People said I was wasting $$ by supper insulating when I built my house in 1984 with R38 walls & 18” or 90cm or blown in cellulose ceilings. But heating with solar & 1.5 cords of wood in radiant floors for 1800 aft living space + basement and 27x30 ft shop seems worth it to me. Good presentation! Cheers
I'm all I'm favour of efficient insulation in homes and have done as much to my property as is possible, however the more I try to offset the fuel costs, the more the energy companies increase the price of the fuel, so there comes a point when insulation will of course reduce the consumption, but due to increasing fuel prices the overall bill will never reduce.
As part of an extension we've refurbished the ground floor that included taking the old floors out cleaning out 100 years of debris reinforcement of the floor + noggins before double insulation with 1st mineral wool then a product called floorquilt. The reason for the work was having underfloor heating extended from our new extension but the result is the 2 inside rooms now require ZERO heating for most of the year most of the time Biggest bang for our buck was double insulated floors its a lot of work but necessary in a 100 year old property
Great video. There's a whole other benefit as well: because the building retains heat for longer, you are better able to take advantage of flexible time of use tariffs such as Octopus Cosy, bringing even further cost savings.
I've got a 1930's bungalow, Rockwool in walls and modern windows and doors, underlay beneath carpets. Lath and plaster ceilings with 4 inch glass fibre in loft. Insulation I always say works on the laws of diminishing return, I've got enough. Last summer on a very hot day for some reason, cobweb maybe, I touched the ceiling, it was hot. I've added another layer of rockwool and last winter comfort level was noticeably better and with better heat retention when system (40 year old Glow-worm!) shut off. Well worth the money and effort, I should have done it years ago! Great vids and info.
I'm shocked how little people know about insulating a house first- I've done insulated basement, cavity spray foam insulation, internal perimeter wall insulated plasterboards, glazing of exiting wooden windows with newer 16mm spaced double glazed units, perspex secondary glazing, thermal camera checking, composite door fitting & obligatory loft insulation over last 20 years as a semi diy'r & my lounge now stays at 20° all night most days, use biomass pellet stove in hall & a stoves in lounge for evenings that gets anywhere from 24-31° with little effort where we spend 14hrs per night & unheated top floor/bedrooms with teddy bear fleece duvet sets in winter. Gas heating been off for 24months & counting, with around £400-450 per year on biomass pellets and wood briquettes & really never felt warmer. My advice is do everything you possible can first yourself before going down the higher expense ASHP route @ £12+k
Great Video mate!! I've been waiting for the internet / UK to start talking about the importance and benefits of insulating your home to improve its energy efficiency. For years now the country has been focusing on efficient ways to produce heat in a home i.e. a condensing gas boiler, heat pump, solar thermal etc. Millions and millions have been spent in the way of government grants, installing condensing boilers (and now Heat Pumps) into houses with solid walls, minimal loft insulation and draughty windows / doors. Does this not seem a little backwards?? Its not like "insulation" is a new technology that no one has ever heard about. 🤔 No point producing all this efficient heat just to keep the birds on the roof warm.😉
Where have you been Tim, there have been numerous campaigns and incentives, for many years, in the UK to upgrade insulation. The low hanging fruit has been plucked, major upgrades are whats left and they're expensive.
@@andrewferguson3264 Who is "they"? In the UK we have had grants to add roof and cavity insulation for years. If you've got a very old house with solid walls then basically, as regards financial implications go, you're screwed. It's very intrusive, internal or external, has no realistic payback timescale and cannot be done to some properties. This also applies to many of the "no fines" concrete properties. You may also like to explain what you mean by "being done properly". Draught proofing is relatively easy and can be cost effective, but then you have to ensure sufficient air changes, otherwise you'll get mould growing in the prpoerty, which not only damages the fabric but also the health of the occupants.
I covered my loft space with two layers of 13.5 tog polyester duvets bought cheaply on line and delivered. Easy to instal using two different sizes and at 27 tog amazingly efficient. No more loft condensation too. If you have a 13.5 tog winter duvet on your bed try doubling it over and lay under it and you will feel what I mean.😎
Hi Adam, this a very good explanation of where make the most cost effective alterations. I'm glad that I watched the whole video, because in the beginning I started to spit feathers when you talked about water temperature/ room temp delta, but you did provide a great explanation at the end😊 I have been championing weather compensation for more years than I care to remember, I'm now retired from the commercial heating world. With the advances in electronics I had hoped that there would be weather compensation systems that could be easily retrofitted to existing gas fired systems I.e. without the need for mixing valves, similar to the add on options for new Vaillant boilers ( Vaillant have been one of my preferred manufacturers since 1990!)
Good examples of the real calcs involved - in my experience, the average gas fitter would have their minds blown with this kind of maths - they seem to be barely able to cope with doing an in/out efficiency calculation or need to use an app to do stuff - getting them upskilled in this type of stuff is going to be challenge - instead they'll just stick a finger in the air and do some guesswork e.g. ooh that's a big house = must need a mahoosive boiler 🙄
The average gas fitter should already be aware of most of this. Clearly the design temperatures for heat pumps will be new, and they might not be aware of the relvant exponents to be used when considering resizing radiators, but Adam explain it well.
There is an additional saving you didn't mention, from insulation lowering the house's "balance point temperature", i.e. the outside temperature at which the heating system will call for heat. By insulating, the balance point temperature is lowered because passive heat gains from appliances, solar gain, water cylinder, and people become more significant. The heating reduction can be calculated from degree day based at the lower temperature and can be bigger than the efficiency saving you talk about. Check out the building physics of this process for more explanation.
I found this video interesting. After adding all the insulation and draft proofing how do you check for ventilation? For clean air and also to stop condensation. I look forward to future videos, keep up the good work.
I’ve just installed MVHR ventilation + air-tight covers to LED downlighters + 25mm BASF Enertite (open-cell sprayfoam) to attic floor for air-tightness + min. 400mm of Cellulose insulation to attic. Added lots of ventilation to cold attic. Windows and doors being upgraded to 0.7 U triple glazed and fitted with Tescon air-tight tapes. Big difference so far but the big question is how to treat the 130mm wall cavity. Currently it has 50 EPS to inner leaf leaving 80mm for air to flow around and enter building via gaps around joists. Seriously considering BASF CV100. Blocks are Mica & Pyrite free. EPS gives expansion room and lessens risk of wall damage. Interested to hear people’s thoughts.
Another great video. Another huge difference I found was replacing the sealed units if they are old ones with modern A rated ones called sometimes low e. I done the whole of my house for £1000 . I know not every one can afford that but now with a thermal camera in winter my walls are colder than the glazing
Yes I was thinking why do they build these new sport centres with so much glass area? But modern glazing, especially triple glazing is very effective nowadays. I see that it is recommended by window companies I've looked at to use double glazing on south facing walls (to allow more solar gain) and triple glazing elsewhere. A shame that outdoor window shutters with louvres aren't pushed more to keep solar gain out in the Summer; I've often thought that entire South facing walls should be protected by louvres to keep the building cool, even better if the louvres are photovoltaics.
@ConradMurkitt yes that is correct. It's a far cheaper way, obviously even frame design has improved but mine are internally glazed so they are not that old I believe they originally went in in 2008. I did find that no expanding foam had been put around the outside of the frames so they were poorly installed but I sorted that as well as the new units.
