Tips and advice on how to insulate your home.
There are so many benefits to making your home greener. Not only are you helping to reduce carbon emissions by reducing your use of traditional fossil fuels, but after the initial installation, your energy bills will become smaller.
However, this is only true if you ensure the insulation in your home is efficient and effective. Insulation helps you maximise the use of natural resources so that the heat you create is not wasted. Insulation prevents heat from escaping in the winter and keeps your home cooler in the summer. For example, an average-sized home can save up to £400 a year by insulating the roof space.
Pipes and tanks.
Insulating the pipes in your home is an effective way to save money and reduce energy consumption. Pipe lagging can be done with foam tubing. It is possible to do this yourself.
The homeowner can also install radiator reflectors. Radiator reflector panels are fitted behind the radiator and work to reflect the radiator heat back into the room rather than allowing the heat to escape out through the exterior wall.
Roof insulation.
Roof insulation can be applied directly under the roof. This is the most efficient technique, but if your loft space is not safe to use, it is possible to lay insulation above the ceiling of your top story.
Loft insulation can be done by the homeowner; however, it is worth noting that there is a required u-value of 0.16W/m2k (a technical term and value which plays an important part in the planning phase of heat pump installation).
The age of your home.
Modern houses (post-1990) are now built with a good insulation specification, but if your home is a little older, you can do plenty of things to help it retain heat. For example, you can consider wall insulation, roof insulation and window and door insulation.
Reduce heat loss from your home
About a third of all heat lost in an un-insulated home occurs through the walls of your house. So by insulating your walls, you can make significant reductions in your bills. Houses built after 1935 will have cavity walls; two walls built with a gap in-between.
The outer wall is usually brick, and the inner wall is often concrete block. Cavity walls can be drilled, and an insulator inserted. This job must be done by a professional. Not sure if you have a cavity wall?
The outer brickwork offers a clue. The exterior brickwork of a cavity wall will have a consistent pattern with all the bricks lying lengthways. A solid brick wall will be more erratic with the shorter end of the brick on view in places. If the bricks have been covered up with render, then the width of the wall often offers a clue. Solid walls are more problematic but can be insulated on the exterior with a façade or internally with soft décor.
