Insulate Your Home

To keep your home cosy, stop heat from escaping, and lower those electricity and gas bills, excellent insulation is key. Remember, different parts of your property will need specific types of insulation to work best.

Protect Your Loft Space

If your loft isn't properly insulated, you could be losing as much as a third of your heating expenses straight through your roof. Adding insulation to your loft is an easy and effective method to cut down on energy bills, and you can often do it yourself. Think of loft insulation like a warm duvet that holds in the warmth moving up from the rooms downstairs. While you're working on your loft, also think about insulating any pipes up there to get the best possible energy savings.

• Energy Saving Trust: Roof and Loft Insulation

• National Insulation Association (NIA)

Boost Your Wall Insulation

Your walls are often a major culprit when it comes to heat escaping from your home. Selecting the appropriate wall insulation can dramatically boost how energy-efficient your property is.

Cavity Wall Insulation

Installing cavity wall insulation can greatly lower the amount of energy you use to warm your property, potentially slashing your heating bills by over a third for a typical dwelling. If your house was built after the 1920s, it likely has outer walls with two distinct layers, separated by a gap called a 'cavity'. If these cavity walls in your house are empty, a large chunk of your heating costs will simply be warming up the outdoors.

By filling this void with insulation, you will significantly reduce the amount of warmth that leaks out through your walls. This helps keep your indoor temperature more stable, stops moisture from forming on surfaces, and can even cool things down during hot summer weather. Roughly a third of all heat lost from a home without insulation escapes through its walls. Insulating your cavity walls can achieve substantial savings, possibly up to £480 annually on your fuel expenses.

• Energy Saving Trust: Cavity Wall Insulation

• Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA)

• National Insulation Association (NIA)

• British Board of Agrément (BBA)

Solid Wall Insulation

Solid walls let out even more heat than cavity walls do. To stop this heat from escaping, you will need to insulate these walls, either from the inside or by applying it to the exterior. This type of insulation helps keep temperatures more consistent inside your house, prevents moisture from forming on surfaces, and can even help keep things cooler when it's hot outside. Although it's an investment, you'll soon notice the positive impact on your heating costs and play a part in lowering carbon dioxide emissions. There are two primary methods you can consider:

• External Solid Wall Insulation: With external solid wall insulation, you apply a decorative and weather-resistant layer of insulating material to the outer surface of your wall. This insulation usually needs to be between 50mm and 100mm thick. People often choose this approach for properties with significant heat loss issues or if the outside of the building already needs repairs, offering a good chance to add insulation at the same time.

• Internal Solid Wall Insulation: Alternatively, you can insulate solid walls from the inside. Your options include pre-made insulation and plasterboard panels, wooden frames filled with insulation, or flexible liners. The insulation/plasterboard panels commonly feature plasterboard with an insulating layer, generally totalling up to 90mm in thickness.

• Energy Saving Trust: Solid Wall Insulation

• National Insulation Association (NIA)

• Insulated Render & Cladding Association (INCA)

Insulate Your Floors

If you have timber floors, you can insulate them by carefully lifting the floorboards. Then, you place mineral wool insulation, held in place by netting, between the floor joists. Additionally, a standard tube sealant, like silicone, can be used to seal any gaps between your floorboards and skirting boards to prevent cold air from entering. However, you must be careful not to obstruct the under-floor airbricks in your external walls. Your floorboards require sufficient ventilation to avoid issues like rot.

• Energy Saving Trust: Floor Insulation

• National Insulation Association (NIA)

Eliminate Draughts in Your Home

If you notice cold air currents near your windows or doors, it's a sign that valuable warm air is escaping. In an average household, about 20 per cent of all heat loss happens because of inadequate ventilation and draughts. Draught proofing involves simply sealing these openings, thereby cutting down on the amount of cold air that gets into your living space. You can choose from a range of materials, such as brushes, expanding foams, sealants, adhesive strips, and shaped rubber or plastic.

• Energy Saving Trust: Draught Proofing

• National Insulation Association (NIA)

Insulate Your Pipes and Hot Water Tank

Adding insulation to your hot water cylinder is one of the quickest and most straightforward methods to conserve energy and save money. By installing a British Standard 'jacket' around your cylinder, you can reduce heat loss by over 75%. If your cylinder already has an insulating jacket, verify its thickness; it should be at least 75mm. Upgrading an outdated, thinner jacket will contribute to even greater reductions in your fuel expenses.

• Energy Saving Trust: Insulating Tanks, Pipes and Radiators

• National Insulation Association (NIA)