Don't Get Left Out in the Cold - Insulate your Home

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by: JohnQPublic
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Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 Time: 10:01 AM
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In the current climate - looking to invest in your home might seem like a crazy idea, but there's never been a better time to think about ways to cut your carbon footprint and slash your gas and electricity bills.

The first place you should look is your home's insulation.

Acting as a giant duvet interwoven in between your house's walls and loft, insulation serves as a buffer to keep heat trapped in and cold out.

Without it, your home can lose half of all its heat. But that's not the only thing. Badly insulated homes cost more to run, as they require more heat, more frequently, to keep them at comfortable temperatures.

Getting your house up to speed won't set you back as much as you might fear. Financial help may be available with the Government, energy suppliers and local authorities all providing grants or offers to help you implement energy saving measures like installing insulation.

Walled in

An un-insulated house loses around a third of its heat through the walls, according to Energy Saving Trust, an independent, UK-based organisation offering free advice and information for people looking to save energy, conserve water and reduce waste.

Insulating your walls could help reduce the amount of energy you need to heat your home and save around £160 on annual fuel bills.

If your home was built after the 1920s, it's likely you have cavity walls - two layers of wall with a small gap in between. Insulating that cavity space will help heat your home more efficiently and reduce your CO2 emissions - one of the biggest causes of climate change. A professional should be able to do this for you at an approximate cost of £250 (this price is after factoring in the subsidy available from the major energy suppliers under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT); normal unsubsidised installed cost is around £500).

The Energy Saving Trust also offers grants to help both tenants and landlords pay for energy-saving moves like this one.

Look at the options

Internal wall insulation includes ready-made insulation/plaster board laminates or wooden battens in-filled with insulation, which are attached to the walls on the inside of your home for around £40/m2, potentially saving hundreds of pounds off your annual energy bill.

Affordable choice

If all this seems like too much money to spend during a credit crunch though, don't worry - there is a cheaper and easier solution, according to eco guru Donnachadh McCarthy, author of Easy Eco Auditing: How to Make your Home and Workplace Planet-Friendly.

"Wallpaper made of insulating material, like thermal wall insulation, is easy to install and will make a noticeable difference to the warmth of the whole house," he says.

Thermal wall coverings are available from most DIY stores and, at 10mm thick, will help reduce condensation and heat loss by providing a buffer between you and the cold, outside walls.

Looking up

You've heard that heat rises? Well, loft insulation keeps the heat that's generated within your home from escaping through the roof. The Energy Saving Trust suggests installing at least 270mm of the stuff to keep your house warm and cosy throughout winter.

And most utility companies are providing schemes to upgrade or install it for you (just check with the EST to see who's offering schemes near you). You can save around £160 a year on your heating bills and one tonne of CO2.

Be sure to compare household utilities as well, to help save money throughout the home.

Do it yourself

Installation is relatively easy if you're the DIY type but be sure to wear protective clothing, as most insulation is made from mineral wool, which has a high energy cost and is an irritant to the skin and lungs.

"Ensure the loft-hatch entry door is also draught-proofed and insulated," says Donnachadh. "Otherwise you'll lose hot air from the house straight through the door."

Eco-friendlier alternatives to mineral wool insulation include Warmcel, made from 100% recycled paper, and Thermafleece, made from waste sheep-shearing products, which are also available from some DIY stores.

One last thing…

Insulation will serve to keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but it's important to remember that before you have any work carried out on your home - even if it's you doing the work - you should have adequate home insurance in place, should anything go wrong along the way.

Then you can sit back and enjoy your reduced carbon footprint and fuel bills without a worry in the world!

For more energy saving hints, see 15 Green Tips to Save Money and the Planet.

Note: All figures are estimated by the Energy Saving Trust based on insulating a gas-heated, semi-detached home with three bedrooms.

About the Author

For more information on insulation please visit http://www.confused.com/gas-electricity

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