S
Sg1973
Hi all
Looking for some advice if possible. Whilst it's too late to tell me not to buy a new house - not something I'm likely to ever do again in a hurry - I suspect the builder has gone for cheap, or low cost kit. The house has EPC B, concrete floors downstairs (supposedly insulated underneath), cavity wall insulation, brick construction, double glazing (upvc). It's a 4 bed detached with a conventional boiler and hot water cylinder and separate thermostats and timers for upstairs and downstairs.
Potterton promax 12 and pretty small radiators have been installed. The front lounge, 5x3x2.46m, has a 1.7x1.4m window and two external walls. The radiator is 800x600mm single, so about 2800BTU. The thermostat in the hallway struggles to get above 19 (and stays below 18 unless the heating has been on for hours) and the lounge reached 21 degrees after the heating had been on for over 6 hours. When I was in the lounge with my daughter yesterday, the heating had only been on for an hour and we had to sit by the radiator to feel any warmth. Same story in the master bedroom.
The boiler thermostat is set to max as are all the radiators (thermostatic valves), so I'm worried that there's no capacity to heat the house to a sensible temperature without having it on all the time, which seems to defeat the object of an efficient home.
They claim they used a specialist heating company but of course they might have been given a brief to save as much money as possible. It's unfortunate but it's a detail I wouldn't have expected to need to go into prior to completion. From what I've read, it's usual to be over cautious when installing a system. Right now, the house feels cool within the first 2-3 hours of the heating being on.
So, are there any requirements or minimum standards to be followed? Is there any company I could use to mount a challenge to the builder? Or am I screwed?
Clearly, installing larger radiators might take the boiler beyond its limit so it's not a cheap proposition to change things myself.
Thanks in advance.
Sean
Looking for some advice if possible. Whilst it's too late to tell me not to buy a new house - not something I'm likely to ever do again in a hurry - I suspect the builder has gone for cheap, or low cost kit. The house has EPC B, concrete floors downstairs (supposedly insulated underneath), cavity wall insulation, brick construction, double glazing (upvc). It's a 4 bed detached with a conventional boiler and hot water cylinder and separate thermostats and timers for upstairs and downstairs.
Potterton promax 12 and pretty small radiators have been installed. The front lounge, 5x3x2.46m, has a 1.7x1.4m window and two external walls. The radiator is 800x600mm single, so about 2800BTU. The thermostat in the hallway struggles to get above 19 (and stays below 18 unless the heating has been on for hours) and the lounge reached 21 degrees after the heating had been on for over 6 hours. When I was in the lounge with my daughter yesterday, the heating had only been on for an hour and we had to sit by the radiator to feel any warmth. Same story in the master bedroom.
The boiler thermostat is set to max as are all the radiators (thermostatic valves), so I'm worried that there's no capacity to heat the house to a sensible temperature without having it on all the time, which seems to defeat the object of an efficient home.
They claim they used a specialist heating company but of course they might have been given a brief to save as much money as possible. It's unfortunate but it's a detail I wouldn't have expected to need to go into prior to completion. From what I've read, it's usual to be over cautious when installing a system. Right now, the house feels cool within the first 2-3 hours of the heating being on.
So, are there any requirements or minimum standards to be followed? Is there any company I could use to mount a challenge to the builder? Or am I screwed?
Clearly, installing larger radiators might take the boiler beyond its limit so it's not a cheap proposition to change things myself.
Thanks in advance.
Sean
