What is best for the house

dave 27

Hi all,

currently have a 4 bed dormer, roughly 1400 sq foot, using a very old oil boiler which heats the rads, the rads are old enough but all work just feel like the place could be better heated.

We want to get a replacement boiler (condenser boiler), is there any grant for this at all? also would it be worth replacing the rads too?

thanks in advance

FlipperThePriest

I think the only grants available are for adding zonal control to the heating system - splitting water heating from space heating and splitting living areas from bedroom etc... think you can get €700 for this.

You'd probably be best to work on the sources of your heat loss before working on upgrading the heat source. People on here usually advise to get an airtightness test done, and in your case it would be good advice. I moved house a year ago and I didn't bother with an airtightness test as the house is a simple layout, rectangular bungalow of traditional construction. I was able to make it relatively airtight myself. In a 4 bed dormer, there will be a lot more at play to address.

Improvements I made - I sealed any recessed lights with downlight covers, before which, those ceilings weren't even insulated and lights sucking heat from that room, it made a big difference. Sealed any electrical entry points at the ceiling in the attic (lights, tv cables, alarm sensors etc), before improving attic insulation from about 70mm to +300mm. Built an upper attic hatch from rigid insulation that slotted over the stira and weather stripped the attic door. Front door is fairly exposed to wind, and although a fairly new and decent upvc door, there was air getting in through the seals, I added weather stripping around the door, made a big difference. Filled any gaps at kitchen & bathroom pipes leaving the house. Blocked 2 unused chimneys.

The house was a little drafty before, but you'd really notice all the little improvements add up and the house is fairly toasty now and doesn't cool as quick when the heat is switched off. Now you can feel the resistance of interior doors when closing them as the air has nowhere to go, before it was fairly easy to slam them... ventilation at the moment is from opening windows daily, the plan is to eventually install mhrv.

Having done all that I still need to replace the oil boiler, which is next on the list. It's ancient and only running at about 65% according to BER. So that will be another big saving, but I don't think replacing a boiler would give the cosy, draft free feeling that you'll get from addressing the heat loss. Are your rads heating hot? If not you might need to bleed, or get them checked, mine are old but working fine. I will be adding TRVs when replacing the boiler.

dave 27

zippy84 wrote: »

I think the only grants available are for adding zonal control to the heating system - splitting water heating from space heating and splitting living areas from bedroom etc... think you can get €700 for this.

You'd probably be best to work on the sources of your heat loss before working on upgrading the heat source. People on here usually advise to get an airtightness test done, and in your case it would be good advice. I moved house a year ago and I didn't bother with an airtightness test as the house is a simple layout, rectangular bungalow of traditional construction. I was able to make it relatively airtight myself. In a 4 bed dormer, there will be a lot more at play to address.

Improvements I made - I sealed any recessed lights with downlight covers, before which, those ceilings weren't even insulated and lights sucking heat from that room, it made a big difference. Sealed any electrical entry points at the ceiling in the attic (lights, tv cables, alarm sensors etc), before improving attic insulation from about 70mm to +300mm. Built an upper attic hatch from rigid insulation that slotted over the stira and weather stripped the attic door. Front door is fairly exposed to wind, and although a fairly new and decent upvc door, there was air getting in through the seals, I added weather stripping around the door, made a big difference. Filled any gaps at kitchen & bathroom pipes leaving the house. Blocked 2 unused chimneys.

The house was a little drafty before, but you'd really notice all the little improvements add up and the house is fairly toasty now and doesn't cool as quick when the heat is switched off. Now you can feel the resistance of interior doors when closing them as the air has nowhere to go, before it was fairly easy to slam them... ventilation at the moment is from opening windows daily, the plan is to eventually install mhrv.

Having done all that I still need to replace the oil boiler, which is next on the list. It's ancient and only running at about 65% according to BER. So that will be another big saving, but I don't think replacing a boiler would give the cosy, draft free feeling that you'll get from addressing the heat loss. Are your rads heating hot? If not you might need to bleed, or get them checked, mine are old but working fine. I will be adding TRVs when replacing the boiler.

Thanks for the advise, I think plenty can be done if i went to the attic to seal from up there with airtight tape. Theres actually 3 different entry points so it makes for an awkward job but will definately check that out.

the rads are old and while most of them work, theres a few that are warm on top and cold down on one side, tried bleeding all the rads that were effected but didnt work as water came out straight away.

Is there any good sites that has deals on airtight tape? or what did you use? I know those products can be expensive

FlipperThePriest

I had a few attic hatches to do to. The others without the stairs I just glued a few sections of solid insulation to the back of the hatch panel and weather stripped it.

If the rad was cold at the top it would need bled. Cold at the bottom, probably blocked with sludge, maybe needs flushed or replaced.

I don't think you would be using airtight tape to seal entry points or holes around cables or fixtures in the attic, tape would be more for interior joints. I used decorators filler and a silicone gun. For bigger gaps such as pipes coming from the hot water cylinder or under kitchen sink, a bit of expanding foam.