An Overview of the Best Ways to Insulate Your Home and Reduce Heating Bills
Conservative figures suggest that in an uninsulated house, 35% of heat escapes through walls, 25% through windows and doors, 25% through the roof and the final 15% through the floor. Obviously, each house will have different characteristics so these statistics are very rough and should not necessarily dictate that you should begin your home insulation projects based on the areas which statistically lose the most heat.
You will need to make an informed decision as to which areas will need the most attention insulation wise. However, roughly the areas you may wish to consider can be categorised as follows:
Getting your home double glazed will not only help with cutting heat loss and as a consequence cutting your fuel bills, but it will also help towards sound proofing. Double glazing can be very expensive so any benefits financially in terms of saving money on bills versus the actual cost of the double glazing and fitting can take some years. On the other hand, by double glazing your property you will invariably increase the value of your home.
If you live in modern housing it is highly likely that there is some loft insulation installed, although this is not always adequate. If you have loft insulation it is still worth checking the insulation in your loft to see if it needs to be topped up. If you have no loft insulation, it is a priority to get your loft adequately insured. There are often grants available for loft insulation, but it is not prohibitively expensive and it is possible to install the loft insulation yourself. See our DIY loft insulation guide to check what is involved. In addition, B&Q offer a handy free online calculator that allows you to work out how much insulation you will need.
Often householders will overlook insulating radiators. To maximise the heat being generated by radiators you should fit a foil faced lining behind the radiators against the exterior wall. This will help to circulate the heat back into the room as opposed to it being absorbed into the wall itself. Click here for more information on available radiator and central heating insulation products.
Losing heat through walls is also a consideration in augmenting the insulation in your home. This is likely an expensive job and usually a specialist in the field would perform cavity wall insulation.
Floor insulation is actually a mandatory requirement for all new homes in the UK, however, if you live in an older home you may wish to visit this type of insulation. Many types of floor covering such as tiles, wood and carpet provide a degree of insulation, with specialist materials available for providing the highest levels of floor insulation.
Making sure that your home is adequately draughtproofed is largely an exercise in common sense. Essentially the object is to eliminate all heat loss from your home through cracks or gaps around doors, windows, etc. This is often the cheapest and easiest measure you can take to increase the level of insulation in your home. It is usually a good starting point when beginning a DIY home insulation project.
If you wish to undertake this work yourself, you will find a range of draught excluding materials at Wickes with FREE delivery on many orders!
Insulating Pipes and the Hot Water Tank
If you live in a new home you will likely have a hot water cylinder that will have an outer layer of foam insulation. However, older homes with older cylinders will often have no insulation. If this is the case in your home central heating setup you will want to lag the cylinder with a mineral fibre jacket. This is also the case with hot water pipes. If the hot water pipes run through areas of your home that are not heated, you will also want to lag these pipes. Click here for more information on available central heating insulation products.
Where to buy home insulation materials
If you would like to undertake this work yourself and you are looking for suitable materials, you will find everything you need at Wickes with FREE DELIVERY on many orders!