The cost of living... what can we do?

I'd agree that heat pump systems are less attractive used in conjunction with radiators and certainly not feasible in two-storey houses. I wouldn't have much confidence in air/water systems either, although they're very popular here for properties without enough land for a captor bed. As electricity prices are rising and the supply unguaranteed just when it's most required, folks here are turning back to wood or pellet burners in droves. The irony is that the new pellet-burning stoves have a sophisticated hopper/feed system that relies on.....electricity

 

Personally I think that heat pumps are better for new builds where the house can be designed to make the most of the heat pumps abilities. It would also make it easier to install ground source heat pumps, possibly under the property.

 

I have 8 windows and two doors; note one window and one door are in a set of bifold doors which could be counted as 3 windows and one door.
Also today is the first morning I have woken to the central heating running, admittedly I do have the themostat set rather low. Normally this would occur in November.

 

Closing lounge curtains in the evening now. It is making a difference....room stays warmer.
I am going to make a door width sausage and fill it with the contents of the 9 tog duvet. When the 10.5 tog gets here.....
The sausage will butt up against the north facing front door. The radiator is right beside that door and has to work hard to maintain the heat setting.
Jenny namaste

 

Windows, how do you count them? In our living room we have a small window but also the whole balcony "wall" is half windows from about a metre from the floor. Then we have the window divided into 4 smaller ones, two of which can be opened, the middle two are fixed. Then the balcony door has a window as well. The kitchen has a 3m window, again divided into two fixed and two that can be opened. There is a small, fixed window as well. The bedrooms have 1.5m windows with one opening side. The toilet and bathroom each have fixed windows.

 

The new 10.5 tog duvet has arrived and is now on the bed.....
looking forward to tonight.....
now that night time minus temps are forecast here,
Jenny namaste

 

Yes, drapery does add insulation. Blackout lined drapes or roman shades add a value of R4 or better to the insulating factor of windows, double glazed or whatever. They also direct the cold air from the glass surface downward. These same window treatments help with moderating temps in the summer too!

I put my romans down on really cold winter nights or very hot sunny days in the summer. Saves the air conditioning as it cycles far fewer times. Having the blinds down in the summer does make it a bit dismal but I try to offset that feeling by getting outside as much as possible.

I'm going to save a pant load of money this weekend simply by trying to get a good 20 hours of so of my Christmas baking done between Friday 7 p.m. and Sunday bedtime as the electricity will be the low time of use rate - approximately half of the amount if I did it during the day on a weekday.

I've managed to buy just about everything for my baking, at a discount, which in my opinion just brings things back down to pre-pandemic pricing. Better than a kick up the backside I guess..

 

We got a subsidy for our 'geothermal' system of 50% of the price of the heat pump, but that was pretty much outweighed by having to have it installed by an authorised Company. I believe that nowadays these systems are much easier to DIY, so a lot more economical.
It is good, though. Heating and 200l hot water tank powered during cheap-rate hours, with options for air-con and pool heating (not used). We've not ever run short of hot water, even when visitors staying *. Given the volume and design of the house, sacrificing 400m2 of land to a non-plantable captor bed was worth it Grassed over, fenced and makes a lovely big run for the chickens
I would have liked a true geothermal system with a borehole but that was truly expensive!
*ETA: French machines are all cold-fill which probably helps.

 

I wasn't aware that you couldn't use the area, where the pipes are laid underground, for growing.

I thought my old boss used it as a vegetable garden.

 

I seem to remember reading once that in the UK, the regulations say the ground source thingy has to be at least a metre down. Not many plants will go that deep (although some will).

 

Yeah its a lot of land, I couldn't fit one in, but then the swimming pool would be a struggle as well.