House that refuses to be warm !!!

[NZ Girl]

Hi All

I have a beautiful 2 bedroom house that I just cant get warm.......... AARRRRGGGGHHH

its got high ceilings....... and I have had it Insulated (twice) to more than the minimum standard..... and got underfloor also.......

In one wall when we put on gib we put wool insulation down that side wall.......

I have had a doorstop put on the front door because there was a gap at the bottom...... so they have put this thing on to stop the draught........

Its got a big Dimplex norweigon heater that should do the lounge/dining room...

I thought about getting a HRV (I have one at my house but honestly its not really made my house much warmer...... )

Today I got a text from the tenant "I need 2 let u no its freezing cold n my house ive installed 2 econo heaters & have them on all day but it doesn'[t warm up at all. I dont want 2 move out but its that cold I dont think I can stay here much longer"

AARRRRGGGGHHHHH i dont want to lose that tenant they are really really really good !!!

I guess my only option would be to install a HRV system or do something that puts the hot air into the house that the electrician can do for about $600 he told me about once..... but in the middle of winter i wonder if it would make much of a difference.

I think sometimes tenants know that something is insulated they think they should not have to turn on a heater........... but insulation is just to keep the heat in.......

Maybe the house needs double glazing or something hahahahaa

god I dont know what i can do with this property anymore.... its now got a massive good quality dimplex heater as well as 2 econo panel heaters.

The roof space in that house is HUGE !! everyone always says you could easily put a 3rd room up there like you can fully stand up in the roof space and walk around and have a party up there haha

anyway any ideas suggestions of advice would be appreciated.

Thanks :-)

[Tan]

What town is it in?

[TheLiberalLeft]

I bet it's toasty up near the ceiling

[Jimmythepants]

A few options I could suggest are.

• Poly ground cover to stop rising damp, very effective ( and fairly cheap) when used in conjunction with under floor insulation especially for wooden floors.
• Draft stopping around windows, especially wooden casement style.
• Thermal backed curtains
• Allowing more sunlight in during the day by cutting down shading trees and opening up curtains during day and closing them at sundown to trap heat.
• Good carpet with decent underlay.

Lastly I wouldn't put much stock in those econo heaters the wattage is comparable to a light bulb and would only help in a well sealed new build home IMO.

[flyernzl]

As LL has indicated, I would say that your problem is the high ceilings.
Hot air rises (ask any politician) and all you are doing with your efforts is warming the moths around the lights.
I used to own one of those 1970s one-and-a-half story houses with the bedrooms on a mezzanine over the kitchen/laundry/bathroom, and the living/dining area out on the side with an open two-story high ceiling.
It used to be really chilly in the living room and warm as toast in the upstairs bedrooms.

Your options are 1) lower the ceilings, or 2) push the warm air back down to ground level - ceiling fans a possibility?

[PC]

Fireplace.
But much easier would be a heat pump.
Econo heat panels are too gutless.

[Branca]

What about

A nice big air conditioning unit, either for the problem room, or ducted to all rooms?

A depreciable expense, and tenant pays the electricity bill.

[NZ Girl]

Hi thanks for all the replys. The house is in the stings........ H town...... or HASTINGS !!!!!! yeah !! lol

I like the idea of the Heat Pump. Yes the black poly ground cover is usually good its worked great in another property but this one already has this. The only other thing i seem to be missing is decent underlay and carpet

I thought maybe it needs double glazing or something as it has a big beautiful bay window in the lounge and the glass probably lets a lot of cold in.

If I replied to the tenant saying I will be installing ceiling fans to move the hot air down.. into the house lol he might think im mad hahahahah and thats a lovely expression that all my efforts have been "warming the moths around the lights" :-)

Thanks i will look into the options suggested and hopefully one of them will work

[Ahar]

The only other thing i seem to be missing is decent underlay and carpet

Aaaaah.....there's the solution to your problem

[Grundy]

Welcome to the typical kiwi box. I've spent years and too much money on half baked ideas. The advice you are getting so far is for each one sound, but I would go further and say that double glazing and a heat pump (and what no carpet already?) will be needed one day. Try on any cold day putting your hand on a glass window and you will realise no matter how much heat you pour in you have several square meters of refrigerator fighting you not counting the aluminium frame that seems even colder. Those ceiling kits that suck alleged heat from the roof are in my opinion an expensive con with owners basking in the warm glow of an expensive spent cheque. They sell the same kits in Europe for on a few hundred and because their attics are insulated space they work OK. University of Otago report has a good hint at how useless they really are.

[Philmc1]

Grundy, do you have a link for that report. It would probably confirm my thoughts. Heat transfer kits are much cheaper and since I've had one I've had no condensation at all. All you need is movement of air.

[Grundy]

This link has a good commentary on the NZ perspective,

http://www.energywise.govt.nz/content/home-ventilation-systems

my experience is more with the UK setups that are by far more efficient and cheaper using in most cases heat transfer modules. Hard to tell new immigrants from the UK who think they are coming to the sunny climes that our houses are colder than the norm they are used to.
From the above link, the pdf report is at

http://www.energywise.govt.nz/node/12364

I have no connection (nor experience of ) this company I linked below and there are others in NZ that sell 'real' heat transfer and ventilation systems, but the website has a lot of home truths as to the science I believe.

http://www.warmandcool.co.nz/hrv.htm

I also recommend a google of any UK or European websites for advice on heat transfer kits. By the way in North America it is contrary to code I am told to extract fresh air from within a roof space.

Final word really is that the kit to setup these systems uses very cheap readily available components and we can all avoid the white shoe expewnsive commission sales types if of a mind.

[essence]

I used to live in an old villa that had 10 foot walls. In winter the top three feet of air by the ceiling used to get really warm and below that was cold. I would stand up and raise my hand above my head and feel the temperature difference!!

I suggest you install a ceiling fan that has multi-speed and reversible options. On the fan we had, it had "Winter" and "Summer" options. The winter setting would spin anti-clockwise (? I think, it's a long time since we lived in the house!) and that would push the warm air down into the rooms, and the summer setting would do the opposite.

They may not be as fashionable as a Heat-pump but they're a damned sight less expensive and more effective (IMHO) and I would guess use a lot less electricity.

[donnyboy]

HRV and the like are for ventilation/condensation control, heat would be a bonus. It is moving drier air into your living space, which pushes out moist air.
They do work drying out the house if the ceiling space is dry (in most cases)

[donnyboy]

All you need is movement of air.

movement of dry air to push out moist air