Crap Home heating

[Scouse]

Teach yourself. It's mostly pretty easy if you have a logical mind and there are plenty of tutorials on the internet. Start small and build yourself up.

I'm making internal doors in January, from scratch, no formal training. We don't have a single doorway the same size in the house, and we can't buy them off the shelf. I would pay a pro but doesn't seem much point if I can do it myself.

I can do it (pretty much everyone can do most things with youtube and patience). But it takes me hours to do stuff that takes pros minutes.

I average 12 hour days at work so that pretty much leaves some weekends for me to do stuff. But doing that stuff means that I'm not doing the stuff I actually enjoy that makes life worth living.

I'd probably enjoy it if I wasn't so shite and given the above I won't dedicate the time to learn. I'll be paying professionals to do my shizzle. It'll get done faster and better and I can ride my bike and play in the mountains.

I will happily take sledgehammers to things tho

 

[Raven]

Its also a matter of the environment for me. All the wood I have been using recently has come from someone in the village. Mostly decking they were getting rid of, proper high quality wood. I have made my mum some garden furniture out of some of it. So I don't need to ship anything in and I don't need labour coming to me.

I also find it all very relaxing. My great grandfather made all the doors and windows in my house, the internal walls are all oak panels. Loads of internal storage places. I stripped the kitchen window a few years ago and found his name written in the wood, so I signed it to and repainted it. That got me onto replacing and updating stuff.

 

[georgie]

I'm making internal doors in January, from scratch, no formal training.

Is this you off to start your project?

 

[Embattle]

Yeah, but if I've got solar PV running then the thermal stores can be kept at 85deg during the day through that. Also, if I have a battery solution then that should be able to heat the thermal store with stored electricity.

I suspect in the winter months (when light is at a premium and heating is most needed) I'll potentially have to draw from the grid (@Embattle? - looking at 12kv) but with a battery that could be done at the cheapest rate possible.


Of course, all this is predicated on whether the national park allow me to do anything sensible.

So Tesla chart time, the left is the impact of Solar & Battery in May last year and the right picture is the same but in December:



The following is a combination of the whole year and where the electricity came from each month (Grey = Grid, Green = Battery, Yellow = Solar):



Let me utterly assure you that you'll be using the grid at times.

 

[Scouse]

Coo. You've still got a gas boiler right?

 

[Scouse]

Surprised by the lack of battery? Are you not filling it up from the grid overnight on cheap rates?

Also, how come you're using *more* energy in the summer than in Jan/Feb @Embattle? I guess your gas bill is an inverted curve.

Still. I'm surprised that 90% of your power is grid come the winter. 90%. I was thinking half and half or 1/3rd battery/gen as opposed to 10%.

 

[Embattle]

Coo. You've still got a gas boiler right?

Yes, I very occasionally during the peak parts of the summer turn on the immersion heater on the tank but at all other times it is gas for heating and hot water.

 

[Scouse]

Yes, I very occasionally during the peak parts of the summer turn on the immersion heater on the tank but at all other times it is gas for heating and hot water.

Thermal store? Use the excess for your hot water and heating and then when you've zero excess your boiler does the job? Multiple points of entry into the thermal store...

 

[Embattle]

Surprised by the lack of battery? Are you not filling it up from the grid overnight on cheap rates?

Also, how come you're using *more* energy in the summer than in Jan/Feb @Embattle? I guess your gas bill is an inverted curve.

Still. I'm surprised that 90% of your power is grid come the winter. 90%. I was thinking half and half or 1/3rd battery/gen as opposed to 10%.

My intention was and still is to get the battery more involved during the winter in essence loading it up with energy on a cheap rate, however a major problem was initially getting a smart meter installed which took more than a year and now it isn't working properly. If I could I would still probably require 50% directly off the grid.

The electricity use is a bit more level so far this year but in general the items such as washing machines, cookers, etc are used throughout the year, plus if we are about to top out on the battery we will use the washing machine more to clean items washed less often.

Yes the gas bill is inverted, we use less hot water during the summer and the heating is completely off for large parts of the year. Even when the heating is on both floors are set for a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening.

