Porch Vs New Front door and windows?

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sadie

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Looking at getting a porch to keep draughts out in winter. We have a front door with two long windows either side of the door (not part of the door). Someone who quoted suggested that a new composite door, plus replacing the two windows with energy efficient triple-glazing would do just as good a job.
The cost of the new door and windows was about 2/3 the cost of a new porch.
 
Which direction is the door facing? North/South/East/West?

This will have a bearing on the effective heat retention difference between the two.
 
The Front Door is north west facing. If you stood at the front door and looked out, the sun goes down in the left hand 'corner' of the front plot. So the sun hits the front door in the evening time. The door is set in an alcove between two 'bay' windows. A lot of leaves seem to end up around the front door step, so not sure what way the wind usually blows!
 
Accessibility is something worth keeping in mind. Would the porch be a hinderance to a wheelchair (should it be required by occupants in the future?)
 
Lots of our neighbours have reverted back to having a porch for security reasons as they prefer to be able to vet callers.
 
Well there are two shallow steps up to the door now so a larger filled in step would have to be created. So not accessible now by wheelchair.
 
Update on this topic.
Decided to abandon the porch was going to cost 3k, and the reason for it was to improve the draught/cold in our large hall.
We have standalone stoves downstairs, so we don't run the heating downstairs in the evening times.
We tried putting an oil-filled rad into the hall.
I've calculated that using the rad on Low costs around €16 a month for 4hrs a day. Even using it for 6 months of the year, it would take 33 years to reach the 3k we'd have spent on the porch!! Unless my electricity bill comes in and tells me a nastier story.
Also, the benefits of heating the hall means upstairs is also considerably warmer and we may also be able to reduce the time the heat is on in the upstairs at bedtime.
I can also better insulate the front door frame using the stick on foam strips.
 
Good call, (I used the same cost/benefit analysis to run the boiler during the summer to heat the hot water rather than spend the €3K to install solar panels.)

By the way, a heavy curtain on the inside of the door - down to the floor, may be worth considering to further insulate it.
 
sadie said:
....I've calculated that using the rad on Low costs around €16 a month for 4hrs a day. Even using it for 6 months of the year, it would take 33 years to reach the 3k we'd have spent on the porch!! Unless my electricity bill comes in and tells me a nastier story.....
Click to expand...

Did you not also consider what, if any, additional capital value the addition of a porch might bring to the overall value of the house ?
...while you may not be intersted in selling at the moment, things can change in the future.

Also, there is the security question to consider and what value enhanced security by way of a porch with second door might bring ? :)
 
Another benefit of a porch is as an "ante-room" when entering and leaving the house.
Without a porch, when you open the front door a lot of heat escapes.
But if you've got a porch, and two doors, this will not happen (unless you have both doors open simultaneously). It's a hard one to teach to children but is very effective in heat retention if done properly.
 
Hhhhhhhmmmm, there are a lot of unknowns here. Not a good way to judge anything. To put it in software engineering terms, GIGO.
What is the rating of the oil-filled heater you are thinking of using? The best seller on Amazon is only 650W (my toaster is 1200W!).
I bought one a few years ago but no longer use it (moved house). It's rated 3kW. Low is 1.5kW.
To run this on low for four hours is 6kW, i.e. 6 units. So currently it would cost 6 x €0.1376 (ESB price) to run it for four hours (per day); €0.8256.
Six months, say 182 days, would cost €150.2596 per annum.
Cost of new porch is €3,000.
Cost of new doors & windows is estimated to be €2,000.

Assuming that the price of ESB electricity will not change (neither up nor down), a 1.5kW heater will cost you €4,598.55 after 33 years.
In fact, after 20 years it will cost you
€3,005.19. More than your new porch!

Personally I would make no decision on my above calculation because I didn't take electricity price inflation into account. I'll hazard a guess that in 20 years one unit of lekkie will cost more than €0.1386.
Did your CBA index link the price of electricity?
Buddyboy, what about you?
 
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Drakon said:
.................... The best seller on Amazon is only 650kW (my toaster is 1200kW!)..................
Click to expand...


Stone me, that's some toaster you have. The street lights must dim when you're having your brekkie with your heater on beside you. :)

Think the odd "k" may have slipped in there unnoticed.
 
Drakon said:
Assuming that the price of ESB electricity will not change (neither up nor down), a 1.5kW heater will cost you €4,598.55 after 33 years.
In fact, after 20 years it will cost you
€3,005.19. More than your new porch!
Click to expand...

All true, and another thing that's difficult to factor into the calculations is the increased comfort levels of such an investment. Sure, you can use the oil heater to make up for the heat loss opening the front door, but it will take time for it to compensate for that heat loss and bring the temperature back up to your desired level.
 
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