Keeping The House Warm

So with winter coming up I thought I'll see what options there are. Last few days has been cold. I have ducted heating (gas) and apart from it taking forever to warm the house in the morning, its also super expensive.

Things I thought of doing:

  1. close the vents on the cooling as they aren't being used. The heating vents are different.

  2. Closing doors to rooms that isn't used in the morning and make sure they seal well

  3. Install a few panel heaters in the house and always keep them on when its cold (possibly timers with Home Assistant)

Are those even worth doing or are there some better things to do

Comments

  • +67

    Wear warmer clothes?

    • +4

      Yep, heat the person not the room (to a certain extent anyway).

      If the house has heating vents, what would the incredibly expensive to run panel heaters be doing?

      • Exactly. Who needs to keep the house warm if the people are?

      • Yep, heat the person not the room (to a certain extent anyway).

        The “certain extent” is actually very important because without heating, some rooms in our house have been max 10° in the middle of the day these last few days in Melb. That’s absolutely too cold to just heat the person.

        However, the beauty of splits or zoned heating is you can just heat the spaces you actually use.

    • +20

      Thanks dad

      • +27

        “And turn those lights off, I’m not made of money”

        • +1

          Annoyingly, my dad’s not proud that my house is smart and turns things off itself. I’ll have to ask him about that.

        • +4

          "You must have shares in the electric company?"

  • +13

    Don’t happen to have an unmetered gas connection, , gas cooker, 6 cinder blocks swiped from a local construction site, and some tongs do you?

    • +5

      I understand this reference and I just spat out my tea.

      • Now I'm curious!

        • Jimothy is hinting at OP making the house into a pizza oven, come heat-sink igloo.

    • +1

      There will be no hospital then, I'll tell the children

  • +20

    Check your local council and local library to see if either lend out energy saving kits - with a thermal camera etc.

    Even just using a thermometer to track how quickly your house loses heat when there is no heating on will give you some ideally of how well (or poorly) it is insulated.

    Improving any areas you are losing heat, blocking up draughts etc, will help you make better use of what you already have.

    • Didn't even think any council will do this. Will call them up today, tx

      • +1

        I just used one from my library. Took 5 months on the waiting list to get it, but it's some good equipment.

        The thermal camera is a FLIR C3x worth about $1000. I believe it's a state gov inititive, so they made up the kits and sent a few sets to each library.

    • +4

      This is a great tip re: energy saving kits from the local library.

      I just looked up my local library and reserved a kit. Thanks @toniyellow!

    • You can buy FLIR thermal cameras that plug into your phone for around $500. I know its not cheap but an option

      • You can also find places to hire them for much less than that if you just need it once or twice.

    • Thanks, I didn't know they had these.

      Once you eliminate draughts the biggest offender is going to be windows, even double glazed windows suck the heat out of your home.

      • +2

        The FLIR camera was super helpful. With it, I found there was little to no insulation on the area where the roof meet the external wall.
        Big improvement after putting the insulation all the way to the top plate.
        Find out what R value of your ceiling insulation. In VIC, R5 is recommended
        Bubble wrap on windows helps as well.

    • +1 on thermal camera. My use case was checking my insulation was installed correctly (did it myself, had to redo 3 sections due to small gaps).

      If you haven't done your ceiling insulation, do that. In summer it changed my hotbox room from unbearable (>30c, constantly sweating) to bearable (< 28c, no sweating). Not sure about winter since I did the insulation in spring.

      Also sealing gaps is the cheapest way to save energy, but now I find I need to open internal doors every so often during the night for CO2 to spread out, and open all windows for 30 minutes once or twice a day, usually once in the morning, to get CO2 down.

      • Where's the CO2 coming from, gas heater?

  • +7

    If you're in Victoria they have free energy saving initiatives including covers for AC duct outlets.

    • Yea I'm in VIC. Will have a look at it, tx

      • +3

        Something like this and this.

        Note: this was just a random Google result. There are heaps of other suppliers of this deal. Do your own research.

