Healthy, Comfortable and Affordable - Home improvements in Letchworth Garden City

Uncontrolled ventilation, or draughts, are expected to cause about one third of the heat loss from a building. Therefore, we were urged to consider mechanical ventilation, regardless of how draughty your home might be. Of course it would help to minimise gaps in windows, doors, floors and walls that let air escape.

Some key methods of improving air-tightness are using draught excluders, sealant for floorboards, devices to block chimneys, covers for downlighters and better cat flaps. Also check outside your property, have previous works been carried out (like a new kitchen) without pipework being properly sealed back up? Different DIY products are on the market, like covers that go over exposed pipes, fabrics and tapes. However, some skilled work is sometimes best, such as applying wet plasters.

But don’t start draught excluding without a ventilation strategy! Which includes plans to:

• extract air from kitchens and bathrooms
• provide fresh air to the whole home
• a way to purge, for when you burn the toast!

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery is the best option, but a whole house system can be disruptive and costly. There are decentralised systems which are a compromise, or even just mechanical extract ventilation might work in some situations.

When upgrading windows, double or triple glazed windows may be acceptable but will need to match the original window design.

The next step after helping to control how your home ‘breathes’, is to put on some extra layers to keep it warm in winter and cool in summer. This starts in the loft, checking for about 300mm (about a foot) of loft insulation.

This isn’t always easy because of some features in lots of homes, like small sections of sloping roofs. Missing insulation in these areas would create a cold spot, which could lead to condensation and mould growth. Therefore a combination approach of insulating loft spaces, and on the internal side of rooms may be necessary.

However, we were reminded that if you insulate your loft, it will become cooler in winter and hotter in summer, and therefore check that there is ventilation. Most commonly by using loft vents, which slip into the roof felt.

Whilst sorting your loft out, check out your loft hatch, does it properly seal? And is it backed with insulation? If not – it could be time for an upgrade.

Chimneys are a significant contributor to heat loss, if you don’t plan to have a stove or open fire, the chimney can be safely blocked with insulating products without affecting the external appearance.

There are also insulation products that can be installed to line the chimney that will improve its performance.

If your home has a suspended floor, a combination of insulation and air tightness fabric will help improve the performance. But don’t block up ventilation under the home, which could lead to damp and mould growth.

Internal wall insulation must be applied with care to avoid creating issues. Seek specialist guidance to make sure all details have been considered. We heard how problems occur most often at points where there are joins. Like windows, doors, roofs, walls and floors.

External insulation is problematic for many homes because of external features like gutters, pipes and architectural features and details, as well if not well detailed and designed can create unintended consequences such as mould.

Internal works that do not affect the external appearance of the property do not need our consent. However if you are considering an external cladding project, please get in contact with us to obtain free pre-application advice prior to submission of an application. It is important to note that in the Heritage Character Area or on Homes of Special Interest, external cladding is unlikely to be permitted.

Solar panels won’t make your home feel any more comfortable, however they do reduce your reliance on grid electricity, and in the long run are cost effective. There are some solutions that integrate into roofs, which could be a good option if you are having to replace roof tiles on your home, they also have less of a visual impact.

Solar panels affect the external appearance of properties, therefore please read our guidance on this topic. When you’re ready get in contact with us to seek free pre-application advice prior to submission of an application. If you can’t install solar panels on your property, we heard about an organisation called Ripple Energy. Where it is possible to invest in solar generation elsewhere and have the saving applied to your energy bill. The payback is longer, because someone else is also making profit. However, this solution saves you money even if you move home.

If you have a gas boiler, or other fuel burner to heat your home, switching to a heat pump will help decarbonise your heating, because the UK’s electricity grid is producing less carbon emissions each year. Heat pumps work better if they run at a constant temperature all day and with a cooler flow temperature than most gas boilers. So, although you don’t necessarily need to reduce heat loss by controlling ventilation and insulating, you might be able to have a smaller heat pump, and lower bills if you do! Engineers will assess your home, to identify if pipework or radiators need to be upgraded (it isn’t always necessary).

Want to see if your home might be heat pump ready? If you have a combi boiler, turn the boiler flow temperature down to 50°C and leave it running at a more constant temperature. If you are still comfortable and happy with how much your heating bill was, then you could be heat-pump ready.

Running some boilers at low flow temperatures can cause damage, so only do this if you are certain it won’t negatively affect your boiler. Most heat pumps are installed externally, therefore when you’re ready get in contact with us to seek free pre-application advice prior to submission of an application. New guidance will be published soon on this topic.