Should I leave the heating on low all day?
The honest answer to the most argued-about heating question, and the two situations where the usual advice is wrong.
beginner15 min3 min read
Heating & Energy
Staying warm without heating the street.
130 guides in Home & DIY
How do I find draughts in a room?
Three ways to find air movement you cannot feel, working room by room, and which draughts to leave alone.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I check a gas engineer is really Gas Safe registered?
The two-minute check on the register itself, what the back of the card tells you that the front does not, and what to do if it does not add up.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I insulate a loft?
The most cost-effective insulation job in most houses — what depth to aim for, where not to insulate, and how to do it without wrecking the ceiling.
intermediate5 hr2 min readWhat type of water system do I have — combi, cylinder or unvented?
The three UK domestic water systems, the five-minute check that tells you which one is in your house, and why almost every other plumbing answer depends on knowing.
beginner15 min5 min readWhy does my house feel cold even with the heating on?
Radiator balance, draughts, humidity and cold surfaces — the reasons a warm thermostat reading still feels cold.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I reduce my heating costs?
The heating controls, settings and habits that cut costs without making a house cold.
beginner2 hr2 min readHow do I know when a boiler needs replacing?
Age, repair cost and repeated faults — and the safety signs that mean stop using it immediately.
beginner25 min2 min readShould I get a heat pump?
What actually determines whether a heat pump suits a house, why insulation and radiator size decide it, and the questions to ask an installer.
beginner30 min4 min readWhich rooms should I heat and which can I let go cold?
How to heat selectively without creating damp, which rooms genuinely can be left, and the floor you should not go below.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy does my boiler lose pressure?
Bleeding, a leak or a failed expansion vessel — how fast it drops tells you which.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I block a draught from an unused chimney?
The volume of air an open chimney moves, the removable options, and why sealing it completely is the wrong answer.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I improve my home's insulation?
Insulation measures ranked by payback — what to do first, what to do later, and what is rarely worth it.
intermediate4 hr2 min readShould I insulate my cavity walls?
How to tell whether you have a cavity, the exposure and condition checks that decide suitability, and what goes wrong when it is done in the wrong house.
beginner25 min3 min readDo thermal curtains and blinds actually work?
What the lining actually does, why fitting matters more than the fabric, and how they compare with the alternatives.
beginner15 min3 min readHow do I board a loft without squashing the insulation?
Boarding straight onto the joists crushes the insulation and creates a cold bridge across the whole boarded area. Raising the boards keeps the insulation working.
intermediate4 hr2 min readHow do I use an electric heater safely?
The clearances, the plug rules and the overnight rule that between them account for almost every portable heater fire — plus the specific hazards of each heater type.
beginner15 min7 min readHow do I use less electricity?
Where household electricity actually goes, and the changes that reduce it meaningfully rather than symbolically.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow much does an oven cost to run compared with an air fryer?
The arithmetic done properly, against your own appliance wattages and your own unit rate — including the two things that make the headline comparison misleading.
beginner15 min4 min readWhat approval and paperwork does a new boiler need?
Building regulations apply, planning usually does not, and the three documents you should be holding a week after the installer leaves.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy do I have hot water but no heating?
Working from the controls outwards, so that the free checks are done before an engineer is called and the call is a short one.
beginner30 min4 min readWhy is one radiator cold when the rest of the house is warm?
A decision tree for a single cold radiator, working from the cheapest and most likely cause to the least, so you stop at the right point.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I bleed a radiator?
How to release trapped air from a radiator that's cold at the top, and what to do about the system pressure afterwards.
beginner20 min2 min readAre electric blankets safe, and how much do they cost to run?
The age limit, the six-point check, the folding and storage that cause most failures, and an honest running cost that is far lower than most people assume.
beginner20 min7 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.