@transparent Whatever works are carried out it would all need to be hired labour.

@rocky-a Hi Rocky. Welcome to the forum. 

Just to clarify, any house can be heated with a heat pump, despite some of the stories you might hear that say they can't. The real issue for badly insulated houses is the cost to run which can be mitigated in various ways

My own house was an EPC band C by virtue of having some solar panels. Without them it would be a D. With a bit of upgrading my SCOP is 4.5. Making it way cheaper to run than mains gas.

EPC's are also really bad at estimating heat loss so I would suggest a better guide would be previous usage for the last year.

External insulation would be great and something to consider as would solar panels and home battery.

@bontwoody Thanks for the feedback. Think a battery would be a step beyond the budget. EWI is a go, no question. I'm sure a heat pump works, it's a, will it keep me warm enough on a freezing winters day. Just had confirmation from the surveyor that EPC will move from G to E so waiting to receive the full report/proposal with all the numbers/costs etc.

I agree with @bontwoody - your EPC-band isn't necessarily a fair indicator of how appropriate it is to install a heat-pump.

After all, you can increase your EPC-score by adding features like solar-panels, despite those having no direct effect on your heating system and insulation.

I do think there's an advantage in you having suspended floors in the bungalow.

Unlike solid concrete floors, you can readily add insulation between joists and underfloor heating (UFH) pipes.
I've been doing just that in my own (1937) house, one room at a time.

In my case the original joists also required replacing because they were reclaimed broad-gauge railway sleepers!

UFH is more efficient than radiators, and is better at heating the human body.
Both of those factors may be relevant to your situation.

The photo shows 16mm UFH pipe being laid into aluminium heat-spreader plates.

The far-end wall (without the skirting board) is a false timber-framed wall.
It adds 30mm insulation and blocks off an old fireplace.

Please ask if you'd like to see any more photos of this work. I have loads!

Posted by: @Anonymous

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Hi, I recently came across your website whilst researching all thing energy saving & heating etc. I live in a 1960's pre-fab (Doran) with an original plan to bulldoze and develop. Best laid plans & life etc got in the way. Now looking at all options.

I have an old LPG condensing boiler (2008) and a single pipe radiators, double glazing, good loft insulation and a suspended floor without any insulation.

Not  sure if I should ask this question here but...I have had a survey carried out recently which has confirmed an EPC of G. The surveyor has told me that he would propose installing External Wall Insulation together with Solar and a Heat Pump to lower the EPC to E or D.

My bungalow is 1000ft up and very exposed to high winds and winter temperatures regularly -5 degrees with wind chill of -10 or more.

I am a pensioner and have severe mobility issues really struggling in the cold and need to make the right decision.

Is an EPC of E/D sufficiently good enough so that a heat pump will work effectively? 

My gut feeling is no and that would need to be A/B. EWI and a complete new LPG boiler & Rads would be a better solution for my situation.

Appreciate any thoughts?

Cheers

Rocky

 

 

 

Firstly I agree with what others above have said.

I also agree with your surveyor given your circumstance ie that good insulation (whether by adding insulation or full/partial rebuild) and a heat pump plus solar is a good way forward. 

Why - (a) because insulation wont just save money, it will make the house much more comfortable because there will be much smaller thermal gradients and (b) a heat pump will compound this.  Because with a heat pump you heat 'low and slow' - ie heating on 24*7 with the radiators typically only luke warm (in contrast to what we typically do with boilers), the whole house fabric warms up and as a result you get a much more even temperature both in terms of thermal gradients and in time. 

The difference is quite tangible, and for someone who struggles in the cold I think your surveyor has actually made a very sensible suggestion.  The result, if done properly, is a house the whole of which is comfortable 24*7, for a running cost that is no more than, and quite possibly less than with a boiler.  I experienced exactly this with my house.  It was originally 1930s, solid wall (no cavity), no floor insulation.  This has gone (over a period of years as I have upgraded) from cold and draughty partially heated part time with a mains gas boiler, to warm and snug heated and comfortable all over 24*7 with a heat pump.   The switch from mains gas boiler to heat pump alone saved 20% in running costs (which was not the reason I did it) and improved comfort.  