 

[Embattle]

Thermal store? Use the excess for your hot water and heating and then when you've zero excess your boiler does the job? Multiple points of entry into the thermal store...

Yes but it is rare with our energy use, you can get automatic systems to manage the solar and hot water tank but as stated it is very rare no more than 5 times a year I flick the switch for the immersion heater.

 

[Scouse]

Yes but it is rare with our energy use, you can get automatic systems to manage the solar and hot water tank but as stated it is very rare no more than 5 times a year I flick the switch for the immersion heater.

Just thinking that all your hot water in the summer could come from thermal store. It would kill all your gas requirements from late spring > summer I guess. Or thereabouts.

Shitter about the smart meter. It's a fucking joke trying getting them to swap out our key-fob poor-person's meter for something that doesn't mean I have to pay 22p/kwh.

 

[DaGaffer]

Teach yourself. It's mostly pretty easy if you have a logical mind and there are plenty of tutorials on the internet. Start small and build yourself up.

I'm making internal doors in January, from scratch, no formal training. We don't have a single doorway the same size in the house, and we can't buy them off the shelf. I would pay a pro but doesn't seem much point if I can do it myself.

I can do anything to do with walls, floors and doors and I can do some proper carpentry stuff if I have the tools (albeit slowly), but I won't touch proper plumbing/heating (beyond bleeding a radiator) or electrical beyond running cable. I will freely admit though that the minute I could afford to get someone else to do stuff, I did. I'll still do decorating these days because I find it oddly therapeutic, but that's about it. And gardening. Which I hate.

 

[Embattle]

Some gas reading before the Smart meter:

June (2020) - 668.1 kWh
July (2020) - 579 kWh
Aug (2020) - 636.3 kWh
Sept (2020) - 535.9 kWh
Oct (2020) - 1002.2 kWh
Nov (2020) - 1080.1 kWh
Dec (2020) - 1381.3 kWh
Jan (2021) - 1635.4 kWh
Feb (2021) - 1728.3 kWh
Mar (2021) - 1447.6 kWh
Apr (2021) - 1399.5 kWh
May (2021) - 944.1 kWh

2020-2021 Prices

Electricity - 13.78p/kWh a unit - 20.74p/day standing charge
Gas - 2.25p/kWh a unit - 17p/day standing charge

2021-2023 Prices

Electricity - 18.8p/kWh a unit - 24.44p/day standing charge
Gas - 3.29p/kWh a Unit - 25.32p/day standing charge

 

[Tom]

Got about 80% of it done now, bits hanging down that I have to tidy up (things in the way that I have to cut around). Also got a tin of expanding foam to seal around the difficult bits to get to.

The floor in that room is noticeably warmer now.

 

[dysfunction]

View attachment 45337View attachment 45338

Currently done about half the front room with Superfoil SF40. 65mm thick foil/insulating blanket, stapled with 30mm staples to the joists. This is the same view in IR and normal light. The line down the centre is where the insulation stops. The cold bit at the top isn't finished yet, it's partially insulated but I have to work carefully around the electricity and gas, so it's still not fixed properly underneath.

Already the difference in temperature is 2-3 degrees. There are two central heating pipes running between the floorboards and the insulation to the left, so I will be interested to see if that line is still visible once I've completed the entire room. But I can feel the difference by walking on it.

What thermal camera do you have @Tom?

 

[Tom]

This one


View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0716ZGL7C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Damn it's gone up by more than £100.

 

[dysfunction]

This one


View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0716ZGL7C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Damn it's gone up by more than £100.

Thanks

 

[Tom]

I am re-insulating my loft. Removing all the old glass fibre insulation (probably about 40 years old) and replacing it with sheepswool.

It is a very, very messy job, as whoever insulated it in the first place didn't bother to vacuum out all the old soot and plaster before laying the insulation down. I can't bear the thought of it staying there, so I'm vaccing it all out. And there's a lot. Like a quarter inch of soot lying on top of every lath. Picture shows mostly sheepswool insulation, the crappy old stuff is visible around the edges.