        • +1

          FREE Door Seals

          Shipping
          $200.00 Flat rate

          Site seems like a con-job…

          • +1

            @xuqi: Marine animals need special transportation to ensure safe arrival

          • @xuqi: I did manage to add 9,999 Door Seals to my cart for $0 (+$200 shipping). I suppose that would be OK, but they only ship to Victoria! :(

    • +1

      In fact the open evap cooler ducts are likely to be FAR the biggest source of heat loss. While they are open most of the hot air coming out of your ducted gas is going to go straight up them. Get them dealt with (preferably with some insulation stuffed in behind the free cover they provide - I use old woollen clothes).

      Ducted evap cooling is pretty universal on project houses built in the last twenty years in Victoria. That is because of a very faulty NATHERS standard (home energy rating) that heavily encourages it instead of reverse cycle air conditioning. It is faulty because the extra gas usage due to those evap cooler ducts FAR outweighs the saving in electrical energy those coolers make compared with a refrigerative cooler.

      • +1

        The foil board from Bunnings or a better hardware store makes a great easy and cheap insulated stop er for the evap vents. You just cut it to size so it fits firmly behind the vent grill with a knife, tape the edges with foil tape or even packing tape and shove it up there. Costs about $30-50 for a whole house.

        • I like your thinking. You could also use 50mm mattress type or memory foam (the less porous the better.) if you can cut it accurately. Just a bit larger than opening. Tuck it in, nice and snug. Even polystyrene cut and taped accordingly, in a pinch.

  • +2

    Closing doors helps. If you have blinds and/or curtains, close them too.

    • I've heard closing blinds, does that really make a difference

      • +17

        It does as the outside cools the glass on the windows which then cools the inside air. Closing blinds creates a buffer.

      • +2

        They work to a degree if they are to the floor, heavy & close to the window glass. And without a pelmet they just draught and cycle the cold air behind them .All the heating tips you are asking have been on the internet for decades. And in books decades before that.

      • +5

        Yes. MASSIVE difference.

        Last winter we got three thermometers and put one outside the window, one between the glass and closed blinds, then the last on the room side of the blinds.

        Outside was usually 2-5° colder than between the glass and blinds. Then between the glass and blinds was at least 5° colder than in the actual room, but sometimes up to 15° warmer.

        So yeah, the drapes helped immensely because between them and the glass was pretty much outside temp all the time.

        Ahhh aluminium frames with single glazing sucks.

        You’ll want to make sure the drapes hit the floor and also make sure you have a pelmet if the drapes aren’t from the ceiling. Even just a DIY method, like some thick plastic over the top of the curtain tracks is better than nothing. That’s where heat escapes.

        Also curtains covering doors helps a lot too as it slows down any air leaks.

        • also close fitting heavy curtains that seal the sides to prevent heated inside air rising to the top of the cold glass, then cooling and falling, creating a heat loss convection cycle …

      • A massive difference !

        Used to live in a house that was heated primarily via wood fire, if the blinds were closed it could heat up so much more vs if they were open!

  • +8

    A properly north-facing house with large windows that get direct sun and well-designed insulation could be up to 10 degrees warmer in winter than a south-facing house with little sunlight. Unfortunately, designing houses and blocks like this has not been standard practice because we are stupid humans.

    To compensate, people often have to use a huge amount of electricity (reverse cycle AC or heaters), or burn tons of wood to warm the house. You might be able to squeeze some skylights in somewhere to warm the house a bit, but they can be expensive depending on the type.

    • +1

      Can you elaborate. I mean if one side is south facing, the other is north facing.

      You mean the north facing side doesn't have big windows to let in the direct sun? or you mean the living area is not north facing?

      … unless we're talking about a 2-D world where houses are like a sheet of paper and you can have the sharp side facing north/south vs the flat side.

      • +5

        North-facing means the areas you hang out (like the living room, dining, kitchen) and the largest windows in the house face north. Whereas the areas you don't care too much about about the temperature, like the laundry, back patio, hallway, bathrooms, and even some of the bedrooms, are not.

        • I understand this, but it depends on your latitude and you need to balance all seasons. Having the biggest windows face north is ideal in Melbourne (or just for winter in other latitudes), but not for Brisbane. In Sydney, some people can have big windows that are south facing without the need for blinds all year round.

