Tips for keeping my house warm please?

[JeanClaudeVanMam]

Hello,

Not long moved into an old house and was wondering if anybody had any tips for keeping it warm please?

I try to do most of the obvious things like keep doors closed, only heat rooms I'm in etc.

I have reflective foil behind my radiators, use a hot water bottle, wear layers and put the heating on a timer but it's still a very nippy.

Often find myself lighting lots of candles just for the warmth but that's not always safe around children/pets, so any tips would be gladly received!

Draught stoppers

Is it draughty cold or damp cold? And is it an owned or rented place?

It's owned, I moved in summer. Not damp thankfully.

That sounds miserable. Is it centrally heated? Maybe get the heating looked at - could your radiators need de-sludging for example?

Do you have any condensation? If so, get a dehumidifier. By drawing any excess water out of the atmosphere it'll warm your house a few degrees. Essential if you dry your clothes indoors.

Are there draughts from windows or doors?

Door curtains on front and back doors. These make a huge difference to our Victorian cottage and I hadn't thought the doors were that draughty. We have foil underneath our floorboards too. Also, tuck your curtains up on window sils in the evening. Some people hate doing that but makes a big difference.

Why do you only heat rooms you are in? Cold, and warmth, creep from one space to the other, you want the whole house to warm through if you can.
Is there central heating?

Mainly to save money by not wasting heat in rooms I don't use.

Great - thank you!

We are exactly the same-I have posted on here before and had some great advice, I will try to find the post.

We have door curtains and draught excluders but these can be a real pain now we have teens who need to come in and out at odd times as it’s very hard to open the front door from the outside with these in place!

Our radiators are crap-hot at the hot and cold at the bottom bit am not sure what to do-do we need new?! The windows are fairly new but seem draughty-we have massive expanses of bay windows which probably doesn’t help.

I feel your pain!
I live in an old house, stone built so no cavity walls and draughts seem to appear in random places! - where beams cut through the walls, around skirting boards, under the windows in the utility room, a window lintel is an old railway sleeper - after three years I've just found terrible draughts pouring in the holes of the sleeper now plugged with bubble wrap! No wonder we freeze!

Although windows are new, there are draughts around the sills - could be worth checking yours.

We originally had curtains and quilt lined curtains at the doors but caved in and bought composite - what a difference!

Is your loft sufficiently lagged? We notice a difference in the bathroom as there isn't much insulation above - hard to reach as its under/in the eaves

Carpets help rather than floorboards and having lots of snugly throws and warm rather than white, lighting

Sounds silly but make sure you have warm socks on - studies have shown that if you put a person into two identical rooms at the same temperature, only difference being that there is a bit of a draft around the feet in one room - people in the drafty room will report being in a room a few degrees cooler than the other room, despite them being the same temperature.

So - get some good warm socks!

And in the same way - keep your wrists warm - will help with feeling warm too - check out www.turtle-doves.co.uk/ for cashmere wrist warmers that they make out of old jumpers.

I know it's not the same as warming up the house but it definitely helps! Also the thin thermal range from Marks (can't remember the name they give it sorry) that looks like normal tshirts or leggings but is thin, thermal and can be layered for extra effect (doesn't look like the old granny thermals that people tend to think of when you say thermals!). I've seen similar in Uniqlo, Sainsburys and more - definitely worth investing in as an under layer if you know you're going to be at home all day.

We put foam strip insulation tape around all the door and window frames and put lots of insulation in the attic. Then room by room we did internal dry lining.

I wear (fake) Ugg boots in the house.

I also have a plug in radiator I use if I’m in on my own and only in one room.

how old is the house? what size?

how thick is your loft insulation?

do you heat with gas or electricity?

look at your recent meter readings.

Average how many units of each are you using?

HolidayShopping

Sounds like your rads need bleeding.

no it doesn't

assuming "hot at the hot and cold at the bottom"

means "hot at the top and cold at the bottom"

bleeding is when they are hot at the bottom and cold on the top

It's probably a balancing issue, but please start a new thread as this one is overwhelmed with competing topics.

@Holidayshopping you need to bleed your radiators - problem solved

Sorry for the typos. The radiators are hot at the top and cold at the bottom. I thought it was the other way round if they need bleeding? I’m assuming sludge and that it’s a messy job!

More likely balancing. Please start a separate thread.

Do you have any open flue fireplaces? If so put an old pillow in a bin bag and stuff it up the flue! ( orbs when not in use 😁)
Load of heat goes up an open flue.

I second door curtains. We got our friend the plumber round to flush out the central heating and properly balance it. Made a huge difference. What do you have on the floors?

You need to eliminate draughts, so make sure the seals on all windows are good (are they double-glazed? That's something you should get done if they're not.)
Is your loft insulation up to recent standards? Again, get it done if not - and make sure your loft hatch is insulated too (it's surprising how much heat can be lost if it isn't).
Do you have cavity walls, and are they insulated? Same thing.
Yes, block any un-used chimneys with a pillow inside a bin bag.
The 'only heating rooms you use' is a false economy. They will become damp if left cold for too long, so you will need to think about keeping them at some form of a minimum temperature.
Keep curtains shut in rooms that don't get the sun, or when they are not in the sun. (Also have curtains over any doors if they're draughty and you can't afford to replace them.)
You could also google the candle inside plant pot thing to help with slow heat release if you're desperate.

We got thermal blackout curtains for the kid's bedrooms this year and they made a huge difference in summer (shut all day) and are really helping now (closed at sundown). They were really cheap from Amazon.