House Losing Heat Fast -

One of the areas i've noticed as a spot where there's often a notable draft is on the landing by the large landing window. I notice it when on my face when im sort of half way up the stairs.

Probably clearer to explain in this video, - Landing draft

The way that fabric on the stairs appears to blowing about, that's gotta be from a draft somewhere right?
 
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Cold air runs down a window like a waterfall.
 
That is close enough to the skirting that is could be coming in through the space around the joist ends? But a long window with a large temperature difference could do that too.
Usually triple glazing is not economic, but it may help more with a large, long window, they only just get below a u value of 1, and new build walls are expected to get below 0.2, so a lot more heat lost through windows than walls.
We had an extension where the builder cheaped out on the insulation, we had wall sockets that were noticably cold and drafty, it took several large cans of expanding foam for him to fix that. about 48 litres short of the correct volume of foam in many of the drops between the joists (Timber walls), and a nominal 16" between them.
I put a thermocouple behind the back-box, many of those were almost at external temps!
 
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That is close enough to the skirting that is could be coming in through the space around the joist ends? But a long window with a large temperature difference could do that too.
Usually triple glazing is not economic, but it may help more with a large, long window, they only just get below a u value of 1, and new build walls are expected to get below 0.2, so a lot more heat lost through windows than walls.
We had an extension where the builder cheaped out on the insulation, we had wall sockets that were noticably cold and drafty, it took several large cans of expanding foam for him to fix that. about 48 litres short of the correct volume of foam in many of the drops between the joists (Timber walls), and a nominal 16" between them.
I put a thermocouple behind the back-box, many of those were almost at external temps!

Glad you got it sorted. For the sockets could you feel a draft coming out of the actual plug socket? Or do I need to remove the fascia to see if it’s a problem? They do all feel cold to touch, though they are brass.
 
If Bulb is your supplier, then I'm guessing you'll be moving to Octopus? If so, Octopus lend out thermal cameras to their customers on request.
 
Glad you got it sorted. For the sockets could you feel a draft coming out of the actual plug socket? Or do I need to remove the fascia to see if it’s a problem? They do all feel cold to touch, though they are brass.
There was an actual draft as well as feeling much colder than some others, which led me to tape a thermocouple to the back of the backbox on every external wall socket in the extension, that was when I noticed several were at half the temperature of the others, a better way to check than the faceplate temperature itself.
 
There was an actual draft as well as feeling much colder than some others, which led me to tape a thermocouple to the back of the backbox on every external wall socket in the extension, that was when I noticed several were at half the temperature of the others, a better way to check than the faceplate temperature itself.

thanks, its something i'll investigate this week. Sounds an easy job to sort.
 
If you mean an FLIR (infra red) camera, yes,. they are very handy for checking if there are gaps in insulation or missing pieces. I've read that they can sometimes be handy for finding leaks, who knows? On the last new build I did we had a surveyor out who went round with one and identified areas where the insulation was sub-par, allowing us to take remedial action before the air test (perhaps this is what you meant by a "draft test"?). It is possible to buy FLIR add-on modules for many smart phones at £200 and upwards (TBH something I am seriously considering) - they have a narrow field of view and relatively low resolution agsinst a proper FLIR camera, but still seem good enough to find defects in insulation. Sadly, a lot of newer buildings have poorly installed insulation - this is partly because on many builds insulation gets installed in a haphazard and poorly controlled manner with little care taken to ensure the required tight fits and little ot no supervision.

In an air test the doors and windows are all closed and a large fan mounted in a baffle plate is installed in the front door opening and the edges sealed. The fan is switched on and generates negative pressure in the building. You then go round finding air leaks using a non-toxic smoke spray (@JohnD's suggestion of joss sticks works just as well) - and wherever possible sealing the leaks with expanding foam and/or silicone. You can get a domestic air test done, but it won't really help you locate defects in insulation.
FYI Just bought the Pro IOS (£480 version) hopefully reveals some atrocities in the insulation / weakspots.

Also have an air test booked for this Friday. Also hoping this will reveal some of the more leakier parts of the property with regards to air flow. Even if they dont find anything obvious atleast I can strike it off my investigative work :D
 
Also have an air test booked for this Friday. Also hoping this will reveal some of the more leakier parts of the property with regards to air flow. Even if they dont find anything obvious atleast I can strike it off my investigative work :D
Make sure you have a foam gun/foam cannister and some silicone in a gun when they come. You may get the chance to stop the worst air leaks whilst they are there
 
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