Good insulation is one of the cheapest and most effective ways of making sure your home is energy efficient. Loft and cavity wall insulation can save you a considerable sum on your heating bills as well as significantly reducing your household’s carbon emissions.

If you want to reduce the costs of your fuel bills and help the environment, loft and cavity wall insulation are two of the best places to begin. And energy companies are now offering FREE insulation deals to selected customers as part of their ongoing energy efficiency obligations.

Get FREE Insulation & Save up to £300/year

The latest offers include:

1. British Gas - Valid until July 31, 2012: Free cavity wall and loft insulation to all qualifying properties PLUS recommend someone elderly or on benefits before May 15 and get £50 each. Check if you qualify on the British Gas web site then call 0800 975 1195
2. Tesco - Valid until further notice: Free cavity wall and loft insulation to all qualifying properties. Check if you qualify on the Tesco Home web site, apply online or call 0800 321 3456.
3. E-on – Valid until further notice: Free cavity wall and loft insulation to all qualifying properties. Check if you qualify on the Eon web site, apply online or call 0845 302 4253.
4. EDF – Valid until further notice: Free cavity wall and loft insulation to all qualifying properties. Check if you qualify on the EDF web site, apply online or call 0800 015 7785.
5. Scottish Power – Valid until further notice: Free cavity wall and loft insulation to anyone over 70 or on certain benefits, subject to survey. Check if you qualify on the Scottish Power web site, apply online or call 0845 601 7836.
6. Scottish & Southern – Valid until further notice: Free cavity wall and loft insulation to anyone over 70 or on certain benefits, subject to survey. Call 0800 072 7201 to check if you qualify and to apply.

Benefits of good loft and cavity wall insulation

There are many benefits to installing good quality loft and cavity wall insulation. These include:

• Reducing heat loss in your home (up to 33% of all heat loss in a home can be due to poorly insulated walls while a further 26% is though the lack of loft insulation)
• Cutting the costs of heating your home
• Virtually eliminating condensation on ceilings and walls
• Helping you to sound proof your home
• Reducing your home’s harmful greenhouse gas emissions

Choosing the best insulation for you

What Is Insulation and How Does It Work?

Insulation is a term given to any material that provides significant resistance to the flow of heat.

All materials allow heat to pass through them and some – glass or air, for example – allow heat to pass through more quickly. Others, such as fur, wool or thick clothing, are more resistant to heat flow and are called ‘insulators’.

When insulation is installed in your home’s walls or loft, the flow of heat in and out of the building is reduced. This has the effect of reducing the need for heating and cooling.

For example, up to a third of heat loss in your home can be due to poorly insulated walls whilst over a quarter can be due to insufficient loft insulation.

Even though you might install cavity wall and loft insulation, heat loss will still occur in cold conditions if there are other non-insulated areas in your home. These could include single glazed windows, cracks around external doors or through wall vents. That’s why lined curtains and draught proofing can also help insulate your home.

Cavity Wall Insulation

Most homes built since 1920 have ‘cavity walls’. This means that they are built with two layers of bricks with a cavity in the middle, designed to keep rainwater off the interior walls.

The cavity is normally just a gap filled with air and this accounts for as much as 33% of heat loss in some homes. Cavity wall insulation involves filling this gap with insulating material.

A specialist cavity wall technician will visit your home and inject the insulating material into your walls from the outside. The process takes around 2-3 hours and should leave no mess or damage.

As well as helping to keep the heat in your home in the cold winter months, cavity wall insulation will create a more even temperature throughout your home including helping to keep your home cool during hot weather. It also helps to prevent condensation.

Helping keep heat in your home also has significant environmental benefits as it means that less harmful carbon emissions are escaping from your property.

Between 2002 and 2005 it is estimated that around 800,000 homes installed cavity wall insulation, saving an estimated 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Loft Insulation

As much as 26% of the heat loss in your home can be through the roof. So, in order to prevent this, a layer of insulation material (usually glass wool) is laid between and over the joists in your roof.

