I thought I’d set out what I’ve got in my new home as I consider how I could decarbonise it – project phase two, if you will.
It’s a two-bedroom flat in a modern block, in a large development built between late 1990s – early 2000s. The home report says mine was completed in 2000. Back then, they were still building with masonry cavity walls, with cavity insulation added later (so the home report assumes). Mine’s a mid-floor flat and benefits from flats above and below keeping it warm. It’s also fully double glazed (although the windows are all original, from the late 1990s). All windows face northeast, so only get the sun in the morning in summer, with very little solar gain to benefit from for the rest of the year.
The combi boiler is only four years old and has received a clean bill of health. The radiators are all original though, all single panel/single convector with a TRV. They are probably more than adequate with a 30kW boiler sending 70°C into them but possibly not when the flow temperature is reduced. I’ll find out. The property has been given an energy efficiency rating of B. The EPC suggests that upgrading glazing panels would improve energy efficiency, but not significantly.
So this is the starting point – not bad in terms of fabric, but with no outside space, a heat pump is not a viable option. There are other electric heating options I can look into (cost permitting), which I’ll set out in a separate post, but in the meantime I’ve made two changes that are repeat of my phase-1 project in Dundee:
- Replacing the old and frankly unsafe gas hob with an induction hob.
- Reducing the flow temperature on the gas boiler (a.k.a. ‘heat pump challenge’).