@@johnfreshwater3790 where did you source the new units from and how were you able to determine the energy rating of your existing ones? Mine went in in 2000 so I am guessing they should be replaced. Although I had some replaced last year as an insurance claim due to heat damage from the extreme heat last summer. However I don’t know what they replaced them with and they could be just as bad as the ones I had in there.
@ConradMurkitt Hi Conrad. If they are the originals from 2000 then they are unlikely to be low e units. You can tell if they are by using the light on your mobile phone. If you shine your phone light on the unit from the inside of the house you will see a row of reflections of the lamp and old units all the reflections are the same colour. On a low e the second reflection is a different colour mine has a blue colour to it. This is the transparent metallic coating on the inside of the inside sheet of glass.
We have a 2003 build detached house and have lived here for 3 years. Despite the EPC quoting cavity wall insulation assumed, there was none and now there is. At the end of our first year we replaced the polycarbonate conservatory roof with a fully insulated tiled roof (it is part of the kitchen diner and cannot be shut out in winter). Our gas consumption has reduced by a third immediately. Still more we can do, I am sure and this video has prompted me to seek more information. Thank you.
The walls will have got through building regs as they will have used some sort of thermal block to achieve the required u value, the cavity may be empty, but the u value was achieved so the EPC assumes CWI present. Retrofitting CWI to this house will make a slight difference, but not as much impact as insulating a cavity house from the 60s.
I have an existing heat pump system installed 3 years ago the company that installed went out of business I would be interested in having an engineer review the install and see if there are improvements that could be made, watching these videos suggests that the system could b improved
I’ve found that the milder winters save energy. Could this be why energy prices are being pushed up? Heating not being required quite as much is reducing profits?
It's not hard to calculate heat loss through walls, ceilings, floors and then insulate more to improve this by say 30%......but then we all have to guess ventilation/draught losses to get total heating demand and so correctly size a system. OK if yours is a passivhaus perhaps but does anyone know of a good system on a normal house to measure actual ventilation/ draught rates? That way you can decide if draughts should be sealed or left for proper ventilation to 9revent damp.
The calculations to prevent damp would have so many variables I expect it won’t be accurate anyway and doing things like washing would be a massive difference. To test for leaks you need to measure pressure and have a large fan and seal the front door. If you want to DIy it then smoke and fan is going to be the way to go. Not done this on my place yet, but have new roof to sort out 1st. Plus I look at the building regs to ascertain what I need to do.
That was really good. Any advice on how to draft proof spot lights? All the advice i can find is for when youre installing them and getting into the ceilings which i cant do.
Great video Adam, always excellent content here, thanks. Just wondered if you ever thought about making a video looking at things a different way round given the enrgy crisis. How people get the most out of a certain amount of energy? At work i meet lots of people limiting gas usage to around 6000kWh/yr or about £600/yr (excluding SC) due to their financial circumstances. They reduce room temps, turn rooms off and limit times so they don't spend more than they can afford. In this situation, if you had a customer that was prepared to compromise on many things, without draught proofing or insulating how would you set up boiler times and settings to help them stay in their budget of 6000kWh/yr? and avoid mould! 😀🤔 This would also be intersting for heat pumps.
When I worked and was out all day I didn't bother with any heating in the morning (just used T shirts etc. and and a dressing gown to have breakfast in). Set the heating to come on 20 minutes before you get home in the evening with boiler flow temperature preferably set no higher than 55 deg. C if the boiler is condensing type Combi. Although the home will be cool when you get home at least the hot radiators help psychologically. Lounge room thermostat set to 18 - 19 deg. C. If you can, turn the heating off 30 - 60 minutes before going to bed (Optimum Stop *). Also I would recommend that all radiators to be checked for the fins being clogged with dust & other debris, and if so, clean with a bottle brush using a light and a mirror. * Optimum Start / Stop (uses indoor & outdoor air temperature sensors) is used in commercial buildings to Start the heating early enough to get the space up to e.g. 18 deg. C by the beginning of Occupancy e.g. 08.00 and to Stop the heating some time (can be hours) before the end of Occupancy e.g. 17.00 so that the space temperature decays to no lower than 18 deg. C before people leave the building. The programme learns the thermal characteristics of the building to make increasingly accurate decisions. Space temperature controlled at 21 - 22 independent of the Start / Stop programme. Optimum Start / Stop was of great use for relatively poorly insulated buildings with some thermal mass and becomes less useful the better the building is insulated. Notwithstanding the above insulation & controlled ventilation is the way to go, remembering that the recommended thickness of roof insulation is 30 cm. of Rockwool / Fibreglass I understand. I hope by now everyone is aware of how useful an electric blanket can be, and that some modern ones heat the bed more as the room gets colder and vice versa and have individual controls for either side of a double bed.
Dunno if this is still relevant for you but this is what I do in a flat with five radiators (ie 5 rooms that need heating)...The boiler comes on at 7am, it is asked to get to 17deg (that is a bit low but it's a new boiler and still working out how much it will cost at that level before raising the thermostat) and it stays there all day until 11pm when it is allowed to drop back to 15deg (though I notice the air temp only tends to drop one degree overnight). So the heating is on low all day. Rinse and repeat. None of my radiators has a thermostatic valve and even if they did I'd never close a radiator off ever as I believe houses should always have some heating, even if only a tiny amount. There is no insulation at all. All the windows are single-glazed. I live in a listed flat in a conservation area so insulation is a no-no, but the brick walls provide a significant thermal mass. Both hot water and central heating are at a flow of 45deg. Again, I know that is low. Still evaluating how much it will cost me but the boiler menu says that it has burned 13.4kWh in the last 30 days so unbelievably cheap. My usual consumption is about 5000 kWh so I think I'm on track to use less this year. As for preventing mould, I used to get a lot of condensation of the single-glazed windows. But a browse of the internet suggested ventilation so I keep all the windows, all of them, open 1mm, all the time. They are sash windows so it's easy to do that while the windows are still locked. Result? Never get condensation, or mould any more, and the permanently open windows don't seem to affect the heat levels at all. At night an electric blanket is brilliant and only costs about 8p for several hours.
Interested in last comment about microbore pipes. Old 1910, solid brick cottage. All electric with electric boiler. Switching to HP. All our existing pipes are microbore. As we have new, windows and doors, and intend to fit external insulation and will likely also upgrade the radiators. Does this suggest we could get away with using existing micro bore piping or, would it still be worthwhile upgrading them?
With the awful insulation standards in millions of UK houses, investment in insulation is a no brainier. But of the safe type. One tragedy still haunts.
We found that our house suffered from what's known as a "plasterboard tent". Crap builders couldn't even put up plasterboard right, causing drafts behind it running from loft down behind plasterboard and out of sockets etc.
Hi Adam, I'm a big fan of your videos! Please keep putting them out. In the rooms that you're insulating, I would like to know what the CO2 levels are in the room. I put internal wall insulation in my bedroom as it is on the northwest angle of the property. The door has the standard gap underneath, and I have trickle vents. I have a black-out blind, and my CO2 levels in the room quadrupled overnight. I am currently looking at fitting an MVHR or adding an artificial method of circulating the air better within the property; however, I would like to know if you have experienced a similar situation.