          • +3

            @ihbh: With solar energy it's basically free to cool a house in summer but warming a house in winter can get very expensive. Also eaves allow for windows to be shaded in summer months. North facing orientation is always a good idea.

            • +6

              @tp0: Solar passive house design is a no brainer. ( That's why most ppl don't do it.They are too busy following the urban oven/fridge house design trends.Or facing the street, of facing the west into blistering summer heat) ) It costs >hundred thousand of wasted $$ on extra energy over the lifetime of a house when you build a home against solar passive design.Crazy.
              Anyone can have the basics included,up front. The bells and whistles like double glazing and 100% air leak proofing moves the build costs up, but well worth it if you can afford it. CSIRO have a book called Warm House Cool House, with plenty of great advice.It should be in the school curriculum.
              TLDR
              If you design a house right from the beginning you score permanent comfort and save money

          • +3

            @ihbh:

            Having the biggest windows face north is ideal in Melbourne (or just for winter in other latitudes), but not for Brisbane.

            Not sure where you came up with this idea. Brisbane is cold in Winter too. North-facing windows in Brisbane will warm the cold house.

            In Summer, north-facing windows won't get any sun at all, because the sun is either in the East, directly overhead, or in the West.

            This is why a north-facing house is always a good idea, both in Winter and in Summer.

            • @ForkSnorter: Good point about overhead, etc. in summer, which makes sense.

              We have big windows and living areas on both sides and from a practical experience, in summer in Sydney, it's a scorcher in the living rooms with big windows facing north. But definitely warmer in winter.

              • +1

                @ihbh:

                in summer in Sydney, it's a scorcher in the living rooms with big windows facing north

                Your windows must face slightly North-East or slightly North-West. If they face directly North, they will only get sun in Spring/Autumn, or early/late summer.

                In my opinion, it's worth putting up with a bit of warmth in summer if it's going to give you a warm winter.

              • +1

                @ihbh: You need to have an overhang or eave that accounts for the sun angle (north) from Oct to March. All this info is so old school, no wonder we are so far behind the times in Straya.And the west orientation in summer is your enemy to be as shaded as possible.You can use all sorts of methods including vegetation. Again, google it.

            • @ForkSnorter: I can see the biggest issue in Brisbane is humidity. Having cross breeze ventilation is important. North facing sun with Eaves is hugely important to get natural light but minimise radiant heat from hitting windows. In winter the low sun can freely enter homes underneath eaves

          • @ihbh: If your designing a house from scratch there are formulas available that includes your latitude to get the best out of your homes verandah/eave design.

          • @ihbh: I've lived in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney

            in Brisbane mid-winter, nothing better than sitting in the clear blue sky, warm morning sun on an Easterly verandah with a cuppa tea - but midday North sun could be too warm

            in Melbourne, I noticed houses with North living areas (the back of most houses) came on the market half as often as South-facing (other side of the same street) and also sold for at least 10% more due to more pleasant comfort.

            in Sydney we have an ideal thermal mass concrete and brick unit with slab floor and ceiling with neighbours above, below and either side, North-facing living, and South bedrooms (for ideal sleep 15C cooler than 20C ideal living room), and our air-con is rarely used, but last winter peak heating day was 8kWh in June, and peak summer cooling day was 12kWh in March.

            Annual average air-con I'd guesstimate as 35-45kWh per month - at 31c/kWh that looks like $11-14 per month in heating/cooling costs.

    • +4

      A north facing house is beautiful in winter. Sitting inside with the sun shining through the windows is a great way to warm up. It also means you don't need to run the heater if you get sunny days. Free nuclear energy for the win.

  • +8

    Quick, low cost:

    Door snakes/sausages
    Only heat the room you're in
    Wool blankets (especially on bed)
    Heat bags

    More cost:

    Blinds and curtains (both) with thermal backing
    Modern glass
    Efficient AC
    New insulation
    Close permanent gaps in floors etc

    • +1

      More cost:
      Blinds and curtains (both) with thermal backing

      If you’re flexible with colours, you can get some pretty decent thermal curtains on sale at spotlight or QuickFit Blinds

  • -2

    Where are you located?

