C3 House and pretty cold

Samuel T. Cogley

As per the title I have a C3 rated house but we're finding it quite cold. One room in particular is very cold, but then it has 3 external walls and it's own roof bit that probably isn't well insulated.

The other issue we have is the downstairs can be cold but the upstairs roasting and we only have a binary heating system. For some reason the values are missing off all the rads. I did buy some but just using the top twisty bit means that I can either have the rad on or off, I didn't seem to get granular control. Is it worth getting new values fitted (properly) and should I do that power flushy thing I hear about?

House was build in 2002 and I recon the boiler is that old too. Would it be a massive job putting a new boiler in with two zones (upstairs and downstairs) and a thermostat of some kind?

Is it worth getting someone out to do thermal imaging?

Sorry for the rambling OP I'm sure I've missed stuff out so fire away with any questions and thanks in advance for any insights.

LirW

We got zoned heating two years ago including a new boiler and a complete replumbing. They fitted bathroom appliances too. We paid 11k for it but we're outside of Dublin.
I have to say it's great but our house doesn't have great insulation to begin with and draughty windows so a lot more needs to be done.
I think heat-mapping could be beneficial if you plan to insulate better anyway. You can also take the BER report you have, while BER isn't worth the paper it's written on, it can give you some indications on what can be done to get a better rating meaning these are jobs to make your house warmer.

As houses from this period are often not the greatest in building quality I'd have a chat with someone who knows about insulation. A zoned heating is not magically going to make your home warmer if the insulation isn't great in the first place.


I feel for you, we don't have the money to do it all in one go and have to do bit by bit, a cold home sucks.

MicktheMan

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

As per the title I have a C3 rated house but we're finding it quite cold. One room in particular is very cold, but then it has 3 external walls and it's own roof bit that probably isn't well insulated.

The other issue we have is the downstairs can be cold but the upstairs roasting and we only have a binary heating system. For some reason the values are missing off all the rads. I did buy some but just using the top twisty bit means that I can either have the rad on or off, I didn't seem to get granular control. Is it worth getting new values fitted (properly) and should I do that power flushy thing I hear about?

House was build in 2002 and I recon the boiler is that old too. Would it be a massive job putting a new boiler in with two zones (upstairs and downstairs) and a thermostat of some kind?

Is it worth getting someone out to do thermal imaging?

Sorry for the rambling OP I'm sure I've missed stuff out so fire away with any questions and thanks in advance for any insights.

Full heat loss survey including air tightness testing will highlight all your issues and should also give multiple solutions etc.

drunkmonkey

First bit of money should just go into insulation in the attic and air tightness , cheap fixes like window seals, you don't need an expert out for that just get a lighter around the windows and see does it blow to one side.
You could put a thermostatic valve in that one room to try and keep it at temperature, or something like a nest but have it in that room.
Get the boiler serviced if it hasn't been done in a while and see what the service man thinks, cost of replacing is a lot of fuel.

Ginger83

MicktheMan wrote: »

Full heat loss survey including air tightness testing will highlight all your issues and should also give multiple solutions etc.

+1

We had this done, very good advice.

_Brian

Remember the BER rating is a theoretical rating based on the construction methods, and based that they were well done.

If for example the insulation was shoddily installed it’s usefulness is severely degraded and so the real world value of it will Not match the theoretical value assigned in the BER

tvjunki

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

As per the title I have a C3 rated house but we're finding it quite cold. One room in particular is very cold, but then it has 3 external walls and it's own roof bit that probably isn't well insulated.

The other issue we have is the downstairs can be cold but the upstairs roasting and we only have a binary heating system. For some reason the values are missing off all the rads. I did buy some but just using the top twisty bit means that I can either have the rad on or off, I didn't seem to get granular control. Is it worth getting new values fitted (properly) and should I do that power flushy thing I hear about?

House was build in 2002 and I recon the boiler is that old too. Would it be a massive job putting a new boiler in with two zones (upstairs and downstairs) and a thermostat of some kind?

Is it worth getting someone out to do thermal imaging?

Sorry for the rambling OP I'm sure I've missed stuff out so fire away with any questions and thanks in advance for any insights.

We had the same issue. You can install insulated board in that one room on the three walls. If that room is above a step in porch check if it is insulated by opening the ceiling in the porch. Doubt if there is any. You could just put a bit of insulated board in the ceiling In the step in at the front door. That is what we found. Made a difference.
If you have raised floors downstairs you could open the floor and install kingsman rigid insulation. Big job but worth it.