@@HeatGeek I am currently working with a development company who are retrofitting a property and I will be testing the CO2 in the space while unoccupied. They increased the wall density from 2000mm to 4000 and if my theory is correct, it will need mechanical assistance to provide adequate oxygen to the space. My dissertation (in process) is based on finding the line between mechanical and natural ventilation when retrofitting insulation is fitted in properties. Are you happy for me to contact you further by E-Mail?
Probably being a bit pedantic, but there's a difference between insulation and air tightness, they go hand in hand for making efficient homes though. I think most people open their windows to reduce damp concerns (as they see condensation on windows/walls) but with better insulation, this is less of a concern as surfaces don't get as cold and are less likely to condense... This makes people less likely to open windows, increasing CO2. Measuring CO2 when unoccupied seems a bit counterintuitive, surely you want it when occupied (max CO2), what's there to add CO2 into the space if its unoccupied?
@@MichaelFlatman you make a really valid point about CO2 in an unoccupied room. The tests have shown an increase, which I think relates to the 'stale air' system. I'm not entirely sure how it happens that the oxygen in the room is converted to carbon dioxide despite the lack of human presence or interaction. With the current energy crisis, not everyone is perhaps as diligent as you in opening their windows, through fear of wasting their heated air, rather than fabric of their property. The research I've done into 'Luften' has been great, and some landlords in Germany put it in their rental contracts, I don't know how you'd enforce it but its a great way of keeping your home ventilated and replenishing the air. There has also been some research done on Passivhaus properties which is related to the speed in which CO2 increased when their MVHR systems stop working. Like you say you can open a window, but what if you don't? There is no failsafe? If you fall asleep and the system turns off, the CO2 reaches over 5K per million or more, is there a risk we are just not talking about?
@John Freshwater The point I'm trying to make is the need to inform, as otherwise the next big scandal is thousands of houses with damp problems. This is already prevalent in the rental sector.
@granthutchinson5937 you are correct a little information is dangerous you need to also point out the problems that can be caused by making houses air tight without correct air changes per day. It's as important to have good ventilation as good insulation. My house is 220 years old and solid stone I have insulated it in the roof and ensured it is draft proof and fitted a MVHR system and we ha e no damp
My house was recently A rated. I have solar and batteries and export all summer and much of winter. Over a year my standing charges make up over 50% of my bills now :( Anything else I do to the house will reduce my bills by a minimal amount whilst the fixed and uncontrollable (government imposed) charges continue to rise. With under 4,000kwh of gas a heat pump won't pay for itself in my lifetime!
I'm not very good in English. Are you saying that when a house is well insulated it is more convenient a gas boiler over a heat pump? Due to gov costs on electricity?
@@enricocavallin1503 No. But if I spend £5000 installing a heat pump and getting rid of my boiler it will make almost zero difference to the actual cost of my energy consumption as it's not mainly fixed charges, not usage. We worked out it would save around £10 a month - so that's almost 40 years payback at current rates. With standing charges increasing all the time that will stretch further into the future. We are hopping for hydrogen to become viable. All the pipework and my boiler are ready for that.
Who was saying this was either unqualified or wrongly informed. There is nothing against spray foam to seal gaps between windows or doors and walls. Surprisingly, some windows installators afraid the frame may bend, again this may be sorted by using low expansion foam. Currently, newest (European) installations are made without usage of anchors, only carefully selected foams.
@@mich29sm Crystal Windows. They used sledge hammers and large hammer drills. Structural issues started to appear after the new windows were installed.
You mentioned much higher radiators flow temperatures that i currently run in condensing wirh compensation I can run flow at 30-35 at 22c° inside, which is much less difference. But I run in 24/7 Should I increase the temperature as you said in the video? Run my control on comfort instead of thermostat. Don't really see any reduction in monthly bill that i had with an 1998 turbo boiler that run 60° and then stopped
Presumably there is a need to assess the amount of insulation that will eventually happen prior to sizing the heat pump. If the heat pump is sized to match uninsulated heat loss that is a problem ?
@@HeatGeek over sized is mentioned a lot, where does under-sizing fit in (I get in principle that this shouldn't happen) but if a HP has to work at the top end of its output, is that equally bad in efficiency terms (I guess more so that it has to keep running to achieve comfort)
@@HeatGeekif the 10kW heat pump is able to modulate down to 7kW it shouldn't be less efficient. Right? If it means that the start/stops increase it is less efficient of course.
Good video, I see it all the time in building, expensive doors and windows fitted badly thus totally defeating the benefits , If I was the captain, which I am, I'd put your team, Roger from Skill builder and Urban plumber in charge of raising standards around the country. I think I said before , a good acronym for this topic is RCC, radiated, conducted, convected heat loss or gains depending on which way you want to look at it. Keep up the good work. Obviously a lot of people dont like using the biggest muscle in the human body, their brain, whole country needs more brain exercise to get on top of the situation. I walk the talk, just insulated parents house with top up 200mm insulation, hoping to reduce ridiculous oil bill, should have been done 20 year ago I have to say.
If you eliminate all the draughts, wouldn't you then have to leave a window open to make sure you're getting fresh air inside? It's not healthy to live inside an airtight box.
Better insulation = more comfortable home. ALWAYS insulate first! The government needs to stop this push to heat pumps until AFTER insulation is improved. 🤷🤦
I have always maintained that putting a heat pump in a badly insulated property is a waste of time and you, together with Urban Plumber have been in denial about this for years. This video proves it to be the case and it concerns me that so many people who follow your advice would have had huge diameter pipes to get the required flow rates from a heat pump when they would have been much better off insulating their homes. You say that you have had 600% efficiency, (SCOP?) on your heat pump in a poorly insulated building but that is meaningless if you don't say how long it has been running in order to heat the building to the required room temperature. Running a heat pump at full blast 24/7 with a (debateable) scop of 6 is still not going to be as good as running a gas boiler for less than half that time.
There’s too many nuances here. Running a 7kw heat pump for 24hours will use less energy than. 24kw boiler for 12. They do work in ‘poorly’ insulated properties absolutely fine we have a video on it which isn’t really debatable as it was independently measured by open energy monitor. Keen to know how this video tells you they don’t work in less insulated building? Surely it just tells you that they will perform better with more insulation? Not that they don’t work at all.
This is all very well put, but if you are trying to save money on heating this will be taken up by the utility company putting up the fixed cost(standing charge). The less energy used equals less profit. This is the same effect seen on car tax .
I wonder is a similar group active you could recommend for the Netherlands? love what you guys are doing but i only see you guys operate in the UK only
@@shintsu01 nog niemand die het heeft gedaan volgens mij. Ik ben klaar met de bedrijven die 20k voor een warmtepomp vragen en ga het zelf doen. Volgens mijn warmteverliesberekening heeft mijn vrijstaande woning 10kw nodig (ik kan nog een hoop winnen met isolatie). De hoofdgedachte hierachter is je installatie zo simpel mogelijk te houden en “flow” nergens te beperken. Dat scheelt onderdelen en maakt het voor je wp een stuk makkelijker om te werken ofwel effiencienter systeem dus.
