WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO INSULATE MY HOME AND CUT MY ENERGY BILLS?
Heat loss occurs in all sorts of hidden ways. Paddy looks at how you can prevent this, keeping your home warm and your fuel bills low
Insulation expert Paddy Leighton on creating a more energy efficient property
Modern houses are built to a level of thermal efficiency that is a world apart from those that our ancestors lived in. Unfortunately, not all of us live in new, well-insulated homes. Statistics show that more than 20 per cent of houses in the UK were built pre-1919, when energy costs were relatively low and heat-loss through the walls and roof were secondary considerations.
For those living in older properties, now is the time to look at ways of making your home more efficient through better heating and better standards of insulation.
Keep out the draughts
Unless your home is very new, you will almost certainly lose some heat through air leakage around doors and windows, gaps in the flooring, or through the chimney. The better you can ‘seal the box’ and minimise this, the warmer your home will be.
Professional draught-proofing of windows, doors and blocking cracks in floors and skirting boards can cost around £200, but according to the Energy Saving Trust, can save around £25 a year on energy bills.
DIY draught-proofing can be much cheaper. Installing a chimney draught excluder costing £17 from B&Q, for instance, could save around £15 a year.
Lagging pipes and hot water tanks
Lagging water tanks and pipes and insulating behind radiators reduces heat loss, so you spend less money heating water up and it stays hotter for longer. A hot water cylinder jacket costs about £15, and fitting it is a fairly straightforward job. Topping up your hot water cylinder insulation from a 2.5cm to an 8cm jacket could save around £10 a year.
Pipe insulation consists of a foam tube that covers the exposed pipes between your hot water cylinder and boiler. Just choose the correct size from a DIY store and then slip it around the pipes. Materials will cost around £20, and you’ll save around £10 a year on energy bills, as well as significantly reducing the risk of burst pipes.
Insulate the loft
A quarter of heat is lost through the roof in an uninsulated home, so insulating your loft or flat roof is an effective way to cut heating bills. It lasts for at least 40 years and should pay for itself many times over. If your loft is easy to access and has no damp problems you can do it yourself.
‘A quarter of heat is lost through the roof, so insulating your loft could save around £135 a year’
1. Insulating between boards
If the loft joists are regular, use rolls of mineral wool insulation. The first layer is laid between the joists, then another layer is laid at right angles to cover the joists, and to take the insulation up to the recommended thickness of 27cm. Most homes have some insulation of just under half this. Topping it up from 12cm to 27cm could cost around £240, saving £135 a year on your heating bills.
2. Insulating beneath boards
If you plan to use the loft or attic for storage, you will want to lay boards over the joists. Unfortunately, if you only insulate between the joists before doing this, the insulation won’t be thick enough. To get a sufficient layer of insulation, you can fit timber battens across the joists, or buy purpose-built plastic legs that fit on and support the new floor. Leave a ventilated air gap between the insulation and the boards to prevent condensation on the underside. And don’t squash the mineral wool with the new boards as this reduces its effectiveness as an insulator. ➤