Heating a drafty old house
Discussion
Now that temperatures have started to drop, I'm thinking about keeping the house warm over winter, which is always a good laugh!
We live in a drafty old house with some parts saying back to 16th century. Single pane sash windows everywhere - gorgeous - but there is also the odd tiny gap allowing you to see directly outside, letting the cold air whistle through...
Current heating system is electric only. Not sure what they're technically referred to, but we have two electric boilers that feed the radiators. If it wasn't financially ruinous, I'd say it works well! Makes the house nice and warm pretty quickly when we dare to put it on, but the few times we do it costs a hell of a lot of money, so we tend not to touch it.
We have two log burners downstairs, but they don't help when your fresh out the shower and your little man resembles an acorn.
We looked at having gas installed but was looking at more than £6k for the whole install.
Secondary glazing is an option for heat retention.
Has anyone sussed it? Is there a way to heat an old house cheaply and efficiently? Am I searching for a pipe dream?!
We live in a drafty old house with some parts saying back to 16th century. Single pane sash windows everywhere - gorgeous - but there is also the odd tiny gap allowing you to see directly outside, letting the cold air whistle through...
Current heating system is electric only. Not sure what they're technically referred to, but we have two electric boilers that feed the radiators. If it wasn't financially ruinous, I'd say it works well! Makes the house nice and warm pretty quickly when we dare to put it on, but the few times we do it costs a hell of a lot of money, so we tend not to touch it.
We have two log burners downstairs, but they don't help when your fresh out the shower and your little man resembles an acorn.
We looked at having gas installed but was looking at more than £6k for the whole install.
Secondary glazing is an option for heat retention.
Has anyone sussed it? Is there a way to heat an old house cheaply and efficiently? Am I searching for a pipe dream?!
i also have a draughty old house, two log burners, and an acorn.
Given that £6k is an amount that makes you wince, then i think you’re into thermal blinds, thick curtains, loft insulation, and thick onesies territory. If you want to spend a lot more then lots is possible. An electric infrared panel heater can be useful for instant temporary cheap heat. My wife uses one in her dressing room.
on the plus side, i’d imagine, like mine, your house is a perfect temperature for free about half the year
Given that £6k is an amount that makes you wince, then i think you’re into thermal blinds, thick curtains, loft insulation, and thick onesies territory. If you want to spend a lot more then lots is possible. An electric infrared panel heater can be useful for instant temporary cheap heat. My wife uses one in her dressing room.
on the plus side, i’d imagine, like mine, your house is a perfect temperature for free about half the year
I don’t think the words cheaply and efficiently go together with old houses sadly.
Ours is nearly 400 years old so quite a bit younger than yours but at least all our windows are double paned and we have oil so reasonably efficient central heating as such although we have to have thermostatic valves on every rad and the those rooms not used so much get turned down to divert heat to those that do.
3 wood burners , aga in the kitchen and managed to get 2 bathrooms renovated with underfloor heating.
When we had a new roof we also got the loft space insulated as well as we could.
We are also lucky in that a few rooms one side can be closed off so minimal hear required in those.
Ours is nearly 400 years old so quite a bit younger than yours but at least all our windows are double paned and we have oil so reasonably efficient central heating as such although we have to have thermostatic valves on every rad and the those rooms not used so much get turned down to divert heat to those that do.
3 wood burners , aga in the kitchen and managed to get 2 bathrooms renovated with underfloor heating.
When we had a new roof we also got the loft space insulated as well as we could.
We are also lucky in that a few rooms one side can be closed off so minimal hear required in those.
I used to live in such a house. Broken single pane windows, it was a bit like living in an old Tudor wooden ship. The draft was so strong it would come through the floorboards and lift the rug. Fond memories.
We had an open fire which was awesome. But it had to be augmented by gas central heating and the odd oil-rad. From my memory the strategy was: low central heating set to just keep the edge off. An oil rad for quick heating in an upstairs room, and some mighty fires at the weekend and evenings. It would get so hot you’d have to escape to the cellar occasionally.
We had an open fire which was awesome. But it had to be augmented by gas central heating and the odd oil-rad. From my memory the strategy was: low central heating set to just keep the edge off. An oil rad for quick heating in an upstairs room, and some mighty fires at the weekend and evenings. It would get so hot you’d have to escape to the cellar occasionally.
fiesta_STage3 said:
i also have a draughty old house, two log burners, and an acorn.
on the plus side, i’d imagine, like mine, your house is a perfect temperature for free about half the year
What funny/terrible things people bond over.on the plus side, i’d imagine, like mine, your house is a perfect temperature for free about half the year
But yes, most of the time it's very liveable for free - lovely and cool in hot weather.
An upgrade in blinds and curtains would help, some already are thermal but we haven't committed to the whole house, yet.
I did do a bit of reading on the infrared panels - are they better than fan heaters (I've read mixed reviews)? They're what we currently use for a quick bit of heat. I see that some people have even gone for full far infrared heating systems.
nuyorican said:
I used to live in such a house. Broken single pane windows, it was a bit like living in an old Tudor wooden ship. The draft was so strong it would come through the floorboards and lift the rug. Fond memories.
