Home Energy Assessment

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SomethingWhere

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I bought a C2 detached house a few months ago. It was built in 2001 and is heated with a gas boiler. It has attic and wall cavity insulation but it is very cold.

I know its freezing outside right now, but some rooms can get to a comfortable enough temperature (18/20 degrees) but other rooms struggle to get above 15 even with the heating on for 2 hours or so. I also feel the house gets cold very quickly - which is surprising given that it has insulation added. Last night, most rooms dropped 6 degrees in temperature until 7am.

I am starting to go a bit mad. First, I think that the wall cavity insulation was not done correctly, or not done at all on certain walls (some walls have no clear marks of pumping holes - although it pebble dash so its hard to see). I then think its the windows/doors that are the problem. Then I think that the heating systems is not setup correctly (even though all rads are roasting to touch).

I want to do an assessment to tell me what is what. My questions are:
  1. Should I get a Home Energy Assessment or a Heat Pump Assessment?
  2. Are these tests actually checking the walls/windows for the actual heat loss, or do they just give an estimate based on the year of construction, known upgrades, etc?
  3. Do they do it by room; so they can tell exactly why one room holds heat better than an other room (i.e., the wall in one room has cavity insulation, while the other one does not - or that a specific window is a problem)?

I just don't want a generic report like BER that is based on assumptions. I want specific reports by room and exactly why heat is being lost.

Could someone please help guide me on this?

Thanks!
 
You should get an independent expert who is not out to sell you a specific product. Your problems are most likely air tightness. @Micks'r is one such expert but may not cover your area. Read a few of his posts and you will likely pick up on a few things you can check on in your own property.
 
Thanks for your reply Leo!

It sounds like an Air Tightness Test might be required, which is effectively the heat pump assessment. I will certainly read through his posts, thanks.

@Micks'r - I am based in the South of Ireland - I don't suppose you are able to cover this area? If not, do you know of an expert here that could help me out or could you point me in the direction of which assessment would be best suited?

Thanks!
 
SomethingWhere said:
Thanks for your reply Leo!

It sounds like an Air Tightness Test might be required, which is effectively the heat pump assessment. I will certainly read through his posts, thanks.

@Micks'r - I am based in the South of Ireland - I don't suppose you are able to cover this area? If not, do you know of an expert here that could help me out or could you point me in the direction of which assessment would be best suited?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Mickr at least covers all of Munster and maybe more by my understanding.
 
SomethingWhere said:
Thanks for your reply Leo!

It sounds like an Air Tightness Test might be required, which is effectively the heat pump assessment. I will certainly read through his posts, thanks.

@Micks'r - I am based in the South of Ireland - I don't suppose you are able to cover this area? If not, do you know of an expert here that could help me out or could you point me in the direction of which assessment would be best suited?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Can you be a bit more specific please? I'm based in West Cork but can and do travel where necessary.
 
SomethingWhere said:
even with the heating on for 2 hours or so.
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Is this for the cold rooms only ?
Is the heat on for longer in the warmer rooms ?
Do the radiators in the cold rooms feel as hot, top and bottom as the ones in the warmer rooms.
 
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SomethingWhere said:
Thanks - do you mind me asking what you got done and a high level price range?
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I don't know about Micks'r service but see them referenced on here so he would be worth contacting also. I didn't contact them at the time as I wasn't aware of them.

Re snughome (Portlaoise based I think) - if you read their general information about how they engage with a client then that was 100% my experience. I went with them as they had a very large amount of 5* reviews. Once they left my house I gave them a 5* review.

What they say they do on their website is what they did for me - exactly

Cost was €850

I got a 20+ page review of images of my house (by each room) showing where I was losing heat.

Like most I thought I needed to replace windows (or at least the glass), I didn't.

They gave me great comfort on what was right with my house and a list of small (inexpensive) jobs that I needed to do to improve its efficiency and reduce heat loss

I also went with them as they don't provide any services to solve the problem, however, they did give me a comprehensive list of where I could go to get material to do it myself and a report that I could show any tradesperson as to what needed doing if that was the route I went

In total they were in my house for 3 hours
 
I would highly recommend Micks'r for this service. He did the same survey for my house a few years ago and as part of it had an excellent list of cheap and immediate fixes as well as medium/long term potential fixes for each issue identified.
A very pleasant man who takes a real genuine interest in what he does and is also not interested in trying to sell you any expensive fixes.
 
MG Midget said:
I don't know about Micks'r service but see them referenced on here so he would be worth contacting also. I didn't contact them at the time as I wasn't aware of them.

Re snughome (Portlaoise based I think) - if you read their general information about how they engage with a client then that was 100% my experience. I went with them as they had a very large amount of 5* reviews. Once they left my house I gave them a 5* review.

What they say they do on their website is what they did for me - exactly

Cost was €850

I got a 20+ page review of images of my house (by each room) showing where I was losing heat.

Like most I thought I needed to replace windows (or at least the glass), I didn't.

They gave me great comfort on what was right with my house and a list of small (inexpensive) jobs that I needed to do to improve its efficiency and reduce heat loss

I also went with them as they don't provide any services to solve the problem, however, they did give me a comprehensive list of where I could go to get material to do it myself and a report that I could show any tradesperson as to what needed doing if that was the route I went

In total they were in my house for 3 hours
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Thats a great post - thanks very much for the information. They sound like they give a very comprehensive report on what is needed.

Out of curiosity, did you implement much of the report? Has it made a difference as expected?
 
SomethingWhere said:
Thats a great post - thanks very much for the information. They sound like they give a very comprehensive report on what is needed.

Out of curiosity, did you implement much of the report? Has it made a difference as expected?
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Its work in progress, my wife would like to see faster progress ;-)

Anything I have implemented so far does seem to have made a difference. All were low cost solutions.
 
oilmoney said:
I would highly recommend Micks'r for this service. He did the same survey for my house a few years ago and as part of it had an excellent list of cheap and immediate fixes as well as medium/long term potential fixes for each issue identified.
A very pleasant man who takes a real genuine interest in what he does and is also not interested in trying to sell you any expensive fixes.
Click to expand...
For some reason I cannot like/thank a post (maybe because I am too new as a user). Anyway... thanks for your recommendation.
 
MG Midget said:
Its work in progress, my wife would like to see faster progress ;-)

Anything I have implemented so far does seem to have made a difference. All were low cost solutions.
Click to expand...

Do you mind sharing some of the recommendations? Have done some work myself but wondering am I missing any low hanging fruit.
 
FANTANA said:
Do you mind sharing some of the recommendations? Have done some work myself but wondering am I missing any low hanging fruit.
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Silicone at bottom of skirting boards
Cleaning trickle vents on windows
Attic insulation tent to cover attic door
More insulation in ceiling of back kitchen and conservatory
Change downlight to sealed LED units
 
Was it worth 850 euro to get this information ?

Information like this can be found for free if you do a web search.

Finding draughts and plugging any gaps is not that difficult.
A night light candle slowly moved around doors, windows, skirting boards, floor boards etc will find the smallest of draughts.

The candle flame will flicker in response to tiny amounts of air flow.
 
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