Just to get a bit of a feel for scale, what is the floor area and how much do you currently pay for heating?  Have you got a timescale/budget in mind and how much disruption are you prepared to put up with?

@jamespa My bungalow is 1000sqft. LPG £1200 (LPG was double this last year but I was able to switch suppliers as end of contract) Elec £1250. Timescale is yet to be decided as I am getting two more survey/quotes first. Because of my situation I will have to try and live around any upheaval.

Posted by: @Anonymous

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@jamespa My bungalow is 1000sqft. LPG £1200 (LPG was double this last year but I was able to switch suppliers as end of contract) Elec £1250. Timescale is yet to be decided as I am getting two more survey/quotes first. Because of my situation I will have to try and live around any upheaval.

Thanks, that helps a lot.  Obviously the great thing about EWI is that it is external, so apart from some scaffolding doesn't disturb the interior too much.  Its also more effective than IWI, albeit more expensive.

£1250 on electric is quite a lot, is there any heating included in this?  Is water heating by the boiler or immersion heater?

I am a bit surprised that with EWI, double glazing and good loft insulation you cant get to a 'C'.  Is anyone quoting for insulation giving you a calculation of house loss after the works.  That's going to be needed whatever heating you have.  

@jamespa Electric for for lights, fridge, freezer, cooker, washing machine & tumble dryer, TV. Boiler is an old Worcester Bosch condenser for heating/hot water.  I am waiting for the numbers to comer through from the first survey next week and have a couple of other companies booked to survey/recommend so will see how they all compare.

Feel free to post surveys/quotes for comment if you wish.  The motivation for most people here is just to help in whatever way they can and you are entirety free to ignore any comments!

Posted by: @Anonymous

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@jamespa My bungalow is 1000sqft. LPG £1200 (LPG was double this last year but I was able to switch suppliers as end of contract) Elec £1250. Timescale is yet to be decided as I am getting two more survey/quotes first. Because of my situation I will have to try and live around any upheaval.

So assuming 45p per liter and 7 kWh per liter thats about 19,000 kWh per year for heating. Does that match with your EPC, it should state it as mine does in the image.Note my projected heating total is not much lower than yours at 14500 kWh and I have a 5kW heat pump (albeit nicer weather 🙂 )

The electricity bill does seem high but that could be due to clothes drying?

I agree with James that the EPC grading does seem low after the suggested improvements, I dont have any EWI on my house, much as I would love to.

Posted by: @bontwoody

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The electricity bill does seem high but that could be due to clothes drying?

I concur.

Of the household appliances you've listed, the tumble drier is the one most likely to be eating electricity.

Cooking by electricity is probably the next most hungry for power.
That can be reduced by changing the way food is prepared, and using:

• slow-cooker
• air-fryer
• microwave oven

and avoiding the use of a main electric oven.

A study by the energy consultancy, Regen, demonstrated that the amount of energy used by a washing machine was too low to make it worthwhile taking the usual energy-efficiency measures, such as off-peak use. So don't bother about that.

Fridges and Freezers vary considerably in their energy consumption.
The Star-rating on the label has nothing to do with the efficiency of the compressor system used for cooling;
it measures only the thermal losses through the walls and door!

LED light-bulbs are not as efficient as you might suppose.
They 'run hot' which is a strong indicator of energy loss, and the heat reduces their lifetime too.

It's better to change the entire light fitting to one which uses fixed LED emitters, rather than a replaceable bulb.

As @jamespa  indicated above, please pick up whatever comments here you find useful.

@transparent thanks for this, good info. Worth making a handbook (with Mars?) with a littel more substantiation of how much these items consume. Many of us obsess needlessly over the wrong items!