Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

Thermometers arrived yesterday and I now have to eat humble pie. Thought we were soft but the lounge reached max 15C yesterday and this morning the house is between 9C and 10C. Maybe my wife has a point when she says it's cold.

And that was burning over a tenner of gas.

Today we shall see how much it costs to take the house to 18C and keep it there for a few hours (with 16C in between)

i would be interested to know the temp in my mancave / home office. it is detached from the house, well insulated but it gets no heating at all, not even leeched through the walls of the house.

i dont heat it at all (or haven't yet this winter) last year WFH was easy as had 400w gaming pc mining 24/7 which acted as a nice little heater to take the edge off..... this year its blanket and hotwater bottles.

i know its cold as i can see my breath!. its -5 outside at moment
 
Thermometers arrived yesterday and I now have to eat humble pie. Thought we were soft but the lounge reached max 15C yesterday and this morning the house is between 9C and 10C. Maybe my wife has a point when she says it's cold.

And that was burning over a tenner of gas.

Today we shall see how much it costs to take the house to 18C and keep it there for a few hours (with 16C in between)
My bedroom was 5.7c before I turned on the heater. Only used 1-2 kw to warm it up a bit though.
 
Our poor living room doesn't get above about 16 degrees at the moment. The missus is complaining bitterly. The radiator is under a bay window and its simply too small for the room. Its a 45cm x 100cm standard radiator and the room is about 4m square.
 
Our poor living room doesn't get above about 16 degrees at the moment. The missus is complaining bitterly. The radiator is under a bay window and its simply too small for the room. Its a 45cm x 100cm standard radiator and the room is about 4m square.
We've got the exact same problem in our living room, the rest of the house can be decently warm but the lounge is just chilly no matter what we do.

I think we need to replace the bay window (it is double glazing but it's properly old) and that should hopefully help a little. For now it's just a lot of blankets and wine.
 
Does the roof space above the bay window have any insulation? If not it’s probably just acting as a heat chimney and sucking all the warmth out the room. If the property is old, if hazard a guess that it doesn’t.
 
Does the roof space above the bay window have any insulation? If not it’s probably just acting as a heat chimney and sucking all the warmth out the room. If the property is old, if hazard a guess that it doesn’t.
Yeah, old 1902 Victorian terrace. Love the character, hate that it's a hot box in the summer and a freezer in the winter.

Some lovely minton tile flooring though.
 
Our poor living room doesn't get above about 16 degrees at the moment. The missus is complaining bitterly. The radiator is under a bay window and its simply too small for the room. Its a 45cm x 100cm standard radiator and the room is about 4m square.
How old is the radiator? I swapped all but one of my radiators recently from 1980s units to modern Screwfix things. The best rad in the house is now a double panel 600mm one lol. The one I didn't replace is a beast but barely gets warm as the heat just can't penetrate the rad itself, lol.

So may not necessarily need to be "BIGGER" but certainly modern and double skin if you can afford the space.
 
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Ours is only 1999 and the rooms(especially bedroom) quickly drops to 10c.

Has really made me think of what I want as a next house. Or what I'd immediately do to it if it isn't new (probably will be old)
 
Yeah, old 1902 Victorian terrace. Love the character, hate that it's a hot box in the summer and a freezer in the winter.

Some lovely minton tile flooring though.

If you are feeling ambitious it will probably be worth getting a hole saw out and putting a small hole in it so have a look. If it’s just a void, I’d be taking the ceiling down and putting some PIR insulation up there between the rafters.

It’s sounds complicated but it’s not a big job. Modern plasterboard can just be directly pained over after it’s been taped and filled, no need for a plasterer to skim it.
 
I think we need to replace the bay window (it is double glazing but it's properly old) and that should hopefully help a little. For now it's just a lot of blankets and wine.
Which is exceedingly expensive to do (better if yours has brick pillars at the corners)

I've looked at this and decided in the lounge we'll stick with poorer glazing and burn more heat in that room
 
How old is the radiator? I swapped all but one of my radiators recently from 1980s units to modern Screwfix things. The best rad in the house is now a double panel 600mm one lol. The one I didn't replace is a beast but barely gets warm as the heat just can't penetrate the rad itself, lol.

So may not necessarily need to be "BIGGER" but certainly modern and double skin if you can afford the space.

I don't know but not very old I don't think.

Basically one of these.


Issue is the size, its in a bay window and there is usually something in the way of it a bit. Currently a christmas tree.
 
I don't know but not very old I don't think.

Basically one of these.


Issue is the size, its in a bay window and there is usually something in the way of it a bit. Currently a christmas tree.
Yeah that is pretty heavy duty. I have a half bay with a radiator that is 65% the size and it is "sufficient" but not epic heat. You should theoretically be fine with that radiator for a room that is 4x4...
 
Yeah that is pretty heavy duty. I have a half bay with a radiator that is 65% the size and it is "sufficient" but not epic heat. You should theoretically be fine with that radiator for a room that is 4x4...

The current one is 45cm x 100cm. Just had a look at the floor plan and its 4.7m x 4.2m. I think realistically we want one at least half as big again. Could probably get away with a 60cm x 100cm. The house is a sieve when it comes to heat as well. Solid brick walls. No insulation between levels or under the hanging floors. Does have 300mm of insulation in the loft though :p
 
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Yeah totally agree - although we should remember the long range change - ie average house temps were 10-12C 80 years ago, no one had a car as they were so expensive etc and we've gradually raised our standard.

I'm not sure it's quite right to say 'its for the fun of it', but your essence is right - ie those who can afford it, can afford to think long term - eg my setup cost £14k, but will pay back £65k in 15 years through savings (woefully pessimistic given current costs) so it does allow smart investment whereas those who can't afford will have fewer choices to 'invest' out of challenges.

My point is that as people buy these, it'll drive them towards ubiquity which will drop prices (as per cars, telephone, PCs, mobiles etc etc) which are all accessible to pretty much all these days.

The other aspect is these people are able to shoulder the risk - ie solar, batteries, wind, inverters etc all will have teething issues as any new tech will, so IMO it's better to allow people for whom it's not a life changing risk to drive these things forward.
Agreed. I'm not knocking anyone who has the funds to purchase this equipment, I just think that there should be permanent subsidies for everyone to encourage their use. It's the same for insulation, the aim should be to get every house in the UK up to a minimum spec, preferably higher. Yes that would require government help, and lot's of it, but it would help reduce energy demand considerably and leave us less exposed to the ridiculous situation we're in currently.
 
the aim should be to get every house in the UK up to a minimum spec, preferably higher. Yes that would require government help, and lot's of it, but it would help reduce energy demand considerably and leave us less exposed to the ridiculous situation we're in currently.
And who is going to pay for it? up until now the goverment has shown no intentions on doing anything (for multiple reasons, some of which will be pathetic)
Insulate Britian didn't help matters.
 
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I don't know but not very old I don't think.

Basically one of these.


Issue is the size, its in a bay window and there is usually something in the way of it a bit. Currently a christmas tree.
That's a beast of a radiato, I know as I have one in my kitchen.

Have you balanced and bled the system?

I managed to hit £22 of gas use a day... I'm back to living in the cold as I can't afford that really!

Think I'll be insulating my loft this weekend. 1897 build, solid wall construction and mid reno so no floor coverings down :(
 
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