Is it just me or WC controls on Vaillant SensoComfor are ridiculously cumbersome to get to? I mean for a setting that one might need to "play around" till it is just right for the property it is really buried in the abyss, which is the "Settings" menu of the clunkiest system control unit of all times (I know their previous controls were a lot worse, but this is suppose to be an upgrade, so what the hell?) The heat curve controls should have been placed in the CONTROL menu. For such a smart system it has a very dumb UI logic. I would have expected a bit more slicker controls and UI.
Now you have no ventilation or air change, so end up with condensation and mould. Don't make houses airtight in order to try and get a heat pump to work. Dump the heat pump as they cost my neighbours far more to run and houses were cold. They were designed and fitted by a major company, not cowboys. I will stick to my cheaper to run more controllable gas boiler.
ha ha - traditional ways of installing windows - they are simply wedged into the rough opening (nailed in place) and wall board gaps hidden with architraves, sealing wasn't really a thought - even just oakum stuffed in the gap would give orders better performance..
Agreed. I retrofitted mechanical ventilation with heat recovery to my property due to mould problem and it is wonderful. Only losing couple degrees between extraction and supply
Problem: Modern homes are so sealed up moisture can’t escape and this encourages black mold to form on cooler wall sections. Years ago a little draught was acceptable and heating was cheap enough to warm the fresh air as it came in…Now heating is so expensive we have to live in Thermos flasks. Tell me again how we are a wealthy First World country.
How can I measure return temperature to my Vaillant combi condensing boiler? My target flow temperature is at 36-40° depending of the outside temperature (heating curve 0.75) It sett to "modulating" so basically it's always on. Should I increase the heating curve and return to the setting "Thermostat"? In not sure it my system is running correctly/efficiently 🤔 I have tho a constant 22-22.5° in all 130sqm (350m3) space.
Why are more windows companies are claiming to have the best draft proof technology but more windows have to be fixed with stupid vent which then defeats the object, all properties vent air ever time a window and door are opened though out the day, a few ago I replaced new windows that as top and side foam filled in the frame with sound proof class without vent..
You refer to cold pouring through, cold is an absence of heat only. So actually you’re just referring to heat loss. Cold doesn’t exist, just absence of heat.
@@ryzla101 Might want to check UrbanPlumber's recent video on his gas boiler, which runs at 29C flow, whilst keeping the house comfortable at 1C outside temperature. Far more efficient than the standard 70C flow that many boilers in the UK are set to.
All of this is based on a simplistic solid state use model that does not reflect the actual occupancy of the building. Modern families require to get up to a warm house in the morning and then leave it, switching off the heating. the house then cools until the heating is switched back on in the early evening and then switches off overnight. What this means is that the heat source is having to raise the house and its contents from ambient temperature up to the comfort temperature and we all demand that this happens quickly so that during that cycle almost the same amount of heat is generated to get back to the comfort temperature irrespective of whether the house is better insulated or not. Radiators are sized to cope with this initial boost as indicated by the difference in the rad temp/room temp of 50degC.
And totally missing the point.. Any modern heat source (and especially heat pumps) run more efficiently when maintaining a set temperature. Heating up a property quickly drags efficiency down and in many cases completely wiping out any savings made by turning the heating off during the day. Set back temperatures can be used however that allow the property to cool a little bit as well. But still provide less work needed to re-heat the home.
@@BenIsInSweden I thoroughly agree with you and have direct proof of the principle. BUT people don't use there heating in this was, they turn the heating on when needed and off when its not needed. Until you can get over this hurdle people simply won't use their heating systems efficiently.
@@clivewilliams3661 and that hurdle is being overcome. Quite a few end users with heat pumps on here have switched to solid state heating. And good heat pump installers are communicating this too.
Before and after shots of the thermal imaging device would have been a good addition.
People said I was wasting $$ by supper insulating when I built my house in 1984 with R38 walls & 18” or 90cm or blown in cellulose ceilings.
But heating with solar & 1.5 cords of wood in radiant floors for 1800 aft living space + basement and 27x30 ft shop seems worth it to me.
Good presentation!
Cheers
can we be ur freinds
90 cm cellulose oO :D Holly molly, you went hard on that insulation. I mean I have 25 cm and it does wonders. 90 CM must be something :D
This is probably the best video you have done yet.
I'm all I'm favour of efficient insulation in homes and have done as much to my property as is possible, however the more I try to offset the fuel costs, the more the energy companies increase the price of the fuel, so there comes a point when insulation will of course reduce the consumption, but due to increasing fuel prices the overall bill will never reduce.
But it's still better than if you hadn't insulated, right?
@@jc-fy1wlthat depende on how much you've had to spend
Thankfully they are heading in the right direction definitely not great but atleast it's not last winter when prices got out of control.
@@jc-fy1wlInfact it will make the difference even more apparent
As part of an extension we've refurbished the ground floor that included taking the old floors out cleaning out 100 years of debris reinforcement of the floor + noggins before double insulation with 1st mineral wool then a product called floorquilt.
The reason for the work was having underfloor heating extended from our new extension but the result is the 2 inside rooms now require ZERO heating for most of the year most of the time
Biggest bang for our buck was double insulated floors its a lot of work but necessary in a 100 year old property
Great video. There's a whole other benefit as well: because the building retains heat for longer, you are better able to take advantage of flexible time of use tariffs such as Octopus Cosy, bringing even further cost savings.
This is exactly the route I went down and it's paying absolute dividends at the moment 👍
I've got a 1930's bungalow, Rockwool in walls and modern windows and doors, underlay beneath carpets. Lath and plaster ceilings with 4 inch glass fibre in loft. Insulation I always say works on the laws of diminishing return, I've got enough. Last summer on a very hot day for some reason, cobweb maybe, I touched the ceiling, it was hot. I've added another layer of rockwool and last winter comfort level was noticeably better and with better heat retention when system (40 year old Glow-worm!) shut off. Well worth the money and effort, I should have done it years ago! Great vids and info.
270 or 300mm insulation recommended
I'm shocked how little people know about insulating a house first- I've done insulated basement, cavity spray foam insulation, internal perimeter wall insulated plasterboards, glazing of exiting wooden windows with newer 16mm spaced double glazed units, perspex secondary glazing, thermal camera checking, composite door fitting & obligatory loft insulation over last 20 years as a semi diy'r & my lounge now stays at 20° all night most days, use biomass pellet stove in hall & a stoves in lounge for evenings that gets anywhere from 24-31° with little effort where we spend 14hrs per night & unheated top floor/bedrooms with teddy bear fleece duvet sets in winter. Gas heating been off for 24months & counting, with around £400-450 per year on biomass pellets and wood briquettes & really never felt warmer. My advice is do everything you possible can first yourself before going down the higher expense ASHP route @ £12+k
Love it Adam. Videos like this make my job a lot easier when I stumble over my words explaining things to my clients. Keep it up!
Excellent. It takes a lot of work to make a video this clear and concise.
Don’t forget the savings on being able to install a smaller sized heat pump 👍
Heat pump…Pfftt…there are other ways…
Cold does not pour in it pours out, the draughts are cold air coming in to dilute your heat within and the warmed air goes out on the downwind side.
