How to find heat loss

AlanD

I have a 4 year old timber frame house build with vents in every room. A heat loss nightmare!

What sort of companies come and analyze your house with those heat radar cameras to see where your house is loosing heat from and recommend how to fix it?

We are about to build an extension and want to sort out all our heat loss problems. We're getting rid of gas so can drop the room vents. We open the windows every day anyway!

smashey

Don't be too hasty in getting rid of the room vents, gas or not. See TGD F in the building regs. link in the resources thread.

10-10-20

In my own personal opinion, vents are a major source of heatloss in gusty conditions. I have taken to reducing the vents from their current size of 100mm down to 40mm using pipe inserts and foam. I also fit adjustable vent covers over the holes instead of the usual open type. In my kitchen I have left them untouched, but the bedrooms are mostly all complete now.

There was a point in time where I couldn't keep heat in some of the rooms due to the nature of the vents. To add to my problems, I had downlighters fitted in the ceiling and they are only encouraging heat-loss by their design. In one room I had 10 fitted and the draft was pocket-denting to say the least.

You have to take the regulations into account along with the fact that vents shouldn't be the primary source of heat-loss - mine were, that's why I REDUCED them and not removed them.

GreeBo

I had the same problems, my house is quite exposed at the front and all the vents are basically a 1x0.5 footsq hole in the side of the house.
I have cut 2 pieces of polystyrene to a snug fit and put a few much smaller holes in each piece.
The holes are offset from each other to prevent draughts and then "foamed" in place.
I then have adjustable vents in front of them.
Its nowhere near being airtight but its not a gaping hole either.

Viking House

Have you considered Heat Recovery Ventilation?
If you block up your vents I would recommend a Relative Humidity monitor which alarms when the humidity gets too high in your house telling you to open the windows.
Do you have open chimneys also?

ircoha

AlanD wrote:

I have a 4 year old timber frame house build with vents in every room. A heat loss nightmare!

What sort of companies come and analyze your house with those heat radar cameras to see where your house is loosing heat from and recommend how to fix it?

We are about to build an extension and want to sort out all our heat loss problems. We're getting rid of gas so can drop the room vents. We open the windows every day anyway!

Vents are not 100% related to whether u have gas. As noted elsewhere, note the regs and also use common sense. Glasnevin has a number of clients who did away with all the vents.

What are u using instead of gas?

A neighbour recently replaced all her windows, the house has no vents anywhere and relied on the draughty windows for ventillation.

Now the house is stuffy and damp all year round, have suggested she shuts the windows in the "vent" position, but she doesn't.

I've installed heat recovery ventillation and so far it works well.

muffler

AlanD wrote:

What sort of companies come and analyze your house with those heat radar cameras to see where your house is loosing heat from and recommend how to fix it?

We are going off topic a wee bit here lads but as there's a good link to and discussion about related scenarios we can continue.

As always some interesting points being made. But the OP was really asking about who to get for testing heat loss. Anyone got any ideas?

ircoha

Deleted User wrote:

A neighbour recently replaced all her windows, the house has no vents anywhere and relied on the draughty windows for ventillation.

Now the house is stuffy and damp all year round, have suggested she shuts the windows in the "vent" position, but she doesn't.

I've installed heat recovery ventillation and so far it works well.

Nice one DB: Retro-fitting HRV not easy so could you share a few ideas on it with us pls. { bungalow/2 storey/ semi or not/system used/where u put the kit/ what size ducts etc}
Thanks

Mellor

AlanD wrote:

We are about to build an extension and want to sort out all our heat loss problems. We're getting rid of gas so can drop the room vents. We open the windows every day anyway!

I'm afraid you are mistaken here. The vents are required for background ventilation in a room. They have nothing to do with gas. Ideally fires or stoves have their own air source. Older houses can get away with it as they are less tightly sealed, windows and such. If you think this is a major heat loss area then looking into heat recovery, in the short term, reduce the size of the opening, but keep it reasonable.
As for companies to investigate the heat loss, alot of HRV providers can carry out this work for you.

mukki

i am no expert but...

if there are vents in every room and you have at least 2 external walls- try to keep all the internal doors closed and make sure they seal well. vents will keep the rooms vented and safe, and doors should stop draughts through the house.


...worth a try as it will cost nothing

Do-more

ircoha wrote:

Nice one DB: Retro-fitting HRV not easy so could you share a few ideas on it with us pls. { bungalow/2 storey/ semi or not/system used/where u put the kit/ what size ducts etc}
Thanks

This crowd in Mullingar supply a "mini-duct" system called "Hi-Velocity" which including the insulation is approx. 4" in diameter and is about your best bet in terms of retro-fitting a HRV system. AFAIK they can supply the complete system or just the ducting to use with your own choice of HRV unit. After that it's just a case of being inventive in terms of running ducts down through closets, hot air presses and wardrobes to get to downstairs rooms in a two-storey...

To really go off-topic (sorry OP) I personally think that HRV units are way overpriced in this country, I was in Sweden a few weeks back and the local hardware was advertising full Air to Air heat pumps retail for the equivilant of just €650!