Toshiba Carrier

1930s semi

Solid or early-cavity walls, a bay-fronted ground floor and a loft that is nearly always the room worth insulating first; the archetype where the cheapest fix routinely beats the exciting one.

1960s–80s detached

Timber-framed or cavity-walled with hung tile above the ground floor and thermal bridging that quietly runs the annual bill; the archetype where drawings on file are worth more than any assumption.

Modern detached

Cavity-wall construction, generous glazing, a detached plot that opens the archetype up to the sun in three directions; the archetype where cooling starts to earn its place on the plan rather than being an afterthought.

New build

A tight fabric, generous glazing and an MVHR system that is either the archetype's biggest advantage or its most-neglected liability; the archetype where the questions are about air more than heat.

Town house

Three storeys stacked over an integral garage; heat rises through the stairwell; overheating settles on the top floor while the ground floor stays reasonable.

Bungalow

Single storey with the loft immediately overhead; overheating and heat loss both travel through one large surface, which is either the archetype's biggest liability or its cheapest fix.

Victorian terrace

Solid brick walls, sash windows, single-skin extensions round the back and party walls that quietly ration the ways heat can leave; the archetype where insulation strategy determines everything else.

Chalet-dormer

One-and-a-half storeys with living space pushed into the roof; dormer rooms behave more like a loft conversion than a bedroom.

Stone cottage

Thick permeable walls, small deep-reveal windows and a listing sensitivity that constrains every intervention; the archetype where the wrong upgrade causes damage the previous three centuries avoided.

Purpose-built flat

Neighbours on three or four sides borrow and lend heat; single-aspect glazing dictates ventilation strategy; freeholder permission decides which upgrades are on the table.

Bedroom

A small volume with one occupant contributing sensible and latent heat for eight hours; overnight comfort is dictated by ventilation strategy and by whatever radiates through the ceiling from the loft above.

Home office

One occupant plus screens contribute meaningful heat across a working day; ventilation, acoustics and comfort compound rather than trade against each other.

Living room

The largest habitable volume in most homes and rarely on its own thermostat; wall placement is part of the room's composition, so the visual answer matters as much as the acoustic one.

Loft conversion

Thin insulation between rafters, a hot roof above and rooflights that resist proper shading; the hardest room in a UK house to keep within comfort in summer and the easiest to lose heat from in winter.

Conservatory

Glazed walls and roof deliver enormous solar gain by midday and equally enormous heat loss overnight; the physics rules out year-round comfort in most UK conservatories without a structural intervention.