Great Video mate!! I've been waiting for the internet / UK to start talking about the importance and benefits of insulating your home to improve its energy efficiency. For years now the country has been focusing on efficient ways to produce heat in a home i.e. a condensing gas boiler, heat pump, solar thermal etc. Millions and millions have been spent in the way of government grants, installing condensing boilers (and now Heat Pumps) into houses with solid walls, minimal loft insulation and draughty windows / doors. Does this not seem a little backwards?? Its not like "insulation" is a new technology that no one has ever heard about. 🤔
No point producing all this efficient heat just to keep the birds on the roof warm.😉
Where have you been Tim, there have been numerous campaigns and incentives, for many years, in the UK to upgrade insulation. The low hanging fruit has been plucked, major upgrades are whats left and they're expensive.
@@geoffaries They've not even scratched the surface with the insulation required in peoples houses and actually having it done properly.
@@andrewferguson3264 Who is "they"? In the UK we have had grants to add roof and cavity insulation for years. If you've got a very old house with solid walls then basically, as regards financial implications go, you're screwed. It's very intrusive, internal or external, has no realistic payback timescale and cannot be done to some properties. This also applies to many of the "no fines" concrete properties. You may also like to explain what you mean by "being done properly". Draught proofing is relatively easy and can be cost effective, but then you have to ensure sufficient air changes, otherwise you'll get mould growing in the prpoerty, which not only damages the fabric but also the health of the occupants.
I think 'Insulate Britain' might take issue with a few commenters here.
I'm considering a PIV so how would draught proofing affect it's benefits.
I covered my loft space with two layers of 13.5 tog polyester duvets bought cheaply on line and delivered. Easy to instal using two different sizes and at 27 tog amazingly efficient. No more loft condensation too.
If you have a 13.5 tog winter duvet on your bed try doubling it over and lay under it and you will feel what I mean.😎
Hi Adam, this a very good explanation of where make the most cost effective alterations. I'm glad that I watched the whole video, because in the beginning I started to spit feathers when you talked about water temperature/ room temp delta, but you did provide a great explanation at the end😊 I have been championing weather compensation for more years than I care to remember, I'm now retired from the commercial heating world. With the advances in electronics I had hoped that there would be weather compensation systems that could be easily retrofitted to existing gas fired systems I.e. without the need for mixing valves, similar to the add on options for new Vaillant boilers ( Vaillant have been one of my preferred manufacturers since 1990!)
Good examples of the real calcs involved - in my experience, the average gas fitter would have their minds blown with this kind of maths - they seem to be barely able to cope with doing an in/out efficiency calculation or need to use an app to do stuff - getting them upskilled in this type of stuff is going to be challenge - instead they'll just stick a finger in the air and do some guesswork e.g. ooh that's a big house = must need a mahoosive boiler 🙄
The average gas fitter should already be aware of most of this. Clearly the design temperatures for heat pumps will be new, and they might not be aware of the relvant exponents to be used when considering resizing radiators, but Adam explain it well.
Great video and presentation. I actually sat through the maths graphics and understood them thanks to your calm delivery
There is an additional saving you didn't mention, from insulation lowering the house's "balance point temperature", i.e. the outside temperature at which the heating system will call for heat. By insulating, the balance point temperature is lowered because passive heat gains from appliances, solar gain, water cylinder, and people become more significant. The heating reduction can be calculated from degree day based at the lower temperature and can be bigger than the efficiency saving you talk about. Check out the building physics of this process for more explanation.
I found this video interesting. After adding all the insulation and draft proofing how do you check for ventilation? For clean air and also to stop condensation.
I look forward to future videos, keep up the good work.
Ventilation isn't something to be worried about on a property of this age.. its only when you start taping and sealing joints
Look into energy recovery ventilators (ERV)
I’ve just installed MVHR ventilation + air-tight covers to LED downlighters + 25mm BASF Enertite (open-cell sprayfoam) to attic floor for air-tightness + min. 400mm of Cellulose insulation to attic.
Added lots of ventilation to cold attic.
Windows and doors being upgraded to 0.7 U triple glazed and fitted with Tescon air-tight tapes.
Big difference so far but the big question is how to treat the 130mm wall cavity. Currently it has 50 EPS to inner leaf leaving 80mm for air to flow around and enter building via gaps around joists.
Seriously considering BASF CV100.
Blocks are Mica & Pyrite free.
EPS gives expansion room and lessens risk of wall damage.
Interested to hear people’s thoughts.
Another great video. Another huge difference I found was replacing the sealed units if they are old ones with modern A rated ones called sometimes low e. I done the whole of my house for £1000 . I know not every one can afford that but now with a thermal camera in winter my walls are colder than the glazing
Yes I was thinking why do they build these new sport centres with so much glass area? But modern glazing, especially triple glazing is very effective nowadays.
I see that it is recommended by window companies I've looked at to use double glazing on south facing walls (to allow more solar gain) and triple glazing elsewhere.
A shame that outdoor window shutters with louvres aren't pushed more to keep solar gain out in the Summer; I've often thought that entire South facing walls should be protected by louvres to keep the building cool, even better if the louvres are photovoltaics.
So you replaced the units without actually replacing the whole window?
@ConradMurkitt yes that is correct. It's a far cheaper way, obviously even frame design has improved but mine are internally glazed so they are not that old I believe they originally went in in 2008. I did find that no expanding foam had been put around the outside of the frames so they were poorly installed but I sorted that as well as the new units.
@@johnfreshwater3790 where did you source the new units from and how were you able to determine the energy rating of your existing ones? Mine went in in 2000 so I am guessing they should be replaced. Although I had some replaced last year as an insurance claim due to heat damage from the extreme heat last summer. However I don’t know what they replaced them with and they could be just as bad as the ones I had in there.
@ConradMurkitt Hi Conrad. If they are the originals from 2000 then they are unlikely to be low e units. You can tell if they are by using the light on your mobile phone. If you shine your phone light on the unit from the inside of the house you will see a row of reflections of the lamp and old units all the reflections are the same colour. On a low e the second reflection is a different colour mine has a blue colour to it. This is the transparent metallic coating on the inside of the inside sheet of glass.
We have a 2003 build detached house and have lived here for 3 years. Despite the EPC quoting cavity wall insulation assumed, there was none and now there is. At the end of our first year we replaced the polycarbonate conservatory roof with a fully insulated tiled roof (it is part of the kitchen diner and cannot be shut out in winter). Our gas consumption has reduced by a third immediately. Still more we can do, I am sure and this video has prompted me to seek more information. Thank you.
The walls will have got through building regs as they will have used some sort of thermal block to achieve the required u value, the cavity may be empty, but the u value was achieved so the EPC assumes CWI present. Retrofitting CWI to this house will make a slight difference, but not as much impact as insulating a cavity house from the 60s.
Epc is worthless. Basically if you don’t have builders report any improvements will not be taken into account by epc guy. Its laughable
Also GBP1200 saved by going from the 10kW down to the 7kW Arotherm Plus (if doing a new install)!
I have an existing heat pump system installed 3 years ago the company that installed went out of business I would be interested in having an engineer review the install and see if there are improvements that could be made, watching these videos suggests that the system could b improved
Air quality meter is a must.. If you dont renew air every 2-3 days it get bad quickly headaches,...
Mvhr
I’ve found that the milder winters save energy. Could this be why energy prices are being pushed up? Heating not being required quite as much is reducing profits?
Really am impressed. You even mentioned the standing charge effect. 10/10!
