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Hi,
I’ve stumbled across here after following energy related threads on other forums. I’m hoping to pick up ideas and advise to improve my home energy system. Having a old, leaky, poorly insulated house I will need all the help I can get to reduce oil consumption with a mixed strategy of wood and renewables.



Im 18th edition qualified with a small DIY solar install on my garage/home office roof. For work I install and build emergency power systems including large batteries so hopefully I can give some useful input back into the forum.

All the best, Jinx

Welcome Jinx!
The mantra is insulate, insulate, insulate. Only caveat being to allow airflow through to wick the moisture away.

Bonjourno, salut, & willkommen jinx.

(& Now the Icelandic entry)

Thank you gents.

Insulating is an issue, it’s a 1920s brick built detached in an exposed location, to do it properly would probably take me close to a full rebuild budget wise. I can do stuff that will help either way as there is land for ground source and outbuildings for more solar.

Jinx wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 8:47 pm Hi,
I’ve stumbled across here after following energy related threads on other forums. I’m hoping to pick up ideas and advise to improve my home energy system. Having a old, leaky, poorly insulated house I will need all the help I can get to reduce oil consumption with a mixed strategy of wood and renewables.



Im 18th edition qualified with a small DIY solar install on my garage/home office roof. For work I install and build emergency power systems including large batteries so hopefully I can give some useful input back into the forum.

All the best, Jinx

Wow I'm looking forward to your input on that Jinx, I'm virtually totally wood heated but hoping to get into a bit of chp, initially with lpg, to my mind a solar pv and storage battery lend themselves to being charged at constant power for just a few hours per day in winter.

Jinx wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 10:00 pm Thank you gents.

Insulating is an issue, it’s a 1920s brick built detached in an exposed location, to do it properly would probably take me close to a full rebuild budget wise. I can do stuff that will help either way as there is land for ground source and outbuildings for more solar.

There are so many levels to insulating a property. From a weather strip on the front door all the way through to a teardown and rebuild as a passivhaus.

I went room by room and wrote a list of points to address I have been around the house about three times over the past 6 years and there is a marked change in the interior environment (massive understatement). Did not cost that much, maybe £1,000 all in. The list is handy as focus point and memory assist.
The house is a 80's Barrett build extended three times. There is a lot of experience on here I'm sure you'll do well!

Hi Jinx, hello from me in South Somerset.

Hi,
Before looking at energy input you need to get a grip on losses. Insulate and Insulate is not just glib it is the way forward and people think it is very expensive when often it is not particularly if done on a DIY basis. You do not say how much insulation and draught proofing you are starting with or what heat input you have so clearly cant advise.

Welcome. We're not far from Somerset, just in the little bit of Dorset that pokes up between Somerset and Wiltshire.

Agree with the above about losses. We had the advantage of building a new house several years ago, and chose to pretty much follow the Passivhaus methodology, but without spending the substantial premium for accreditation. Very pleased we did, as our house needs very little heating, all down to being pretty airtight, having good levels of insulation and being designed to remove thermal bridges in the structure to eliminate cool spots inside. Best bit is, I think, the airtightness, together with the heat recovery ventilation. Absolutely transformed the air quality in the house. Even now, years later, I am still very impressed with having clean and dry air in the house, and very little dust anywhere.

Dust and wood burning seem to be inextricably linked.