Once this is done I have my bedroom to finish. I've added insulated plasterboard to the exterior facing walls, and paid someone to restore my sash windows with double glazing (pictured, lower sash is new, upper sash is restored). Then I board the ceiling and get the rest of the plastering fixed, then I insulate the floor, then I put a new radiator in, and then I have to build some wardrobes around the chimney breast.

 

[Scouse]

How thick a sheepswool layer Tom?

I'd still be tempted with 400mm of rockwool tbh. I understand it's a better insulator...

 

[Tom]

Just 100mm right now. It's expensive, this lot cost nearly a grand, I will likely double it in future but I have other more expensive priorities. The more you put on, the less "returns" you get on savings. I read somewhere that beyond 200mm it's like 15% of the reduction in heat loss compared to the first 200mm (if that makes sense). It's lovely stuff to handle though, no itching, perfectly natural. I'm basically doing this because the bedroom ceiling was bowing, so I fixed that, and I have downlighters to put in, so it makes sense to sort it all out at the same time.

Sheeps Wool Loft Insulation CosyWool by Thermafleece 100mm x 370mm - 7.22m2 | Insulation Superstore®

Durable and sustainable, this Thermafleece CosyWool Sheep's Wool Loft Insulation is manufactured from a rich blend of wool and recycled fibres. It is incred...

www.insulationsuperstore.co.uk

I waited ages to find someone who could restore the windows, these guys have done a really nice job, so they're going to do the downstairs windows next.

 

[Tom]

The amount of soot, dust and broken plaster up in the loft is amazing though. I think I'll have removed easily 200lb by the time I'm done. Half of that will be coal soot from chimneys. It's no wonder that old ceilings start to bow.

 

[DaGaffer]

I am re-insulating my loft. Removing all the old glass fibre insulation (probably about 40 years old) and replacing it with sheepswool.

It is a very, very messy job, as whoever insulated it in the first place didn't bother to vacuum out all the old soot and plaster before laying the insulation down. I can't bear the thought of it staying there, so I'm vaccing it all out. And there's a lot. Like a quarter inch of soot lying on top of every lath. Picture shows mostly sheepswool insulation, the crappy old stuff is visible around the edges.

Once this is done I have my bedroom to finish. I've added insulated plasterboard to the exterior facing walls, and paid someone to restore my sash windows with double glazing (pictured, lower sash is new, upper sash is restored). Then I board the ceiling and get the rest of the plastering fixed, then I insulate the floor, then I put a new radiator in, and then I have to build some wardrobes around the chimney breast.

Kicking off the same thing in August, but I'm paying someone to do it because I'm not insane

Got four separate insulation jobs on the go; relayed an old flat roof with proper insulation a couple of weeks ago, the attic, all new windows and then finally a full external render. Been putting it off for years but Ireland's energy prices are by far the worst in Europe and I have no confidence they'll meaningfully drop by next winter.

 

[Embattle]

All this talk of loft insulation has reminded me I need to get up there some time just to check an aerial lead hasn't pushed up any of the insulation.

In something Ireland and power related my dad was there for a few days over the weekend and he thinks the EV charging network sucked balls, too many ESB chargers not working and not enough of them.

 

[DaGaffer]

All this talk of loft insulation has reminded me I need to get up there some time just to check an aerial lead hasn't pushed up any of the insulation.

In something Ireland and power related my dad was there for a few days over the weekend and he thinks the EV charging network sucked balls, too many ESB chargers not working and not enough of them.

Charging network is indeed rubbish, but to be fair, I was back in the UK last weekend and rented a Polestar 2 (which I rather liked) and found the charging network in Kent was diabolical; I was quite shocked that the nearest fast charger to my Mum's house (which is in a medium sized town) was nearly 20 miles away. In addition there are no chargers at all on the M11, you have an EV hole between the M25 and Cambridge. EVs still don't feel ready for the big time in Ireland OR the UK.

 

[Embattle]

Yeah the network without question needs more of the 50kw+ chargers, although on Zapmap it does show a few 50kw+ chargers on the M11 etc. although 2 of them are Tesla only Superchargers which will be better once Tesla opens up more of their network to other EVs.