It's not hard to calculate heat loss through walls, ceilings, floors and then insulate more to improve this by say 30%......but then we all have to guess ventilation/draught losses to get total heating demand and so correctly size a system. OK if yours is a passivhaus perhaps but does anyone know of a good system on a normal house to measure actual ventilation/ draught rates? That way you can decide if draughts should be sealed or left for proper ventilation to 9revent damp.
The calculations to prevent damp would have so many variables I expect it won’t be accurate anyway and doing things like washing would be a massive difference.
To test for leaks you need to measure pressure and have a large fan and seal the front door. If you want to DIy it then smoke and fan is going to be the way to go. Not done this on my place yet, but have new roof to sort out 1st. Plus I look at the building regs to ascertain what I need to do.
Is there anyone you would recommend to come in & do a full house survey for insulation? I live in North Yorkshire…
Great video Adam. Camera looks decent. Never have got on with the ones you put on your phone.
Great video as always with excellent explanations and simple step-by-step walk-through of the calculations involved - thank you :)
As written in the video title it "blew my mind" - and now I'm dead. I hate mind blowing stuff.
That was really good. Any advice on how to draft proof spot lights? All the advice i can find is for when youre installing them and getting into the ceilings which i cant do.
Change them to sealed LED units. Do NOT seal up any light fittings that use that ventilation for cooling.
Great video Adam, always excellent content here, thanks. Just wondered if you ever thought about making a video looking at things a different way round given the enrgy crisis. How people get the most out of a certain amount of energy? At work i meet lots of people limiting gas usage to around 6000kWh/yr or about £600/yr (excluding SC) due to their financial circumstances. They reduce room temps, turn rooms off and limit times so they don't spend more than they can afford. In this situation, if you had a customer that was prepared to compromise on many things, without draught proofing or insulating how would you set up boiler times and settings to help them stay in their budget of 6000kWh/yr? and avoid mould! 😀🤔 This would also be intersting for heat pumps.
When I worked and was out all day I didn't bother with any heating in the morning (just used T shirts etc. and and a dressing gown to have breakfast in).
Set the heating to come on 20 minutes before you get home in the evening with boiler flow temperature preferably set no higher than 55 deg. C if the boiler is condensing type Combi. Although the home will be cool when you get home at least the hot radiators help psychologically. Lounge room thermostat set to 18 - 19 deg. C.
If you can, turn the heating off 30 - 60 minutes before going to bed (Optimum Stop *).
Also I would recommend that all radiators to be checked for the fins being clogged with dust & other debris, and if so, clean with a bottle brush using a light and a mirror.
* Optimum Start / Stop (uses indoor & outdoor air temperature sensors) is used in commercial buildings to Start the heating early enough to get the space up to e.g. 18 deg. C by the beginning of Occupancy e.g. 08.00 and to Stop the heating some time (can be hours) before the end of Occupancy e.g. 17.00 so that the space temperature decays to no lower than 18 deg. C before people leave the building. The programme learns the thermal characteristics of the building to make increasingly accurate decisions.
Space temperature controlled at 21 - 22 independent of the Start / Stop programme.
Optimum Start / Stop was of great use for relatively poorly insulated buildings with some thermal mass and becomes less useful the better the building is insulated.
Notwithstanding the above insulation & controlled ventilation is the way to go, remembering that the recommended thickness of roof insulation is 30 cm. of Rockwool / Fibreglass I understand.
I hope by now everyone is aware of how useful an electric blanket can be, and that some modern ones heat the bed more as the room gets colder and vice versa and have individual controls for either side of a double bed.
Dunno if this is still relevant for you but this is what I do in a flat with five radiators (ie 5 rooms that need heating)...The boiler comes on at 7am, it is asked to get to 17deg (that is a bit low but it's a new boiler and still working out how much it will cost at that level before raising the thermostat) and it stays there all day until 11pm when it is allowed to drop back to 15deg (though I notice the air temp only tends to drop one degree overnight). So the heating is on low all day. Rinse and repeat.
None of my radiators has a thermostatic valve and even if they did I'd never close a radiator off ever as I believe houses should always have some heating, even if only a tiny amount. There is no insulation at all. All the windows are single-glazed. I live in a listed flat in a conservation area so insulation is a no-no, but the brick walls provide a significant thermal mass.
Both hot water and central heating are at a flow of 45deg. Again, I know that is low. Still evaluating how much it will cost me but the boiler menu says that it has burned 13.4kWh in the last 30 days so unbelievably cheap. My usual consumption is about 5000 kWh so I think I'm on track to use less this year.
As for preventing mould, I used to get a lot of condensation of the single-glazed windows. But a browse of the internet suggested ventilation so I keep all the windows, all of them, open 1mm, all the time. They are sash windows so it's easy to do that while the windows are still locked. Result? Never get condensation, or mould any more, and the permanently open windows don't seem to affect the heat levels at all.
At night an electric blanket is brilliant and only costs about 8p for several hours.
Great information should really help build peoples skills unlike some other channels
Isbthere a calculation to work out your houses energy requirements to heat just be interesting to know.
I need help with all this to insulate 10 year old BellWay house, loosing loads around front door and get cold drafts. Heat pump been fitted by Octopus
Interested in last comment about microbore pipes. Old 1910, solid brick cottage. All electric with electric boiler. Switching to HP. All our existing pipes are microbore. As we have new, windows and doors, and intend to fit external insulation and will likely also upgrade the radiators. Does this suggest we could get away with using existing micro bore piping or, would it still be worthwhile upgrading them?
It really needs a proper calculation to be done for the post renovated/upgraded state to see how much heat is needed at each radiator.
I have microbore. It works fine with my ground source heat pump.
Great. Spend your money on insulation rather than bigger rads if the numbers work.
Looking forward to the revisit!
It's really amazing information
I just need to find a reliable installer.....
That's close to impossible
Hello Adam, how would you go able estimating a propertys annual heating demand in KWH?
Watch out heat loss video and multiply the result by 2000
ua-cam.com/video/-VJQLcU_YjU/v-deo.htmlsi=DHWnEIHDmMHJb3cg is this the video your referring to?
So it's just the total heat loss in KW x 2000?
With the awful insulation standards in millions of UK houses, investment in insulation is a no brainier. But of the safe type. One tragedy still haunts.
We found that our house suffered from what's known as a "plasterboard tent". Crap builders couldn't even put up plasterboard right, causing drafts behind it running from loft down behind plasterboard and out of sockets etc.
Exactly what I was looking for, thanks!
Really impressed.....proper blew my mind!😮
Hi Adam, I'm a big fan of your videos! Please keep putting them out. In the rooms that you're insulating, I would like to know what the CO2 levels are in the room. I put internal wall insulation in my bedroom as it is on the northwest angle of the property. The door has the standard gap underneath, and I have trickle vents. I have a black-out blind, and my CO2 levels in the room quadrupled overnight. I am currently looking at fitting an MVHR or adding an artificial method of circulating the air better within the property; however, I would like to know if you have experienced a similar situation.
