Roofs
The main roof was replaced in March 2005 and insulated with Tri-Iso Super 9 insulation (equivalent to 200mm thick mineral wool).
The ground floor extension flat roof was replaced in 2007 with 3 layer Ht felt plus an additional insulation layer comprising a vapour barrier and 100mm insulation slab over the existing deck. This was to reduce heat loss through the kitchen ceiling.

Walls
Cavity wall insulation of the kitchen extension (2005) has made the room less prone to heat loss. 

Solid walls

The solid brick construction of the house is a major issue for heat loss. Infrared thermometer measurements, revealed some problem areas. Also, the bathroom, felt noticeably chilly once insulation improvements elsewhere meant that the central heating boiler did not need to work so hard to keep the living room warm.

(Even with the radiator full on, the temperature remained about 3°C below that of the living room. An experiment with foil insulation of the walls looked pretty weird but raised the temperature a couple of degrees. After a few weeks, condensation began to develop behind the foil so we removed it to avoid mould problems, but at least we had established that it was worth investigating a more permanent solution.)

Improvements:

• Curtains - room width, floor length curtains and thermal linings provide wall insulation (day and night) and additional window insulation by night.

• A particularly cold area below the living room bay window has been improved by the addition of 100mm foam insulation board.

• Spacetherm aerogel insulation (30mm) fixed to the inside of the external wall in the north facing bedroom and bathroom and to the landing wall during the summer of 2010 should reduce heat loss.

Windows
Double glazed wooden sash windows were installed by Original Box Sash in the mid 1990s. They are of high quality and specification for that time and are well fitted with draught proof brushes. If we were replacing windows now, we would specify triple glazing and low emissivity glass.

Although there are problems with using infrared to measure temperatures of glass, it is clear that windows are a significant area of heat loss. We have tackled this as best we can:

• Thermal blinds (Luxaflex Silhouette ) installed at all windows (apart from the kitchen extension) have made a big difference. They are like venetian blinds but have a fabric layer on either side so air is trapped between and heat loss reduced. It used to feel chilly to sit near the north facing bay window but this is no longer a problem.  (image below)

• Venetion blinds in the kitchen - keep the room warmer when closed at night.

• Curtains – wider and with thermal linings keep the heat in at night when drawn.


• A single glazed panel over front door replaced with a double glazed panel (a problem area revealed by the infrared thermometer).
  

External doors

The infra-red thermometer and thermal camera indicated that doors, particularly the wooden front door, were a source of heat loss. We are still working on improvements:

• Draught excluder strip around the wooden frame of front door
  


• For the winter of 2008-09, we experimented by adding foil backed insulation to the inside of the front and rear doors. It isn't an elegant solution but the difference in surface temperature with and without the insulation is dramatic - around 2°C in the case of the wooden front door.
  


• Areas below and around the door were still noticeably colder (measured with infra-red thermometer) so we have used caulk filling around and under the front door frame in attempt to reduce this. 
  

Insulation