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

The really mundane answer is to go around and turn off all the radiators, other than the one in the room that you want to use.

All the smart TRVs do is automate that process for you.

It's just occurred to me that this is the answer for how much would smart trvs save me during the day. Try this for a week and see what it costs

If I do that the one in the back room WHERE THE CHILDREN SLEEP will never warm up again.

Gas comes in a pipe. Heats water. Fills rads. Warms air.

How do you ask it to make the heat? Dial on the wall? Interpretive dance? What valves/turny bits are on the radiators now?

Wireless thermostat and some valves that have markings on them. They might be trv
I doubt it though.

The rad in ms_com's office wasn't heating up because of a blockage I had conveniently forgotten about since last year. Kicked the living shit out of it and seemingly shifted the blockage somewhere else (out of sight out of mind, for now). Now adding "plumber" to LinkedIn.

I would see if a plumber could quote you for installing a smart system. Doesn't have to be Tado, there are loads. The cost would most likely be offset with the energy savings if you aren't adjusting things manually already.

I think a lot of these predicted energy savings are based on you having the heating on though rather than my current position of, well I can't just heat a couple of rooms so I won't turn the heating on at all

But folks with young kids are likely to be in the former camp.

@Chalfie - I have a small electric radiator probably from Argos. It's useful for WFH, I have it near me (sometimes under my legs). As is a hoody (keep head warm) slippers and sometimes a hot water bottle. Heating me rather than the room.

I know in general it's more expensive to use electricity than gas to heat, but I feel like firing up the boiler to do one radiator can't be very efficient? Also I'm getting that government top up thing on my electricity not my gas bill.

It's something like this maybe a bit shorter and wider https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9204993

• Just checked my receipts and it's same brand same power but 'mini oil filled radiator' so 38cm high and 50 wide. For me a better size but can't see it for sale now.
  

Heated blankets and other paraphernalia in Lidl next week:

https://www.lidl.co.uk/c/hot-picks/c2562/w2

Yeah it's just me in one room most of the day from 9 - 4. Then the kids are home and we're only about for an hour ish before we go swimming. If we don't then I put the heating on around 6 (after showertimes).

Weekends is different. Usually have a hat and slippers on. All that lovely wood flooring is fucking freezing.

Amphetamines are (probably) cheaper than heating.

Clean all day, clean all night, everything gonna be alright

I'm finding that DIY is helping keep me warm. Most of the time I'm still in shorts and t-shirt while ms_com is shivering under a blanket (I did suggest she could do some DIY too, but that didn't go down too well).

Plenty of work to go around here if you're desperate.

How very dare you! I'm a knowledge worker!

So am I! Supposedly

That's why there's still lots of it

Lots of the "get smart TRVs" are in response to heating one or two rooms for WFH though. My kid is at nursery during the day (although she does also appear to have the temperature tolerance of a Geordie lass on New Year's Eve).

This applies to my work and the stuff that needs doing in my house.

Not sure this is the right thread exactly but our boiler pressure drops too low every 1-2 months, does that suggest a leak?

Bought an electric throw the other week, didn't think it'd be a gamechanger but here we are

Yeah. I found our leak eventually by sticking little water activated dots on radiator pipes. The kind of stickers inside phones to tell if there has been water damage. Think I got em on eBay

Shite. Thanks. We seem to have a bit of a mould problem as well which is surely related.

I'll email the landlord and probably end up fucking off to a new flat before they get around to sorting it

We got the same problem and just a little drop every hour or two from a slightly annoying radiator valve creates the same effect. So it won’t be a huge leak but it unfortunately builds up.
You probably already thought of it but worth checking all the visible joints and valves first (before you start removing plastered sections of wall to check deeper)