With households looking for ways to reduce their energy costs, insulation is one of the most cost-effective methods of impacting on heating bills and carbon footprints. But what types of insulation could be a suitable option for you?
Main insulation types available
There are multiple areas in a property that can be insulated for improved energy efficiency. Insulation options include:
- Cavity wall insulation
- Loft insulation
- Room in roof insulation
- Internal wall insulation
- External wall insulation
- Floor insulation
Get Help With Insulation Funding
Free Insulation Scheme offers a completely free service to help you to access grants available under different government funding schemes, including ECO4 and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The schemes mean that home insulation upgrades can be installed for free or with the householder having to make a contribution.
The Free insulation scheme team will also arrange the fitting of the insulation by certified and fully accredited insulation experts from start to finish. Simply get in touch with our friendly team to check if you’re eligible and be on your way to a more energy-efficient home in no time!
Read on to understand more about the different insulation materials available and whether they’re covered by the government funding grants available to put towards the cost of home insulation.
Cavity Wall Insulation
If your home was built after the 1920s, it’s likely to have cavity walls. A cavity wall refers to the small gap between two separate thin walls that make up the exterior of your home. These walls are usually made from brick and are held together with metal wall tiles.
It’s the space between the two bricks that can be filled with insulating material, often spray foam insulation or mineral wool, to reduce heat loss from your home. The insulation is usually installed by drilling regular 1-inch holes into the walls before pumping in the insulation.
If you have a brick house built between 1924 and 1982 it’s likely to be suitable for cavity wall insulation, however, newer houses built in the last twenty years are likely to already have cavity wall insulation installed. If you’re unsure if your home already has cavity wall insulation there are several ways you can check…
- Firstly, look at any exposed brickwork. If every other brick laid is showing the short side of the brick, then you won’t have a cavity to fill within the brickwork but if all the bricks are facing the same way, then you are likely to have a cavity wall.
- Secondly, you can ask an approved cavity wall installer to drill a small hole through the brickwork to check for cavity insulation. This is called a borescope inspection.
- Thirdly, you can contact the building control team at your local authority offices as they will have a record of previously insulated walls.
Cavity Wall Insulation Cost Vs Saving
Around a third of all heat lost from the home is through the walls, making cavity wall insulation one of the most cost-effective ways to insulate your home. The cost of installing cavity wall insulation will vary depending on the size of your home. Smaller properties will need less insulation material and take less time to complete the work, therefore cost less to install cavity wall insulation than a larger home.
Whatever size your home is, cavity wall insulation will usually pay for itself over around 5 years or less. For example, a semi-detached home would typically cost around £2,700 (if unsubsidised without a grant) to insulate, which would generate around £210 per year in energy bill savings.
Cavity Wall Insulation Grants Available
All private homeowners that are receiving a qualifying benefit can claim a 100% free cavity wall insulation grant, as long as the house is occupied and does not have renovation work being completed.
Loft Insulation
Loft insulation is when a barrier of material is installed into your roof space that traps heat and can therefore reduce heat loss in your home. Loft insulation can be made from a variety of materials but glass fibre and mineral wool insulation are the most popular and cost-effective solution. The loft insulation material chosen can be laid between the joists on the floor, loose fill insulation can be blown in, or insulation can be added between the rafters that support the roof itself.
It’s recommended that to cut energy bills up to 20%, you should effectively insulate your loft. The recommended depth for loft insulation is 270 millimetres for glass wool, 250 millimetres for rock wool or 220 millimetres for cellulose. You can install loft insulation for the first time, or add to your existing insulation, if it is still in good condition.
Other materials that can be used for loft insulation include PIR board, rigid insulation boards, phenolic foam, sheep’s wool, hemp, recycling polyester, foil-based, stone wool or wood fibre.
Loft Insulation Cost Vs Saving
Loft insulation is relatively cheap to install with a typical semi-detached home costing on average around £950 to insulate. It’s worth noting that if you want to use the loft space for storage after insulating, you will need to add a layer of wooden boards to provide a level flooring to walk on or store things on and this may increase your initial payout. Loft insulation could reduce energy bills in a semi-detached property by up to £200 per year.
Loft Insulation Grants Available
In order to qualify for a Government loft insulation grant, there needs to be 100mm (4 inches) or less of insulation already installed in your loft. Usually, this will be level with or below the joists. If it is over this level, you could have a survey and a quote to top up to 270mm.e a survey and a quote to top up to 270mm.
Room In Roof Insulation
Room in roof insulation involves adding insulation boarding between the rafters underneath the existing plasterboard walls in your roof space. The insulation boards are usually made from polystyrene or polyurethane which are effective materials for trapping heat and therefore reducing heat loss from the roof of your home.
To be able to have this type of insulation put in place, the home needs to have been constructed with roof rooms or have a loft conversion. There should be little to no insulation in the walls and ceiling and you must have a fixed staircase (not a pull-down loft ladder or something similar).
If you’re unsure if you have a qualifying room in the roof at your home, these rooms are usually a feature of a bungalow that has had a loft conversion that is accessed from a fixed staircase, but it can also be an original building feature. Typical characteristics of a room in roof will be sloping ceilings and dormer windows on the upper floor.