    In Sydney it's been pretty warm. I recently harvested a tomato and I've still got basil growing in the backyard.

    Also the endless rain has an ameliorating effect.

    • +2

      Melbourne, and its semi ok except the last 3 days its been cold in the house and getting the kids to school has been a bit harder lol. They don't want to get out of bed

    • +1

      In Melbourne we have something called sun and clear blue skies. Unfortunately that means cold mornings.

      • It does. Took me ages to make that connection

        Clouds=a thermal blanket=warmer overnights.

        Sunny day=clear night=no protection from the harshness of space=freezing overnights

    • Send location, for research purposes

  • Use door snakes.

    • +1

      Instructions not clear. Is that to whack the kids to get out of bed?

      • No, they bite on the door snake(not a euphemism) during the cattle prod, express arising process.

        • at male boarding school, the wake up call was "wakey wakey - hands off snakey"

  • +3

    Victorians were spoiled for a long time by cheap gas. So the houses are poorly designed and built.
    Fixing it is hard. Insulation and north-facing windows.

    Consider replacing your central gas heating with separate split systems. Start with your main living area. What are you spending now?

    • Gas goes up by about $400-$500 a month, which is stupid.

      • The state government will decommission your gas heater and install split systems. Also Google it.

        • 100% look into this. There's thousands of dollars available to defray the cost particularly if you have central gas heating

    • +9

      In Victoria we couldn't decide whether to build our houses to do well in the heat of summer, or the chill of winter.

      So we went with neither

      • Best reply I've seen for a while- always wondered why houses in VIC are poorly built with such poor insulation!

  • +2

    I just ordered one of these…as someone already said you want to warm the person not the house/room.

    Those heated blankets costs, maybe less than 25c to use for the whole day. Very cheap.

    If you want to warm the whole room or house its gonna cost you more and it wont necessarily be what you want anyway.

    • -2

      Regardless of heated blankets it's not healthy to be in a room with a temperature below 18c.

      • True. Some people tolerate it better than others, but cold air usually means dry air, with dries out the sinuses and makes you more prone to bacteria and virus infections

      • +2

        Why is it not healthy? I havent heard this before

      • +1

        it's not healthy to be in a room with a temperature below 18c.

        What if it's the outdoors and not a room?

        • +1

          What happens if you live in an igloo?

  • Curtains, or if you aren't particular, anything to close off windows.
    If you have double hung windows, they probably rattle a little. and are a major source of draughts. Yuo can even buy strips of foam to cover the gaps.
    Probably not the best deal, but this one comes in at average $4.00 per window
    https://www.bunnings.com.au/syneco-6-x-9mm-x-5m-black-self-a…

  • A colleague mentioned for me to use foam tape to cover the area around the doors to winter-proof it.

    Bad idea, when I tried to remove it, I damaged the door frame and using isopropyl alcohol to remove it was slow and the end result still required a replacement…

    There are also some products that stick to your door, but if you have a wooden one with nice detailing, you'll also end up damaging that; and in my experience it peels off the top layer of the wood if you try to remove it…

    Just some hints on what not to do that could affect the resale price of your house, and if you are renting it could mean the loss of your rental bond…

    • +1

      Need to be more careful. I recommend using a hair dryer to loosen the adhesive if you don't want to damage paint

  • +3

    I run my rcac to heat the house while the sun is out, to about 21-22 during the day, then shut it off when the sun disappears/peak rates kick in.

    Unfortunately, the windows may as well be open because all the heat eventually escapes by late at night.

    We really have the worst windows in the developed world.

    • +2

      DIY storm windows:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59OVXPiqu-I

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPsGTPX3LSI

      They work.

      Did a cheaper/quicker variation of it last winter (we hadn’t seen these videos yet and hadn’t used the right air gap widths etc, hence why it was a variation) and it was a massive difference compared to without them.

      Even just having the timber frame over the top of the aluminium frames while we were confirming the size was a noticeable change in temperature.

