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The Hearth Record
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371 guides across 20 house files. Each one opens with an energy record: the file and stage, the question it answers, the evidence level and the first check. Page 4 of 10, guides 124 to 164.

File 01 - Home energy performance foundations Fabric First, Explained What fabric first means, why reducing heat loss usually comes before replacing heating plant, and where the principle reaches its limits. File 04 - Reading your energy rating Fabric Scores vs Systems Scores How to separate fabric performance from heating system performance on a rating, and why that separation matters for choosing work. File 17 - Costs, payback and finance Finance and Credit, in General How credit for home energy work generally works: applications, checks, terms and the borrower's protections. Educational guidance only, not financial advice. File 17 - Costs, payback and finance Finance and EPC Improvement How finance decisions interact with EPC improvement: sequencing, evidence and the limits of chasing a band. Educational guidance only, not financial advice. File 17 - Costs, payback and finance Finance and Tax: A General Overview How tax generally interacts with financing and paying for home energy work, without advice for any individual. Educational guidance only, not tax advice. File 17 - Costs, payback and finance Finance Application Documents The documents usually needed for a retrofit finance application, and how to prepare them without delay. Educational guidance only, not financial advice. File 17 - Costs, payback and finance Finance Documents to Keep The finance and grant paperwork worth keeping for a retrofit, and how to organise it so it survives a sale or a dispute. Educational guidance only, not legal advice. File 17 - Costs, payback and finance Finance for Landlords, in General How landlords generally finance energy improvements: portfolio logic, letting constraints and evidence needs. Educational guidance only, not financial advice. File 17 - Costs, payback and finance Finance Options: A General Overview The main ways home energy work is paid for, from savings and loans to green finance products, described generally without recommendation. Educational guidance only, not financial advice. File 16 - Installers and professionals Finding a Qualified Installer Practical steps for finding an installer whose accreditation, experience and references fit your measure and your home construction. Educational guidance only, not a recommendation of any firm. File 18 - Energy performance by home type Flats and Apartments and Energy Energy patterns in flats and apartments: shared fabric, communal systems, and the limits of what one household can change. Educational guidance only, not advice for a specific home. File 05 - Insulation and fabric first Floor Insulation How floor insulation differs for suspended timber, solid concrete and flat floors, and why ventilation and moisture checks matter as much as insulation itself. File 16 - Installers and professionals Getting Comparable Quotes How to set up quote comparisons so prices describe the same work, the same materials and the same handover. Educational guidance only, not advice for a specific home. File 17 - Costs, payback and finance Grants and Support: A General Overview How grant and support schemes for home energy work generally operate, and why eligibility and timing must be checked live. Educational guidance only, not eligibility advice. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Ground Source Heat Pumps How ground source heat pumps use buried loops or boreholes, why ground works cost and disruption differ from air source, and what a site survey should settle. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heat Pump Basics: Air Source How an air source heat pump gathers heat from outdoor air, what affects its performance in cold weather, and what to check about siting and noise. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heat Pump Controls How heat pump controls differ from boiler controls: weather compensation, room influence, timers and hot water settings, explained in plain terms. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heat Pump Sizing, Explained How heat pump size is calculated from heat loss, why bigger is not better, and what oversizing and undersizing each cost. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heat Pump Suitability Checks The checks that decide whether a heat pump suits a particular home: heat loss, emitters, hot water demand, electricity supply and space. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heat Pump Tariffs, in General How electricity tariffs affect heat pump running costs: time-of-use, heat pump tariffs, standing charges and why tariff choice is part of system design. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heat Pumps and Smart Controls What smart controls add to a heat pump: remote access, learning, tariff following, zoning and the risks of over-automation. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heat Pumps in Cold Climates How heat pumps perform in sustained cold, snow and frost, and what design choices matter most where winters are long and harsh. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heating and Heat Pumps, Explained A plain starting map for home heating and heat pumps: how heat is made, moved and controlled, and which questions to settle before choosing any system. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heating Controls and Zoning What zoning means in a home heating system, how room-by-room control saves wasted heat, and where smart controls help or overcomplicate. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 01 - Home energy performance foundations Heating Degree Days, Explained What heating degree days measure, how professionals use them to compare heating periods fairly, and how a householder can use the idea without doing the calculation. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heating Maintenance for Efficiency The routine maintenance that keeps heating efficient: servicing, bleeding, balancing, filters, pressure and controls checks, season by season. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 20 - Checks, mistakes and maintenance Heating Mistakes The specific mistakes that spoil heating jobs: oversizing, poor distribution, ignored controls and skipped commissioning. Educational guidance only, not advice for a specific home. File 20 - Checks, mistakes and maintenance Heating System Annual Service What a heating system annual service covers, why it matters for efficiency and safety, and what to ask the engineer. Educational guidance only, not a service manual. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Heating System Balancing What balancing means, why radiators heat unevenly without it, and how flow rates, lockshield valves and commissioning restore even warmth. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 03 - Home energy audits Home Energy Audits, Explained What a home energy audit is, how it differs from a certificate visit, what it covers, and what a good audit report should give you. File 01 - Home energy performance foundations Home Energy Performance, Explained What home energy performance means, how it is described and checked, and why one score never tells a whole home's story. File 01 - Home energy performance foundations Home Energy Use by Room How heating, hot water, lighting and appliance energy split across rooms in general terms, and how room patterns help target comfort and efficiency work. File 18 - Energy performance by home type Homes With Attached Garages Energy patterns in homes with attached garages: shared walls, unheated buffers, and rooms above or beside the garage. Educational guidance only, not advice for a specific home. File 18 - Energy performance by home type Homes With Basements Energy patterns in homes with basements: below-ground heat loss, damp risk, and heating a level that behaves differently. Educational guidance only, not advice for a specific home. File 18 - Energy performance by home type Homes With Conservatories and Energy Energy patterns in homes with conservatories: glazed rooms that lose heat in winter and overheat in summer. Educational guidance only, not advice for a specific home. File 18 - Energy performance by home type Homes With Extensions Energy patterns in homes with extensions: mixed construction, junction losses, and heating a home that grew in stages. Educational guidance only, not advice for a specific home. File 18 - Energy performance by home type Homes With Loft Rooms Energy patterns in homes with loft rooms: sloping ceilings, roof insulation, and rooms that overheat and cool quickly. Educational guidance only, not advice for a specific home. File 06 - Heating and heat pumps Hot Water Systems and Efficiency How hot water systems differ: combi, stored cylinder, immersion and solar-assisted, and where heat is lost between source and tap. Educational only, not advice for a particular home. File 04 - Reading your energy rating How a Rating Changes After Work What happens to a rating when work is completed, why a new assessment is needed, and what changes, and does not change, in the new document. File 01 - Home energy performance foundations How Homes Lose Heat Where heat actually escapes from a typical home, how each route behaves in cold and windy weather, and why the biggest loss is not always the obvious one. File 11 - Building energy modelling How to Read a Model Report How to read a building energy model report section by section, what to look for, and what to question before acting on it.