Room In Roof Cost Vs Saving
With nearly a quarter of all heat lost from the home being lost from the roof, insulating a room in the roof properly can save you significant sums of cash on your energy bills.
Room In Roof Grants Available
The free insulation team can help you to access government grants available under the ECO funding scheme to install room in roof insulation.
Internal Wall Insulation
Internal insulation refers to insulation that is applied to the inner face of external walls in a building. The building must have walls that are of solid construction type for you to be able to have internal wall insulation put in, and the insulation is usually attached to the wall from the ground floor up to eaves levels.
The insulation prevents heat from being lost through the exterior walls of your home by creating a heat loss barrier between the internal and external walls. Internal insulation boards can usually be made of wood fibre but calcium silicate, clay, cork, hemp, polystyrene and plasterboards can all be used.
Internal wall insulation can be disruptive and require the removal and refixing of fixtures and fittings including light switches, radiators and kitchen units so that an airtight installation can be achieved. The usual installation methods include fixing insulation directly to the wall, battening the wall, constructing a new stud wall, or applying insulating plaster directly to the wall, which works well for stone walls.
Internal Wall Insulation Cost Vs Saving
Typical costs for internal wall insulation range from £40-£50 per square metre and internal insulation is often less expensive than external wall insulation.
Internal Wall Insulation Grants Available
There are grants available for internal wall insulation for solid walls for qualifying households under the government’s ECO scheme. If someone in your household is claiming a benefit, you might be entitled to free internal wall insulation for your home.
External Wall Insulation
External wall insulation creates a protective heat loss barrier to reduce the amount of heat lost from the walls of your home which is where up to a third of all heat is lost from the home. External wall insulation is when a layer of insulation is fixed to an existing exterior wall of your home and is best suited to homes with solid walls and when cavity wall insulation is not an option. Most homes built before 1920 have solid walls and the insulation applied is usually finished with render or cladding to protect it from the weather.
External Wall Insulation Cost Vs Saving
Prices for this type of insulation can normally range from £7,000 to £15,000. It is usually installed in properties that have solid brick or concrete walls, but it can also be fitted to homes with cavity walls that are not suitable for cavity wall insulation. Installing solid wall insulation should save around £290 per year on the annual heating bills of a typical gas heated semi-detached home.
As external wall insulation will change the external appearance of the house, in most cases you will require planning permission before undertaking the work so you should check the requirements with your local authority before starting work.
External Wall Insulation Grants Available
Solid Wall Insulation Grants are available from the Government’s ECO Scheme for up to 25% of the cost. To qualify for Solid Wall Insulation Grants your home must have solid external brick or stone walls and you must receive one of the benefits outlined in the benefits section of this article.
Floor Insulation
Insulating floors is a good option for households as up to 20% of heat loss can occur through the floor. Whether you have solid concrete floors (typically found in newer properties) or suspended timber floors (usually found in older homes), your property will benefit from effective insulation.
Floor Insulation Cost Vs Saving
Floor insulation is generally quite expensive compared to other types of installation and the potential cost savings are not as substantial so it’s not typically the type of insulation that households go for. A suspended floor installation could cost around £4,500 and solid floor installation is usually even more expensive than that.
With energy bill savings for a detached house amounting to around £100 annually, £60 for a semi-detached house, and £110 for a detached bungalow, it could take a significant number of years before you get payback on floor insulation.
Floor Insulation Grants Available
Underfloor insulation grants are available which could help eligible households with the cost of installing the insulating material. A grant will make a significant difference to how quickly an investment in floor insulation pays off. the cost. To qualify for Solid Wall Insulation Grants your home must have solid external brick or stone walls and you must receive one of the benefits outlined in the benefits section of this article.
What Benefits Apply To Government ECO Energy Grant Eligibility?
Within the summaries of the different types of insulation above, we have referred to government grants available under the Governments ECO scheme that are available to households throughout the UK.
If anyone in your household receives a qualifying state benefit then you may be able to receive free home insulation and heating measures.
If you receive any of the benefits below, you could qualify for free insulation:
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit
- Pension Guarantee Credit
- Pension Savings Credit
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Benefit
- Housing Benefit
Summary
If you are looking for ways to reduce heat loss and therefore save on the cost of energy bills then effective insulation is key. Many insulation methods will pay for themselves in as little as 5 years, making them an excellent option to reduce the costs of heating your home.
If you receive income-related benefits and are a homeowner or private tenant in the UK, then government grants under the ECO schemes could be available to install one of a range of insulation measures, including cavity wall insulation, internal wall insulation, loft insulation, external wall insulation room in roof insulation, and floor insulation.
All private UK homeowners, and some private tenants, who meet the eligibility criteria can qualify for new insulation. As long as you own your home or are privately renting, and the property is currently occupied, meaning it is not under renovation, you could qualify for an insulation grant.
To see if you qualify for a grant to insulate your home, the team at Free Insulation Scheme will be able to help you to apply for grants and arrange for the installation of the insulation at your home by regulated and accredited fitters. Simply call the team on 0330 470 116 or fill out the web form online
