waiting while it heats the room. Plus the expense of having a proper chimney liner put in - for a 3 storey house the scaffolding alone is £1000+.
No way!

There is a huge difference in running costs. The radiator might effectively heat one room, but the dehumidifier can keep the whole house from getting damp. We have a Meaco which is much more effective than the old one we had, and washing on an airer dried significantly faster.

Please don’t burn pallets, they will give off dangerous fumes, that will damage your health.

personally I do not agree an open fire is best, and I live in an old draughty house. A wood burner, defra approved, and burning seasoned wood or smokeless coal is the best option, it protects your health.

Eco4 grant will fund some of these upgrades (like double glazed windows) for you if your household income is lower than 31k (think that might be higher now), and your house EPC is worse than D....

Some of the advice you're getting here is accurate some is not (I work in this area), so you could do with some objective information, where in the country are you?

Thanks, I’m in Scotland on the east coast and now feels like Autumn (8 degrees this morning.)

To answer some questions, I have an open fire but it is gas. We don’t use it much because it doesn’t throw out much heat as I think most goes up the chimney, it does look nice though!

Open fires lose a high percentage of their warmth up the chimney/flue.
There are far more efficient ways to heat a home.
But heating, draughts and ventilation should always be considered together so that moisture, air quality and thermal comfort stay in a happy balance.

Funding does exist for the work you want to do (subject to eligibility criteria)
https://www.mygov.scot/energy-saving-funding

The work is gov funded but carried out by private companies.
The energy company obligation is the source of the money.
The scheme is gov
You just have to choose the company you go to carefully as they don't all offer the same measures and some companies are better than others.

My daughter bought me slipper boots for Christmas years ago and I always have a pair now for winter. We also wear onesies 🤭
Also scarves, not thick woolly ones necessarily, they're a bit cumbersome indoors but thin cottony ones wrapped round the neck a few times work really well.
Also have heated throws and underblanket on the bed. The underblanket I've linked to Alexa so that I can surreptitiously turn it back on via my phone once dh falls asleep 😜

Heated throws for the sofa I meant, don't think they're recommended for the bed.

I don't see why you can't use them on a bed, I do.

We changed from a coal fire to a coal effect gas fire - total waste of money. They are so inefficient, and as you say, you just get a big draught down the chimney when they're not on.

It’s due to fire risk if you’re asleep.

But you can get over blankets that are designed to be left on all night.

Changing the windows could be the best £15k you ever spent. I'd consider doing half the house straight away - the lounge, bedrooms / rooms you spend time in - if you can't afford it all in one go.
My friend lives in a 1980s house with lots of windows, they did their windows this time last year and already saved a few hundred £.

Draught excluders at each door - the floor gets worn and it's surprising how much cold air gets through

I would second an earlier suggestion to make sure loft insulation is at least 30cm. It's THE most cost-effective solution and can be a DIY job with material readily available from B&Q and similar.
Did mine a while back and it's been transformational in energy saving during winter and curbing heat build-up in the upper storey rooms during the summer.

My house (Scotland)Is fairly new built in 1988 but so cold we only have electric heating as live in a village with no gas supply.
I had to put heating as our clothes were getting damp.
We have velox windows upstairs ,boiling in summer freezing in the winter some tips I do are-
Wear cashmere wrist warmers
Wear cashmere jumper I got a man's one for £1 from charity shop, it really does help
Wear a primark fake oddie
If my feet are cold put fresh socks on, I read this somewhere it really does help warm your feet
Foil behind rads mine was from
Aldi
Close curtains as soon as dusk falls
My sons room has a dehumidifier in it as prone to damp
Leave oven door open after cooking
Duvet or heating throw in the sofa at night
Candles when watching tv even the glow can make you feel cosy
Hubby wears a hat in bed
Blanket under bottom sheet keeps bed warmer
Plenty hot fluids . I boil the kettle and fill a flask to save boiling kettle
Hot baths