Thermal Performance:
Several factors will influence the ability of your house to retain heat and these fall into the following broad categories.
The Site:
- The location (geographically, macro-climate, prevailing winds)
- The exposure (solar profile, micro-climate, screening effects, overshadowing)
- The elevation (height above sea level)
The History:
- The age of the building (weathering, condition, settlement, repair)
- The time it was built (the then-current building practices and regulations)
The Design
- Shape of the house, number of stories, projecting bays or dormers, colour and materials
- The orientation (position on site, rotation, available sunlight, positions of windows)
- The sealing of the envelope (water and wind penetration and pressure changes)
- The design (size and location of windows, ratio of vs wall, avilable thermal masses and airlocks, quality of components - windows doors, etc)
- The component design (compatibility of materials, rates of expansion, thermal transmittance, installation, sealing and making good)
The Technology
- Heating (Older Tech - Space Heating - Central Heat Source with Chimney + central heating + unsealed building)
- Heating (Newer Tech - Fabric Heating/Distributed Heating with no Chimney + Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Reclamation + highly sealed building)
- Fossil Fuel Sources of Energy (not affected by season or climate
- Sustainable Sources of Energy (affected by seasonal and climatic variations)
- Integral Insulation (part of the design - either integral to the construction method or incorporated during site-work)
- Retro-Fit Insulation (installed after completion in the presence of unknowns)
All of that may look complex, but its just a brief overview of the facts that can affect your house feeling warm.
Now on to some specifics.
- A house in an exposed site may benefit as much from sealing the construction as insulation.
- Older houses in particular can have huge infiltration loses through ill-fitting windows and doors.
- Houses with a open fireplace, no porch and direct rear access suffer hugh air-chage rates.
- A house with large, north-facing windows may not benefit as much from insulating walls.
- Its colder this week where I live with a significant amount of wind earlier in the week.
- Beads can be a hit and miss affair unless the operator is skilled and leaves no "gaps".
- Beads are in-cavity as opposed to warmboard (in-room) and will warm up slower.
- Cavity beads might be on your list after attic insulation and improved windows.
Before you did anything to your house you should have sought advice from a building energy rating specialist.
They will assess your premises, evaluate the several factors (many of which I have noted above) and suggest improvements.
They can confirm which are the most effective, the most cost-effective, and the easiest options to install.
They will tell you your houses existing thermal performance as well as the theoretical improvements you can expect, depending on workmanship and sealing.
The gist of this is that people who rely solely on salesmen selling them a single product are not getting an overall picture of their house.
An older house with a large north facing picture window,, no porch, and open fireplace and direct rear access [not through a utility room, for example] may not notice much of adifference after installing cavity beads.
ONQ.
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All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.