How warm/cold is your home without heating?

contadino · Post by **contadino** » 03 Dec 2010, 16:19

Andy Hunt wrote:It's a really good question, as we just have a wood stove we can't set a thermostat or anything so our target temperature is just whatever we feel comfortable with. During the week we are both out at work all day so there is nobody to keep the fire in, consequently in the evenings we have the fire roaring away and by the time we go to bed very often the house has only just got up to temperature. Showers in the morning are a very, shall we say invigorating experience.

At the weekend the house is warmer as we are in to tend the stove. But I have wondered how we would fare if we ran out of logs in one of these very cold snaps. The house gets very cold. I could put another layer of insulation in the loft but other than that it would mean tackling the solid walls somehow, which is a major piece of work.

I have gone without heating for a week or so in winter before now, and it was not pleasant.

What stone is the house? It makes a HUUUUGE difference.

Most days, ours is left open all day while we're outdoors, then the stove lit in the afternoon (4pm-ish). The sandstone the house is built from holds the heat quite well, but it only takes a few mins for the room to feel warm (ideal).

The other part of the house that we've considered converting into living quarters is made from limestone (between 2 & 3 metres thick), and it *always* feels cold. It's the main reason I've chosen to extend the house in the other direction rather than to convert.

lulubel · Post by **lulubel** » 03 Dec 2010, 16:36

If we didn't have heating, our house would probably drop to 4 or 5 degrees above the outside temperature within a few hours. This part of Spain hasn't discovered insulation yet, so there's nothing to stop heat escaping through the roof, and the 2 houses we've lived in have had single skin walls build of either concrete blocks or clay bricks. Our current house does have windows that fit properly and double glazing (although I think its performance is very poor compared to what you'd expect in the UK.)

The outside temperature today was 11C, and the garage was 14C when we took the car out for its weekly visit to the supermarket. I'm guessing the house would stay a couple of degrees warmer than the garage without heating because it doesn't have a large metal door with a gap under it!

The current temperature in the house is 18C upstairs and 20C downstairs with the aircon units humming away. I admit this isn't the best option, but we spent last winter in a rural house with no heating to speak of, and we promised ourselves we wouldn't be cold this winter! Having the means to heat your house but choosing not to use it is very different from not having the choice.

We have some plans to improve the energy efficiency of this house as much as we can. It just takes time to get the money together.

The traditional method of heating here is a form of spot heating achieved by getting a round table and putting a bowl of glowing coal under it. Put a long cloth over the table and sit around it with your legs underneath. Tie newspaper round your lower legs to protect them from the direct heat from the coal. This method is still used by the older generation. The younger generation turns the aircon up.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 03 Dec 2010, 16:37

Andy Hunt wrote:other than that it would mean tackling the solid walls somehow, which is a major piece of work.

Can you afford external insulation? Can it be done on your house, if you could afford it? Our house would take major work to add it as there is no real overhang to the roof but maybe when we replace the roof we can think about it.

How big is the house? If it's like ours - small, of solid stone & rubble - you won't want to take up valuable internal space with insulation.

The other thing is where is it? Is it visible by other people? That can have an influence on what you do (or can/can't do). For instance, we have bales of straw sitting in the shed. I'll stack them this weekend, temporarily, against the north side of the house (if faces the road but hey, we're in Ireland) and cover them with a tarpaulin.

A job during the coming summer is to make wooden shutters for the north-facing windows. Those will also enhance the look of the house, so highly doable.

Money shortage has prevented one particular job inside the house; otherwise, I would have installed insulated wainscoting in the main room. That would make a massive difference.

madibe · Post by **madibe** » 03 Dec 2010, 16:47

12 degrees and falling

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 03 Dec 2010, 16:50

contadino wrote: What stone is the house? It makes a HUUUUGE difference.

It's red Accrington brick, I don't know whether that's good or not!!

@emordnilap, probably the best option for us would be external cladding on the gable end wall which has no windows. It's a Victorian 2-bed terrace, so high ceilings and because it's on the end it's a bit bigger than the others in the row, more like a small 2-bed semi really.

Internal insulation could be a possibility but it's a load of hassle innit, and would mean moving the toilet. It would also mean taking out half the kitchen, which frankly just isn't going to happen.