This acts as a barrier and prevents heat from escaping through the roof. Current Building Regulations state that you should have at least 25cm of insulation (around 10 inches). This is normally 10cm between the ceiling joists and 15cm over the joists.

Insulating your loft will make your home warmer, allowing you to use your heating more selectively. This will reduce your energy bills as well as reducing household carbon emissions. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that if everyone in the UK installed 270mm loft insulation, the nation would save around £520 million in heating bills and nearly three million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year – enough to fill Wembley Stadium nearly 380 times.

Even if you have some loft insulation, it can often be worth adding additional insulation, particularly if your existing insulation is less than the recommended minimum.

Getting your insulation installed

Once you have decided to install insulation in your home, you then have a choice of who to fit the insulation for you. There are two main options: hiring an insulation expert or doing the job yourself.

Hiring an expert

Due to the nature of the job, you have to hire a specialist to install cavity wall insulation for you. Specialist equipment is required and it is important that the cavity is filled to the correct density.

Only trained and approved installers can install cavity wall insulation in order that your guarantee is valid.

A specialist insulation engineer can also fit your loft insulation for you.

Many people choose a national insulation installer to carry out the work for them. Companies such as British Gas offer an advice and insulation installation service, meaning you can benefit from expert advice and the protection of one of the UK’s biggest energy brands.

Alternatively, you may want to consider a local insulation engineer. You may receive a recommendation from a friend or neighbour but bear in mind that you may not be afforded the same level of protection if things go wrong.

DIY

Whilst you cannot install cavity wall insulation yourself, fitting loft insulation is a reasonably straightforward job if you are a competent DIY expert.

The insulation is laid over the loft floor, between and over any visible joists. Bear in mind that you should not insulate a cold water tank (if there is one in your loft) and that you may have to lay boards if you want to use your loft for storage or if you need access to any pipes or water tanks.

If you do decide to install loft insulation yourself, make sure that you wear protective gloves and a mask and that you properly follow the installation guidelines.

Insider Buying Advice

Typical Costs – Loft Insulation

Insulating your loft should cost around £250-300 if you have it professionally installed (depending on the size of your home). If you decide to fit the insulation yourself it should cost less than this.

Bear in mind that there are a number of grants and offers available to help your pay for loft insulation (see below).

Typical Costs – Cavity Wall Insulation

Cavity wall insulation can cost anywhere from £200-500 (depending on the size of your home).

Again, there are a number of grants and subsidies available which can significantly reduce the cost of cavity wall insulation (see below).

Special Schemes and Grants

Home owners and private tenants qualify for a significant grant for both loft and cavity wall insulation under the government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme (CERT). This can be free for many qualifying households (see above) or 50% of the cost and bringing the actual price of cavity wall insulation down to as little as £149 and the cost of loft insulation down to £199 (depending on survey and the size of your home).

In addition, some free insulation grants are available to private households where anyone is aged 70 and above or anyone is in receipt of certain benefits, tax credits or allowances (such as housing benefit, income support or disability living allowance).

Calculating Your Return On Investment

While there may be a small cost for installing insulation (even if you receive a grant) the savings offered by loft and cavity wall insulation should pay for the work in just a few years.

British Gas estimate that adding loft insulation can save you £110 every year while the Energy Saving Trust say that installing loft insulation (where you had no insulation before) could knock £145 off your energy bills every year.

Similarly, cavity wall insulation can save you around £110 every year on your energy bills.

This means that these insulation improvements will pay for themselves in around 2-3 years, allowing you to save significant sums in the medium to long term.

Ongoing Running Costs and Maintenance

One of the beauties of loft and cavity wall insulation is that once they are installed, they do not need regular servicing or maintenance.

Cavity wall insulation is guaranteed for 25 years under the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Scheme. Once the work is finished, your home will be registered under the scheme and you will be sent a guarantee certificate which can be transferred from owner to owner.

Loft insulation is effective for around 40 years. You should only need to review your loft insulation if regular disturbance such as lifting and re-laying takes place.
Both types of insulation are designed to last and they will pay for themselves over and over again in time. The better insulated your home, the less energy you need to keep it warm and the more money you’ll save in the long run.