Our cottage is a good example. It would have been impossible to install hot-water radiators throughout, unless one didn't mind seeing the bare-bones copper piping running all over the walls; which I wasn't.
So, we needed to look at how people coped 300 years ago when the house was built, then adapt to today's kit.
The fire in the sitting room speaks for itself, but we have changed from an open spark-spitting fire to an enclosed wood-burner (Gilbert) simply for safety reasons, although I must say I did prefer the way it used to be. I usually light Gilbert at about 4.30 pm.
In the kitchen we have 'George'; our wood-fired cooker. He often stays alight through the night, and I simply have to throw another log on when I get up (as I did yesterday morning). When lit, we use the oven as much as possible. George is very efficient, he produces a lot of heat for comparatively little wood.
I rise quite early each morning, usually at 5.30 am, and in winter I simply light a small oil-filled heater to bring the temperature quickly up to 'acceptable'. It's quick, convenient, and efficient; if not particularly attractive. The above is brand new.
Then upstairs we heat with electricity. A couple of oil-filled electric heaters are connected to simple plug-in timers, and turn on and off as desired, automatically; we also have a wonderful new electric blanket on the bed which is pure luxury.
We've already had a couple of nights of -2 C; still not really cold, but enough to light George. February is usually our coldest month, and heating will be at full blast for about a month. As long as we have enough wood, and there are no serious power cuts, we should be OK.
I have a range of heaters too for my old house. It holds the heating well once warm except in cold winds when they seem to get in everywhere. I don't bother with heat upstairs except an oil-filled radiator when exceptionally cold but I haven't had that on for a couple of years. But I do love my electric blanket.
ReplyDeleteMine is claylump house, not stone.
DeleteSounds like we face similar 'problems'. It's a big mistake to allow old houses to lose whatever heat they store in their walls. I don't dislike being cool indoors. My son's house (the barn) is always like an oven. I put masses of insulation in the walls, and he has a wood-burning cooker similar to ours, it becomes far too hot. Our new electric blanket is wonderful, it has controls for each half, so Lady M can be sweltering, whilst I'm just warm!
DeleteGeorge looks very like the Bosky woodburning stove I used to have in North Wales.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing used to keep stone houses warm was wall hangings...like carpets on walls!!
Our is made by deVille. It's not the fanciest make of stove, but it does the job. Yes, some lovely old tapestries would be wonderful.
DeleteOr new ones?!
DeleteOur house doesn't hold heat well either, no cavity walls or insulation although we do have radiators. Like Rachel's house, the wind gets through the walls. I don't heat the upstairs bedrooms at all, I like to sleep with the window open and fresh air so any heat would all go out, but I too do love my electric blanket. Once under the duvet it doesn't matter how cold the room is!
ReplyDeleteAgain, we sound very similar. I don't like hot bedrooms, for most of the year I too have open windows. I'm sure one sleeps so much better; I know my wife does (although I'm a terrible insomniac).
DeleteI have a similar problem in terms of construction. The main part of my house is poured concrete dating from about 1927. The rest of it is more modern. It's still not an efficient place to heat. However it does have a full oil-fired water-filled radiator system. I choose not to live in the cold so heating is by far my greatest household expense.
ReplyDeletePS I do NOT like hot bedrooms though.
DeleteHot bedrooms seem to be a common dislike. I suppose you could always glue insulated panels onto the interior walls of the concrete part of the house, but it's such an upheaval; and one loses about a foot of internal space. Probably best as you are.
DeleteHere only air conditioner, the house is not always warm, but the temperatures are not very low here.
ReplyDeleteI quite like our temperate climate, except when it's very cold. Distinct seasons are very much part of our lives in everything we do.
DeleteHalf of our house is made of breeze blocks with no insulation but the modern part fortunately is overloaded with insulation. Our enclosed wood burner now heats the whole area.
ReplyDeleteHowever...we have an open fire place in the old part which we used in the beginning
Good for cooking not so much for heating. Plus we have central heating, not used at all for the last 6 years because of the cost of heating oil and Aircon, which heats as well, in every room , and a de-hunidifier which keeps the damp out of the old part.
An overload...of course.
We're kept warm by the 'Gilbert'....and it has a cooker too.
Your home makes 'push button central heating' sound very dull. It's good to have variety.
DeleteIt sounds as though our house construction is similar to Graham's, dating from the same period.
ReplyDeleteWe do have gas-fired cental heating with radiators in each room but we also have an open fire with a back boiler. When we light the fire in the afternoons we can usually switch off the gas boiler as the heat from the open fire is drawn up to heat the water in the tank. With plenty of free wood that we collect locally, it saves us a few pennies.
I used to have an Aga which just heated hot water (no radiators). It was a big house and the rest was heated by fire places in each room. Not very efficient.
DeleteI do like the quirky Gilbert & George. Ordinarily, you wouldn't see them separated like this.
ReplyDeleteEvery home needs a Gilbert & George!
DeleteBeing warm is essential especially as we get older. Our house is FREEZING !!!!! All of the heat goes out of the sash windows, under the doors and up all of the chimneys !!!! We have fireplaces in every room including the bedrooms. Our gas bill is huge !!!! Old houses react badly to double glazing etc and I don’t like the look of it either so we stay as an original Victorian house and pay our heating bill !!!!! You seem to have your heating sussed ! XXXX
ReplyDeleteIt's a small house, so not that difficult to heat. My only gripe is that I have to cut wood every day, but I don't mind too much. I'm just off with the chainsaw any minute!
DeleteKeeping warm keeps you busy. That is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteIt has been over the past few weeks; today we've been in T-Shirts, and all doors open. Return to cold next week.
DeleteI miss our old log burner. And the thick stone walls, the draughty windows and creaky stairs.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how one misses all those things we normally swear about.
DeleteI have succumbed this year to an electric blanket for the first time Cro - and as you say - pure luxury.
ReplyDeleteThey really are. As soon as our old one started to issue-forth smoke, we went straight out and bought another!
DeleteYour oil fired heater reminds me of our old kerosene heaters that could be very smelly at light up or turn off times.
ReplyDeleteOurs gives off some 'smoke' when turned off. Not pleasant smell, but the instant heat makes-up for it.
DeleteWe’ve just moved into an old house... built in 1605. Had a wood burner fitted a couple of months ago and starting to get used to it. Mrs wants some central heating installed as there’s nothing else. I’m against it so I reckon electric blankets beckon haha
ReplyDeleteMy only advice re wood burners is to fill it with really dry wood, throw on a good glass-full of White spirit, and light it HOT. That way it'll really heat up quickly. I've know people light little fires with newspaper etc, and they never get really hot. You need a real blaze and the whole interior stuffed with wood.
DeleteI have a couple of micathermic heaters that are light and easy to move around, and don't seem to be too much of a fire risk which I like.
ReplyDelete