I would love to have the place up to passivhaus standards though, just to see how it actually performed, apart from anything else. But I may be about to lose my gold-plated public sector job, so it might have to wait til next decade.

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 03 Dec 2010, 17:03

During the day there's only me in at Chateau Renewable. We have cavity insulated walls and dg windies (which if you ask me aren't big enough), and Kingspan over the (converted) loft. The delta changes massively with the sunshine: with it, and with us all in the house, it's at least 10K but without it and without us, this figure plummets to about 4K.

The day's maximum temp outside was about -4 degC. When I hung out the washing, it was -6.5 degC and when, five minutes later, I went out to pick up sumething I'd forgotten, the washing had turned into cardboard. It's hilarious.

Interestingly though, the elderflower champers doesn't seem to have frozen

lulubel · Post by **lulubel** » 03 Dec 2010, 17:15

RenewableCandy wrote:We have cavity insulated walls and dg windies (which if you ask me aren't big enough), and Kingspan over the (converted) loft.

How thick is the Kingspan? It's an option we've been considering (along with a lot of other options), but we haven't got room for much thickness.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 03 Dec 2010, 17:17

RenewableCandy wrote:The day's maximum temp outside was about -4 degC. When I hung out the washing, it was -6.5 degC and when, five minutes later, I went out to pick up sumething I'd forgotten, the washing had turned into cardboard. It's hilarious.

Interestingly though, the elderflower champers doesn't seem to have frozen

That's it then. You're doing your washing in the wrong liquid.

frank_begbie · Post by **frank_begbie** » 03 Dec 2010, 17:19

Vortex wrote:Thermal jacket? THERMAL JACKET? Huh! We were brought up in minus 30 degrees C wearing just a Tescos carrier bag ... and we were luckier than most in our street!

Oh, sorry ... wrong sketch ...

I have been known to do a quick five minutes on the rowing machine when it gets really bad.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 03 Dec 2010, 17:19

Andy Hunt wrote:It's a Victorian 2-bed terrace, so high ceilings

Unless you enjoy high ceilings, you might think about putting in false, insulated ceilings. Not massively expensive. We did that in a house in England and it really made a significant difference to the main room's cosiness.

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 03 Dec 2010, 17:26

emordnilap wrote:
Andy Hunt wrote:It's a Victorian 2-bed terrace, so high ceilings
Unless you enjoy high ceilings, you might think about putting in false, insulated ceilings. Not massively expensive. We did that in a house in England and it really made a significant difference to the main room's cosiness.

Actually, the kitchen, spare bedroom and bathroom all have false ceilings which probably helps. The living room is the warmest room in the house as it houses the wood stove, and the master bedroom is directly above. We like a cool bedroom so a lower ceiling in there probably wouldn't be that great in the summer, plus the window is a big one and goes nearly up to the ceiling so we would have to change that which we are not going to do because it's only recently been replaced. Most of the windows are good thick double glazing so no scope for improvement there.

I really think external cladding on the massive gable end wall would do wonders, plus maybe another layer in the loft, but funds are lacking currently. Maybe the "green deal" will have something for us when it comes in.

ziggy12345 · Post by **ziggy12345** » 03 Dec 2010, 17:27

I have no idea. My house never gets below 23 deg C even without any cavity wall insulation

Cheers

featherstick · Post by **featherstick** » 03 Dec 2010, 20:12

@andy

We internally insulated one wall of one room earlier this year and it has made a huge difference. It didn't cost a lot or take a lot of time, and has basically made the room comfortable to sit in (as I type), whereas previously it was cold and draughty, even in mild weather. You may be able to be strategic about where you put the insulation.

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 03 Dec 2010, 20:15

Hi Featherstick, that sounds interesting. What method did you use - dry lining with a metal frame/insulated cavity/plasterboard? How wide did you make the internal cavity?

nexus · Post by **nexus** » 03 Dec 2010, 22:50

Kingspan is the way to go- made a massive difference when we installed it in our old place.

Hope it warms up soon for you Maudibe.

Is anyone else concerned about their animals? I'm going out every few hours to break the ice and refill the chooks water and I've added extra straw to the coop, they seem fine at the mo but I have been worrying a bit.