Energy upgrade to house

lkkev80

Am living in a 3000 sq ft dormer which was built in 2000 and which we bought in 2011. It is heated with ofch which has 3 zones with just on/off manual control and two solid fuel stoves which don't have back boilers. In 2012 we got the cavity in the external walls pumped with beads and put extra rockwoll insulation in the attic to bring it to between 200 - 300 mm.

We are hoping to do an upgrade from the point of view of energy efficiency and comfort during winter months.

I got an energy assessor to give us some advise and based on this and my own reading we were thinking of the following:
- Bring attic insulation up to min 300mm with spray foam over the rock woll
- Sloped ceilings in upstairs rooms have no insulation so thinking of removing the plasterboard, insulating between the rafters (leaving 50mm space for air movement upto attic) and putting insulated plasterboard over this.
- Replacing some existing radiators in rooms which are hard to heat at present with solorads - high output and faster to heat up.
- Seal up house as much as possible using blower door test and thermal imaging
- Replace current boiler with condensing model or install solar panels for hot water - probably can't afford to do both now
- Replace all spotlights in house with pendants or surface mounted LEDs where pendants not suitable

Any thoughts or feedback on this? Would mhrv be a waste of money without replacing windows and externally insulating walls?

Thanks

MicktheMan

lkkev80 wrote: »

1. In 2012 we got the cavity in the external walls pumped with beads and put extra rockwoll insulation in the attic to bring it to between 200 - 300 mm.


I got an energy assessor to give us some advise and based on this and my own reading we were thinking of the following:
2.- Bring attic insulation up to min 300mm with spray foam over the rock woll
3.- Sloped ceilings in upstairs rooms have no insulation so thinking of removing the plasterboard, insulating between the rafters (leaving 50mm space for air movement upto attic) and putting insulated plasterboard over this.
4.- Replacing some existing radiators in rooms which are hard to heat at present with solorads - high output and faster to heat up.
5.- Seal up house as much as possible using blower door test and thermal imaging
6.- Replace current boiler with condensing model or install solar panels for hot water - probably can't afford to do both now
7.- Replace all spotlights in house with pendants or surface mounted LEDs where pendants not suitable


8. Would mhrv be a waste of money without replacing windows and externally insulating walls?

1. Did this work have any effect?
2. Who advised this?
3. Reasonable approach. Don't forget to implement an airtightness barrier
4. If you cut down on the heat loss mechanisms first, then maybe the current rads are sufficient.
5. Dormers are notoriously leaky. Have the pressure test & thermal imaging done first to guide you on priorities
6. Either of these might be a waste of money if heat loss issues are not addressed first
7. Yes
8. MVHR is a waste of money if the house is not air tight. Windows / ewi have little/nothing to do with it.

Overall, you seem to be a bit confused on what you are trying to achieve. Having a full heat loss survey done by a competent and experienced practitioner will give you the advice you need and probably save you money on unnecessary work.

lkkev80

Thanks for the reply MicktheMan. You are right - I am bit confused with all the information that is out there. I have tried to answer the questions you have below:
1. It improved the house a bit but not as much as I had hoped - still difficult to heat and seems to lose heat quickly
2. The energy assessor who I got to have a look at the house

By full heat loss survey do you mean pressure test and thermal imaging?

If I understand you correctly you suggest doing all the insulation and sealing first before looking at increasing heat input by new boiler/rads/solar panels?

BryanF

lkkev80 wrote: »

If I understand you correctly you suggest doing all the insulation and sealing first before looking at increasing heat input by new boiler/rads/solar panels?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_hierarchy


reduce heat loss by improving building fabric. then introduce suitable renewable/ low energy systems/ controls/ consider rads size. then size boiler

don't forget proper ventilation in the search for energy & comfort improvements

MicktheMan

lkkev80 wrote: »

1. It improved the house a bit but not as much as I had hoped - still difficult to heat and seems to lose heat quickly

This would suggest air tightness weakness

lkkev80 wrote: »

2. The energy assessor who I got to have a look at the house

Well, I wouldn't be getting him/her back:eek:. Did this "energy assessor" furnish you with a report?

lkkev80 wrote: »

By full heat loss survey do you mean pressure test and thermal imaging?

Yes, especially the pressure test aka air tightness test aka blower door test.

lkkev80 wrote: »

If I understand you correctly you suggest doing all the insulation and sealing first before looking at increasing heat input by new boiler/rads/solar panels?

Correct. Getting the air tightness issues addressed in addition to appropriate ventilation will have a significant effect on the performance and comfort levels. It may well be the case that your heating system will then be more than adequate for the house.

lkkev80

Out of interest - why not put the spray foam over the rockwool? No report, just sat down with him for 15mins to get the recommendations verbally.

I didn't find it easy to find someone to do the energy assessement in the first place - what is the best way to get someone - architect?

MicktheMan

lkkev80 wrote: »

Out of interest - why not put the spray foam over the rockwool?

Not knowing the properties of the particular spray foam, risk of interstitial condensation is one reason.
Product certification wrt application is another.

MicktheMan

lkkev80 wrote: »

I didn't find it easy to find someone to do the energy assessement in the first place - what is the best way to get someone - architect?

Depends very very much on the particular architect.
You could google something like "house heat loss survey"

If you want to know more, send me a pm

OO7FITZY

Hi Folks,

Does anyone know of a retrofitting company in Limerick?
I am looking to buy 4 bedroom detached second hand home and most of the BER ratings are around D1/D2 so if I do buy I want to factor in how much roughly it will cost to upgrade the house to a higher rating eg B maybe?

I really don't know? If this is the wrong thread can you point in the right direction as it is not very clear to me

Also when reviewing a home does the BER take into account the lighting used in the house eg if the house has a dozen halogen spot lights in the kitchen and old style bubs etc, will that bring the BER down? Also I guess if they have any open fire this will drag it down?

Most houses built in the last 15 years will have attic insulation so if I was to buy I imagine I would be looking to add the following to bring it up to a reasonable BER level:

* Wall insulation - 1500
* New A rated windows and doors (2 doors plus 8 windows) - 5000
* Stove fireplace - 1000
* CFLs in all rooms - 100
* Energy efficient gas boiler - 2000
* BER and/or Expert report - 300
* Solar water heaters on roof - 6000

Would around 16K sound about right?

Really don't know so would love to get some feedback please?