Stay warm with a new energy efficient Beechcroft home

A high proportion of those ‘switching off’ are the retired – Age UK has already been flooded with stories from people who are struggling with the cost of living and are cutting back on heating and other essentials.

Being cold, however, can have a hugely detrimental effect on your health and well-being. With a new Beechcroft house or apartment, your home will be toasty warm – and you can be confident that it is highly energy efficient.

All Beechcroft’s new homes are designed to be as energy efficient as possible and to retain heat.

The improved fabric of our homes and the heating systems make a huge difference. The following is a summary of the features that keep Beechcroft homes warm – even if your heating is kept to a minimum.

• Underfloor heating is far more efficient than conventional radiators, retaining heat for longer periods and maintaining a consistent temperature.
• Beechcroft’s whole house ventilation systems reduce heat loss, among other improvements. Read on for more information.
• Double glazing improves the ability of the windows to retain heat. Modern windows feature a layer of inert gas which, unlike glass, is a good insulator of heat. This means that less heat can escape the home, helping to maintain a more comfortable temperature – as well as keeping noise out.
• High levels of insulation are a key factor in keeping heat in. Roofs and walls are insulated so there is a significantly reduced pathway for cold to pass into the house or heat to escape.
• Materials and the latest building techniques ensure that heat is retained.
• Our new build homes are more airtight than their older counterparts – so there are no cold draughts lowering the temperature inside the home.

As anyone who has underfloor heating knows, it’s a pleasure to step out of bed onto a warm floor – but underfloor heating brings so many benefits in terms of energy-efficiency.

• Underfloor heating means no cold spots or draughts in a room. With underfloor heating, warm water is pumped through the pipework, gently warming the floor and, working from the floor upwards, it gives consistent temperatures around the whole room.
• Underfloor heating is at least 25% more energy efficient than conventional radiators and will heat your rooms without the need for any additional heating. Conventional radiators tend to run at a water temperature of 65-75 degrees Celsius whereas underfloor heating systems only need to be heated to around 29 degrees Celsius. The lower the flow temperature, the less energy is required to heat the water.
• There are no cold spots which are common with radiators – and often cause people to turn up the heating resulting in higher bills. Underfloor heating covers a large surface area and is far more efficient than radiator systems, using lower water temperatures. If the system is paired with a heat pump, it is as much as 40% more efficient than radiators.
• Underfloor heating is controlled by thermostats and the system is split into ‘zones’ making it more controllable than radiators.
• Underfloor heating retains heat for longer periods.
• Underfloor heating operates at low temperatures ensuring the home doesn’t become cold – for an efficient system and quick response times, set your underfloor heating to 16 degrees Centigrade in ‘off’ periods.
• Of course, in addition to the luxurious feel of underfloor heating, this heating system gives you interior design ‘freedom’ – you no longer have to take radiator position into account when you are planning the layout of your room. Buried beneath the floor, underfloor heating is almost invisible.
• Underfloor heating means an end to exposed hot surfaces and sharp corners – which makes it safer within the home.

The answer to this question is a resounding ‘yes.’ 

The Whole House Ventilation System is energy efficient, minimising heat loss as well as removing pollutants and making air within the house cleaner. Beechcroft’s Whole House Ventilation system has a heat exchanger within the ventilation system which warms incoming fresh air using the heat from the air that has been extracted from the kitchens and bathrooms.

The benefits of Whole House Ventilation include:

• Reduced heating demand leading to savings of between 25% and 50%.
• The systems runs continuously, automatically adjusting the airflow to compensate for raised moisture levels in the air.
• Low power consumption and, because better airflow distributes heat inside the home more effectively, reduced energy consumption.

There is no doubt that we have an increased risk for cold-related health effects as we age.

• Our metabolic rate decreases which means we struggle to regulate our body temperature particularly when the weather gets colder and, as mentioned above, a slow metabolism can lead to weight gain.
• Medicine and some prescription drugs have the effect of decreasing body temperature – for example, beta blockers can lower the heart rate which, in turn, reduced the blood pressure in the body especially the circulation to hands and feet.
• As we age, the layer of fat under the skin thins and organ systems are likely to become more stressed given a drop in temperature.
• The thyroid, which regulates body temperature, tends to function less well with age, making older people more sensitive to cold weather.

• Cold conditions can have a negative effect on arthritis and joint pain.
• When exposed to lower temperatures our metabolism slows down and affects our digestion.
• Poor circulation and increased blood pressure can be caused by cold conditions. When temperatures are low, the body’s natural defence systems kick in and blood vessels in the skin narrow to avoid heat loss. This causes a natural increase in blood pressure – and the effect may be lasting with blood pressure remaining elevated for the whole of the cold system.
• Cold can make respiratory diseases like asthma worse.
• The winter blues are a common response to cold conditions – particularly if the cold is making us feel much less healthy.