      In addition, heavy drapes with a pelmet is also necessary for Australia’s shit windows.

      • +1

        Twinwall Polycarp sheets provide good insulation for windows. Just distorts the view a bit.

        https://www.bunnings.com.au/search/products?page=1&q=twinwal…

        • Yes, this is one of the variants we’ve wanted to try for a room where we don’t want people to see in.

          Have you done this? I’ve seen people say that it’s still worth sealing off the open ends, any views?

          • @jjjaar: Sealing the ends would help, as would sealing it to the timber recess (esp if you have aluminum window frames). If you have gaps you can feel cool air coming out the bottom. You'll need a saw to cut it and the clear ones are actually rather see through.

        • Do they help at all with noise reduction?

          I'd probably do double glazed windows, but the Mrs wants a bigger house at some point, so not going to upgrade only to sell a few years down the road.

          • +1

            @TEER3X: Not really, they're too lightweight. It might knock out some high frequency noise if you seal the edges. Even double glazing is not that effective unless you go for 8mm+ thickness glass.

      • This is a really good comment.

    • +1

      We really have the worst windows in the developed world.

      This buffoonery is an Australian build/construction problem. Our construction industry is woeful, poor build standard adherence, lack of enforcement and teeth for gross negligence etc. I could go on about the systemic issues built into this industry - but its all about greed and woeful regulation.

      Also, there are a lot of knuckle dragger neanderthals still perpetuating the BS around "insulation is only for extremely cold weather - Australia doesn't need it!".

      I feel colder indoors in Sydney at 14 degrees than I did when traveling around Germany/UK/Canada/Korea in winter.

  • +1

    I run a small centrally located split system 24/7.The house is always warm and by leaving it running it doesn't have to work hard to heat the house up. I did a lot of work draught sealing the house and adding extra insulation. This isn't a good option if you have a leaky, poorly insulated house.

  • +5

    Install a few panel heaters in the house and always keep them on when its cold (possibly timers with Home Assistant)

    Don’t do panel heaters, go for RCAC / splits. They’re much more energy efficient.

    • This!

  • I'm going through this atm. Older house, double brick. Insulation in the roof is spotty. Wood floors with no under insulation. Lots of big windows, made of thin single pane glass.

    My view is to stick to the bedrooms. Focus on keeping them warm overnight. Keeping the rest of the house warm throughout the day is going to consume 10-20x the power.

    I just moved my bed to the study. I replaced the insulation in the ceiling above it, installed a mini split system with a COP of 5, put plastic wrap over the windows (ala dexter) until I can replaced them, and moved the strike plate of the door so that it seals better.

    Keeping it heated to 18c overnight costs less than 30c worth of power. Even last night when it got down below freezing.
    This time last year I was sleeping under a desk with a blanket thrown over it, because that room was 8c last night. Not great for your sinus's

    • -1

      Heating the bedroms is interesting.
      I was raised in Melbourne in a bungalow with louvre windows, and three blanket nights.
      I still can't sleep with any heating, but like heated bathrooms.
      The rest of the house has the same problem as everyone else
      The simplest solution is to bring back normal electricity and gas prices

      • Electricity is cheaper now than it was 10 years ago. Gas for Victoria is over, we used it all.

        • +1

          Who is your Reseller? my electricity is up four times.
          And we didn't use all the gas at least in Victoria, we banned exploration.

          • @Clickbait: It's not up 4x that's absolute BS. Considering it's 20c/kWh today that would require it to have been 3.75c/kWh in 2014 taking into account inflation. I was paying around 20-25c/kWh back then.

            Exploration has been permitted since 2021. It's all gone.

          • +8

            @Clickbait: Actually, we still have plenty of gas.

            The reason it's expensive now is that John Howard paved the way for it to be sold overseas. Now Asia gets cheap gas, while we get diddly

            • -1

              @outlander: Victoria's gas came from the Bass Strait. It has run out.

              It's not viable to transport gas from areas of Australia where it's still in abundance to Victoria in the volume we used to use. Our only option is to electrify our homes so that businesses and industry who rely on Natural Gas have adequate supply via existing pipelines.

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