TTM-
Bog standard Victorian house in E10, c.~1900, was 3-bed ~95m2, now 4-bed ~145m2.
@konastab01 all the upgrades were part of a big retrofit, along with kitchen and loft extensions.
Things like the ASHP were a no-brainer; had to fit an entirely new plumbing and heating system anyway, with the £7.5K grant making it much cheaper than a gas boiler system would have been.
MVHR was much cheaper than normal, as an installer friend specified the system and the ducting was fitted whilst the whole house was ripped apart anyway.
Insulating the suspended floors was expensive in terms of labour and waste removal (mountains of historic rubble under floorboards).
The extra insulation, airtightness etc fitted to the new construction elements wasn't much more than the cost of merely complying with regs to be honest. We are very lucky that our builder was up for experimenting with new materials and methods without bumping up the labour costs too much.
I'm also not particularly interested in 'payback periods' or whatever; all the upgrades were done purely to attain a consistently comfortable environment, reduce ongoing energy consumption, and minimise future building maintenance requirements (no damp = no ripping plaster off the walls in 10 years' time).
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ectoplasmosis
Having never really experienced anything like this in my life, I still can't get over the comfort that a (partially) insulated house x heat pump x MVHR x underfloor heating brings.
The whole house is at 21deg the entire time, 24/7, air feels fresh & dry, and the last week where it's got a bit chilly outside it's cost under £1.50/day, including hot water & heating. Bathroom dries rapidly after a long shower, can sit in front of big window with zero chills, everywhere is warm underfoot, hot water doesn't run out even after several consecutive showers.
This is coming from a house which was previously damp, draughty and completely unheatable... even with the boiler on full-chat, house could never hit above 18deg on a mild day. Gas bill over £2K/year for a freezing house with only enough hot water for a single shower/bath at a time.
Previously living in shitty damp rented accommodation in the UK and a Soviet death block with communal furnace heating that was either off (with -10deg winter temps) or fully on (scalding radiators melting half your face off and a howling gale from the open windows freezing the other), my baby bitch brain just can't compute low-key ambient wellbeing like this. Keep expecting to feel an icy chill licking my feet every 5 mins...
#csb