Something I've never looked at but you've got my attention
@@HeatGeek I am currently working with a development company who are retrofitting a property and I will be testing the CO2 in the space while unoccupied. They increased the wall density from 2000mm to 4000 and if my theory is correct, it will need mechanical assistance to provide adequate oxygen to the space. My dissertation (in process) is based on finding the line between mechanical and natural ventilation when retrofitting insulation is fitted in properties. Are you happy for me to contact you further by E-Mail?
@@pjmister yes. Hi @ heat geek dot com
Probably being a bit pedantic, but there's a difference between insulation and air tightness, they go hand in hand for making efficient homes though.
I think most people open their windows to reduce damp concerns (as they see condensation on windows/walls) but with better insulation, this is less of a concern as surfaces don't get as cold and are less likely to condense... This makes people less likely to open windows, increasing CO2.
Measuring CO2 when unoccupied seems a bit counterintuitive, surely you want it when occupied (max CO2), what's there to add CO2 into the space if its unoccupied?
@@MichaelFlatman you make a really valid point about CO2 in an unoccupied room. The tests have shown an increase, which I think relates to the 'stale air' system. I'm not entirely sure how it happens that the oxygen in the room is converted to carbon dioxide despite the lack of human presence or interaction.
With the current energy crisis, not everyone is perhaps as diligent as you in opening their windows, through fear of wasting their heated air, rather than fabric of their property. The research I've done into 'Luften' has been great, and some landlords in Germany put it in their rental contracts, I don't know how you'd enforce it but its a great way of keeping your home ventilated and replenishing the air.
There has also been some research done on Passivhaus properties which is related to the speed in which CO2 increased when their MVHR systems stop working. Like you say you can open a window, but what if you don't? There is no failsafe? If you fall asleep and the system turns off, the CO2 reaches over 5K per million or more, is there a risk we are just not talking about?
Draft proofing old properties is all well and good, but without then providing suitable ventilation, you then cause damp problems.
I agree but then there are plenty of reasonably priced MVHR systems and running them in winter rather then opening ing windows is far better
@@johnfreshwater3790 What do you call reasonably priced?
@John Freshwater The point I'm trying to make is the need to inform, as otherwise the next big scandal is thousands of houses with damp problems. This is already prevalent in the rental sector.
@granthutchinson5937 you are correct a little information is dangerous you need to also point out the problems that can be caused by making houses air tight without correct air changes per day.
It's as important to have good ventilation as good insulation. My house is 220 years old and solid stone I have insulated it in the roof and ensured it is draft proof and fitted a MVHR system and we ha e no damp
I don't think we have to worry.. did you see the windows? We're definitely not taped and sealed.. we're miles off worrying about that
My house was recently A rated. I have solar and batteries and export all summer and much of winter. Over a year my standing charges make up over 50% of my bills now :( Anything else I do to the house will reduce my bills by a minimal amount whilst the fixed and uncontrollable (government imposed) charges continue to rise. With under 4,000kwh of gas a heat pump won't pay for itself in my lifetime!
I'm not very good in English. Are you saying that when a house is well insulated it is more convenient a gas boiler over a heat pump? Due to gov costs on electricity?
@enricocavallin1503
No. Because cost of heat pumps and installation is prohibitively high in his case
@@enricocavallin1503 No. But if I spend £5000 installing a heat pump and getting rid of my boiler it will make almost zero difference to the actual cost of my energy consumption as it's not mainly fixed charges, not usage. We worked out it would save around £10 a month - so that's almost 40 years payback at current rates. With standing charges increasing all the time that will stretch further into the future.
We are hopping for hydrogen to become viable. All the pipework and my boiler are ready for that.
2:53 that is a thermally broken aluminium frame
I was told by Crystal Windows, when they installed my new double glazing, that sprayform around the frames is not allowed under current regulations
Who was saying this was either unqualified or wrongly informed. There is nothing against spray foam to seal gaps between windows or doors and walls. Surprisingly, some windows installators afraid the frame may bend, again this may be sorted by using low expansion foam. Currently, newest (European) installations are made without usage of anchors, only carefully selected foams.
@@mich29sm Crystal Windows. They used sledge hammers and large hammer drills. Structural issues started to appear after the new windows were installed.
Hi Geek
Please use Kelvin (K) for temperature differences (or "deg C") rather than °C, which is used for absolute temperatures.
No difference in the video like this.
You mentioned much higher radiators flow temperatures that i currently run in condensing wirh
compensation I can run flow at 30-35 at 22c° inside, which is much less difference.
But I run in 24/7
Should I increase the temperature as you said in the video?
Run my control on comfort instead of thermostat.
Don't really see any reduction in monthly bill that i had with an 1998 turbo boiler that run 60° and then stopped
Waayyy! Heat geek is back!
Nice explanation, never considered that, thank you.
Presumably there is a need to assess the amount of insulation that will eventually happen prior to sizing the heat pump. If the heat pump is sized to match uninsulated heat loss that is a problem ?
Yes. Oversized heat pumps are less efficient
@@HeatGeek over sized is mentioned a lot, where does under-sizing fit in (I get in principle that this shouldn't happen) but if a HP has to work at the top end of its output, is that equally bad in efficiency terms (I guess more so that it has to keep running to achieve comfort)
@@HeatGeekif the 10kW heat pump is able to modulate down to 7kW it shouldn't be less efficient. Right? If it means that the start/stops increase it is less efficient of course.
Good video, I see it all the time in building, expensive doors and windows fitted badly thus totally defeating the benefits , If I was the captain, which I am, I'd put your team, Roger from Skill builder and Urban plumber in charge of raising standards around the country. I think I said before , a good acronym for this topic is RCC, radiated, conducted, convected heat loss or gains depending on which way you want to look at it. Keep up the good work. Obviously a lot of people dont like using the biggest muscle in the human body, their brain, whole country needs more brain exercise to get on top of the situation. I walk the talk, just insulated parents house with top up 200mm insulation, hoping to reduce ridiculous oil bill, should have been done 20 year ago I have to say.
If you eliminate all the draughts, wouldn't you then have to leave a window open to make sure you're getting fresh air inside? It's not healthy to live inside an airtight box.
I lower my boiler output to 30% and max flow of 65c due to living room being cold. The rest of the house is fine at 55C.
Better insulation = more comfortable home.
ALWAYS insulate first! The government needs to stop this push to heat pumps until AFTER insulation is improved. 🤷🤦
I have always maintained that putting a heat pump in a badly insulated property is a waste of time and you, together with Urban Plumber have been in denial about this for years. This video proves it to be the case and it concerns me that so many people who follow your advice would have had huge diameter pipes to get the required flow rates from a heat pump when they would have been much better off insulating their homes.
You say that you have had 600% efficiency, (SCOP?) on your heat pump in a poorly insulated building but that is meaningless if you don't say how long it has been running in order to heat the building to the required room temperature. Running a heat pump at full blast 24/7 with a (debateable) scop of 6 is still not going to be as good as running a gas boiler for less than half that time.
There’s too many nuances here.
Running a 7kw heat pump for 24hours will use less energy than. 24kw boiler for 12.
They do work in ‘poorly’ insulated properties absolutely fine we have a video on it which isn’t really debatable as it was independently measured by open energy monitor.
Keen to know how this video tells you they don’t work in less insulated building? Surely it just tells you that they will perform better with more insulation? Not that they don’t work at all.