We had an open fire which was awesome. But it had to be augmented by gas central heating and the odd oil-rad. From my memory the strategy was: low central heating set to just keep the edge off. An oil rad for quick heating in an upstairs room, and some mighty fires at the weekend and evenings. It would get so hot you’d have to escape to the cellar occasionally.
Luckily my drafts aren't as bad as yours used to be! We had an open fire which was awesome. But it had to be augmented by gas central heating and the odd oil-rad. From my memory the strategy was: low central heating set to just keep the edge off. An oil rad for quick heating in an upstairs room, and some mighty fires at the weekend and evenings. It would get so hot you’d have to escape to the cellar occasionally.
This year we're going to experiment with keeping the log burners going overnight. I'm skeptical about the night briquettes you see advertised, though.
JMbalbon said:
We live in a drafty old house with some parts saying back to 16th century. Single pane sash windows everywhere - gorgeous - but there is also the odd tiny gap allowing you to see directly outside, letting the cold air whistle through...
Current heating system is electric only.
Your electricity bill must be crazy! Current heating system is electric only.
We spent 11 years in a 4 storey Bath listed house with huge single glazed sash windows and cellars and vaults below it feeding a constant cold breeze up through gapped Georgian floor boards.
We never successfully solved it but the closest we got was filling every gap we found with Gripfill or expanding foam keeping heavy curtains shut if the sun wasn't shining and then buying a job lot of oil filled electric radiator units on wheels and positioning them around to stop the ice settling on the kids.
I liked the oil filled rads because they could easily be controlled individually and were good for keeping the air temperature just the right side of unbearable.
Old drafty houses are impossible to heat evenly and pleasantly like modern insulated ones so trying will just frustrate and create a huge energy bill. Acceptance of cooler living in extra socks and two jumpers whilst watching the calender for spring is the only way to maintain solvency and sanity.
We now live in a hugely insulated modern house which is toasty warm in winter but way to hot and impossible to cool in summer and in a perverse way I miss our old cold stone house where on a windy day you could get a kite airborne in the lounge.
We never successfully solved it but the closest we got was filling every gap we found with Gripfill or expanding foam keeping heavy curtains shut if the sun wasn't shining and then buying a job lot of oil filled electric radiator units on wheels and positioning them around to stop the ice settling on the kids.
I liked the oil filled rads because they could easily be controlled individually and were good for keeping the air temperature just the right side of unbearable.
Old drafty houses are impossible to heat evenly and pleasantly like modern insulated ones so trying will just frustrate and create a huge energy bill. Acceptance of cooler living in extra socks and two jumpers whilst watching the calender for spring is the only way to maintain solvency and sanity.
We now live in a hugely insulated modern house which is toasty warm in winter but way to hot and impossible to cool in summer and in a perverse way I miss our old cold stone house where on a windy day you could get a kite airborne in the lounge.
JMbalbon said:
We live in a drafty old house with some parts saying back to 16th century. Single pane sash windows everywhere - gorgeous - but there is also the odd tiny gap allowing you to see directly outside, letting the cold air whistle through...
In our last house we had similar issues - one solution was push-fit neoprene (maybe, it was a few years ago) 'string' which just gets pushed into the gaps with a plastic wheel. Can't remember what it was actually called but worth looking for as it did a good job of reducing draughts. Come the spring. it just pulls out & can be saved for the next winter.Curtains can make a big difference.
If you have radiators, then a woodburner or other stove which heats water can help.
With an old house, heating continuously to a lower temperature may work better.
It's not helpful to just say the electric system costs a lot, it's more helpful to say it uses x amount of kWh on a day when it's 10 degC out there.
Then you can work on reducing that and look at fuels which are cheaper per kWh.
Some people with such houses become very good at acquiring free or cheap wood, and hoarding it.
You need a certain amount of ventilation, not all draughts are bad.
You may be able to fix the worst ones.
A friend has an ancient house which has been really effectively insulated, it is possible particularly if the place is not listed.
I take the view that my next house might be old and inefficient, I'll live there 15 years and budget for the heating.
An extra £30k probably won't buy me an equally nice, but efficient house!
If you have radiators, then a woodburner or other stove which heats water can help.
With an old house, heating continuously to a lower temperature may work better.
It's not helpful to just say the electric system costs a lot, it's more helpful to say it uses x amount of kWh on a day when it's 10 degC out there.
Then you can work on reducing that and look at fuels which are cheaper per kWh.
Some people with such houses become very good at acquiring free or cheap wood, and hoarding it.
You need a certain amount of ventilation, not all draughts are bad.
You may be able to fix the worst ones.
A friend has an ancient house which has been really effectively insulated, it is possible particularly if the place is not listed.
I take the view that my next house might be old and inefficient, I'll live there 15 years and budget for the heating.
An extra £30k probably won't buy me an equally nice, but efficient house!
OutInTheShed said:
Curtains can make a big difference.
They do help. We have insanely heavy curtains or shutters across all of the main windows and front door. Means that not quite as much heat vanishes through the single glazing. That and, as another poster has said, appropriate clothing. Every year I eye up cardigans but have never quite got there…
We’re fortunate to have access to decent quantities of wood, so the fire(s) are lit every evening as soon as it turns cold. Aga keeps chill off the kitchen, but in the coldest part of the year the oil tank level drops as if there’s a hole in it.
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