Keeping your home warm / heating / energy crisis / insulation etc

Manage your expectations with a vertical rad and remember to check the Delta Rating.

aye - the room needs 10000 BTU at t45 so two of these in the room should be perfect

We got a couple of these, they were pretty much the highest BTU/£ we could find for a vertical rad
https://www.bathroomtakeaway.com/bern-1800-x-470mm-traditional-white-vertical-four-column-radiator

these look marginally more expensive for a decent BTU boost, thanks!

cross-posting from the DIY thread: anyone got experience of using a thermal camera to identify drafts, gaps in insulation and cold bridging spots? looking for any tips, tricks and general pratfalls to avoid

do it in cold weather where the temperature differential is more pronounced

Has anyone used a thermal camera for iphones before? I saw Charlie DIYte using one and now I can't find it anywhere. Not too many places you can hire/borrow them from around me...

it’s always cold weather !! !

Flir one or topdon tc001

does anyone know if concrete blocks are airtight or permeable ? assume if they were e.g. uninsulated they would allow significant cold bridging regardless of any draft issues

got a topdon. great piece of kit and it’s not even properly cold yet enough to enjoy its full power

I have a section of a room where the ceiling is approx 50% protruding beyond the main building, with the rest within (underneath the upstairs bathroom and bedroom)

The bit that protrudes is pitched, and there's a fair gap between the ceiling and the roof. I want to insulated in that space to reduce heat loss - we're getting new windows and other work done at the same time anyway.

I was going to cut a section of ceiling away and then lay insulation between the joists. The builder has proposed using insulated plasterboard and boarding over the whole ceiling instead.

Are there any issues with that? Should I use some hygroscopic material like woodfibre boards to avoid any moisture problems? Or is a standard insulated plasterboard fine?

I read reviews of them and they're so so. I rented one (its easier here) but also the 2nd hand market is ok so you could buy/sell one that way fairly easy (but yeah kinda effort...)

yeah my experience with it is some good, some bad. it has actually come in pretty useful for the application I needed it for (diagnosing gaps in insulation without cutting into walls) but it has its limitations (principally in lack of definition). need a 4K version…

I would probably go down the overboarding with insulated plasterboard. If you have the head height it’s by far easier. You’ll end up cursing the day you thought of laying insulation from underneath with only a small section open (it bunches up like a fuckers and you’ll never get coverage good enough to avoid cold spots.

yeah, that's definitely the easier option. I guess i'm just wondering if there are any downsides. We definitely have the room for it, ceiling is about 3.2m high

A warning to anyone considering fitting any solar film onto a Velux window with genuine velux glass. Velux units have a history with cracking for no reason except varying temperatures

This unit is about 5 years old and decided to crack across the top third of the unit, on a fairly sunny day, only 3 days after adding the film. I think its highly possible the extra heating of the glass caused the failure. However the film worked well to keep the failed inner pane in one piece.

Fortunately I was planning on replacing another 34 year old original unit and adding the film, so i had already ordered a non genuine unit with 4mm Toughened glass inside and out.

No qualms about adding the film again onto this non velux unit as it definitely makes a difference to the rooms

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Very interesting. Is the cracked unit double or triple glazed?

Which solar film did you use? How did it affect visible daylight entering the room?

“ No qualms about adding the film again onto this non velux unit as it definitely makes a difference to the rooms”

Why not get solar control glass?

It was a double. Being an old window from 1990, the units were only 16mm thick (4mm low E / 9mm spacer /3mm toughened clear ) . It was the inner 4mm that had the film on that cracked.

https://www.abodewindowfilms.co.uk/product/light-reflective-silver-window-film

It definitely blocks a noticeable amount of light when comparing the windows with/without. However I don't think this will be an issue in practice

Why not get solar control glass?

If I was replacing all the units, I may have done. But that would have nearly doubled the cost of the units. £81 to £155

I only planned to replace one out of four units. However with that one cracked, it's now going to be two.

Thanks, makes sense.

I’m leaning away from solar film and into fitting external solar blinds to our Veluxes.

PS your bottom photo just gave me a massive out of body experience/flashback to opening a big bag of strong skunk when I was 15, which led to me tearing my peroneal tendons.

Why not use externally fitted film?

Why not use externally fitted film?

Why should I have?
I honestly didn't know that was a thing, but I imagine it's more likely to become scratched or start to peel.

It reflects the heat away before it gets in, rather than trapping it like you’ve experienced with the internal film.
Abode do it as a commercial product. I wouldn’t be concerned over scratching/peeling.

I was considering these on velux .. interesting