This is all very well put, but if you are trying to save money on heating this will be taken up by the utility company putting up the fixed cost(standing charge). The less energy used equals less profit. This is the same effect seen on car tax .
That happens regardless, not putting in the work to insulate and upgrade just means your bills jump even more.
I wonder is a similar group active you could recommend for the Netherlands? love what you guys are doing but i only see you guys operate in the UK only
We are world wide We need more internationals doing the course though
@@HeatGeek cool can you maybe let me know how i can find certified members in the Netherlands?
@@shintsu01 nog niemand die het heeft gedaan volgens mij. Ik ben klaar met de bedrijven die 20k voor een warmtepomp vragen en ga het zelf doen.
Volgens mijn warmteverliesberekening heeft mijn vrijstaande woning 10kw nodig (ik kan nog een hoop winnen met isolatie). De hoofdgedachte hierachter is je installatie zo simpel mogelijk te houden en “flow” nergens te beperken. Dat scheelt onderdelen en maakt het voor je wp een stuk makkelijker om te werken ofwel effiencienter systeem dus.
Hikmicro eyes for warm loss bridges. Rockwool just solid insulation
Condensing gas boiler will not condense if return water to boiler is much over 50degC and the cooler the better.
Where can I buy the thermal camera it doesn't appear to be for sale on their site?
Also can they be used to balance radiators?
Cheers
Complicated. But all makes sense. Get your house insulated, seal drafts, and save
Is it just me or WC controls on Vaillant SensoComfor are ridiculously cumbersome to get to?
I mean for a setting that one might need to "play around" till it is just right for the property it is really buried in the abyss, which is the "Settings" menu of the clunkiest system control unit of all times (I know their previous controls were a lot worse, but this is suppose to be an upgrade, so what the hell?) The heat curve controls should have been placed in the CONTROL menu.
For such a smart system it has a very dumb UI logic. I would have expected a bit more slicker controls and UI.
4:58 Isn't that hard to Pronounce Δ (Thelta) Correct is it 🤔😔
Very interesting. Thank you.
How does a lower temperature give cleaner air?
Higher temperature rads have been proven to kick up more allergens due to increased convextion
Well done Adam, nicely paced delivery
Weather comp loks like guess work .
Nice one Adam👍
Great video.
I tried to do the same with a laser thermo meter 😅
Now you have no ventilation or air change, so end up with condensation and mould. Don't make houses airtight in order to try and get a heat pump to work. Dump the heat pump as they cost my neighbours far more to run and houses were cold. They were designed and fitted by a major company, not cowboys.
I will stick to my cheaper to run more controllable gas boiler.
Great vid.
ha ha - traditional ways of installing windows - they are simply wedged into the rough opening (nailed in place) and wall board gaps hidden with architraves, sealing wasn't really a thought - even just oakum stuffed in the gap would give orders better performance..
This wasn't even nailed in place!
@@HeatGeek - not even when installed - back in the previous milennium?? - classic, just "plaster fix"...
Increased Insulation equals reduced heating bills. Yes my mind is blown
🤔9:05 INTERESTING !
that (over)specing pump from 10kW to 12kW, for 35 or 40C flows, does NOT yield increase in SCOP 😳
Mmm great video but not convinced that insulation is a secret and mind is not blown. Lots of useful info tho!
We weren't sating insulation was a secret Gary 🤣
But of course a house needs ventilation as well, so insulation cannot be considered in isolation…
Agreed. I retrofitted mechanical ventilation with heat recovery to my property due to mould problem and it is wonderful. Only losing couple degrees between extraction and supply
Those figure are way out, a 3 bedroom house does not cost £1200 plus in gas to heat DURING WINTER only.
Problem: Modern homes are so sealed up moisture can’t escape and this encourages black mold to form on cooler wall sections. Years ago a little draught was acceptable and heating was cheap enough to warm the fresh air as it came in…Now heating is so expensive we have to live in Thermos flasks. Tell me again how we are a wealthy First World country.
Mind blown! Great job
How can I measure return temperature to my Vaillant combi condensing boiler?
My target flow temperature is at 36-40° depending of the outside temperature (heating curve 0.75)
It sett to "modulating" so basically it's always on.
Should I increase the heating curve and return to the setting "Thermostat"?
In not sure it my system is running correctly/efficiently 🤔
I have tho a constant 22-22.5° in all 130sqm (350m3) space.
Note your 'INSTALLATIONS' link in the description is getting a 404 currently
The figures are great, but how do you know you have gone from 10Kw to 7Kw. Without knowing these input figures you cant work the outputs……
Why are more windows companies are claiming to have the best draft proof technology but more windows have to be fixed with stupid vent which then defeats the object, all properties vent air ever time a window and door are opened though out the day, a few ago I replaced new windows that as top and side foam filled in the frame with sound proof class without vent..
You refer to cold pouring through, cold is an absence of heat only. So actually you’re just referring to heat loss. Cold doesn’t exist, just absence of heat.
Does in my house!
Be honest, did you deliberately not insulate your office when you moved in, to highlight the improvements? 😀
It paid us more to install something we sell than something we dont
Doesn’t insulation just trap heat inside the insulation.
📍12:33
Hik McCrow? You're having a laugh
It’s not correct that the lower the temperature the heating fluid the more efficient the boiler will be.
For old non-condensing boilers, you are correct, but for condensing ones you aren't.
Should probably preface with useful temperature. 98% efficiency at 10 c isn’t useful heat output for a system in most residential cases.
@@ryzla101 Might want to check UrbanPlumber's recent video on his gas boiler, which runs at 29C flow, whilst keeping the house comfortable at 1C outside temperature. Far more efficient than the standard 70C flow that many boilers in the UK are set to.
Agree that it’s better than outdated technology. I have built a system that runs at 45 C and keeps the house comfortable at -50 C here in Canada.
Infra red temperature gun is a lot cheaper
Doesn't give the sane effect
#bringbackthehat
All of this is based on a simplistic solid state use model that does not reflect the actual occupancy of the building. Modern families require to get up to a warm house in the morning and then leave it, switching off the heating. the house then cools until the heating is switched back on in the early evening and then switches off overnight. What this means is that the heat source is having to raise the house and its contents from ambient temperature up to the comfort temperature and we all demand that this happens quickly so that during that cycle almost the same amount of heat is generated to get back to the comfort temperature irrespective of whether the house is better insulated or not. Radiators are sized to cope with this initial boost as indicated by the difference in the rad temp/room temp of 50degC.
And totally missing the point.. Any modern heat source (and especially heat pumps) run more efficiently when maintaining a set temperature. Heating up a property quickly drags efficiency down and in many cases completely wiping out any savings made by turning the heating off during the day. Set back temperatures can be used however that allow the property to cool a little bit as well. But still provide less work needed to re-heat the home.
@@BenIsInSweden I thoroughly agree with you and have direct proof of the principle. BUT people don't use there heating in this was, they turn the heating on when needed and off when its not needed. Until you can get over this hurdle people simply won't use their heating systems efficiently.
@@clivewilliams3661 and that hurdle is being overcome. Quite a few end users with heat pumps on here have switched to solid state heating. And good heat pump installers are communicating this too.
Who cares. People never understood whats good for them. No wonder they struggle
Moved house and the fensa windows were as bad as yours.. but DIY have to get build g control in.... grrrrr 😢😂