As energy bills continue to soar, it’s crucial to look at different ways you can save money while also reducing your energy consumption.
Insulation is often forgotten about when it comes to energy-saving tips, as more obvious things like switching off heating and using energy-saving apps take precedence.
However, installing the right insulation in your home is crucial to retaining heat during the winter, which in turn can reduce your energy bills too.
Save up to £590 a year with loft insulation
Up to 25% of heat from the home is estimated to be lost through the roof and loft, which can be offset by having loft insulation installed.
It’s estimated by the Energy Saving Trust that you can save up to £590 per year on your energy bills by installing loft insulation (for a detached house), while it also helps lower the amount of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Other types of housing can save an estimated:
- Detached: £590 per year
- Semi-detached: £355 per year
- Mid-terrace: £330 per year
Good-quality loft insulation can also last for around 40 years, meaning once it’s installed, you’ll not have to worry about it for multiple decades.
Save up to £690 a year with cavity wall insulation
Around 33% of the heat lost is through the walls in an uninsulated home, and older-style buildings often have cavity walls as part of their makeup. Cavity walls are when there is a gap between two separate parts of the wall, and are often found in homes built after 1920. The insulation then fills that gap, keeping the warmth in.
Due to the nature of their design, installing cavity wall insulation is not something that can be done yourself and thus should only be done by a professional.
It’s estimated that you can save the following amounts by installing cavity wall insulation:
- Detached: £690 per year
- Semi-detached: 395 per year
- Mid-terrace: £235 per year
Save up to £180 with floor insulation
It’s estimated that around 10% of heat is lost through the floor in an uninsulated home, and the type of insulation you’ll need for your floors depends on the type of home you have.
Solid floor insulation is often used with concrete or screed flooring, while suspended floor insulation seals any gaps between joists and battens.
The Energy Saving Trust suggests that insulating the floor could save you the following amounts:
- Detached: £180 per year
- Semi-detached: £110 per year
- Mid-terraced: £75 per year
Other insulation possibilities
As well as the major areas of the home already mentioned, you can also look to take smaller steps in implementing insulation and energy-saving tips.
- Switch off radiators in unused rooms: £55 saving per year
- Insulate your pipes and tanking systems: up to £70 saving per year
- Draught-proof any windows and doors, while also covering letterbox flaps and keyholes: £125 saving per year
- Turn down the heating thermostat by a few degrees: £145 saving per year
Further benefits of insulation
As well as the financial benefits, there are other advantages to adding or topping up your home’s existing insulation.
- You can keep your home at the desired temperature all year round, retaining heat in the winter and allowing heat to escape in the summer
- Reduce noise pollution from entering and exiting your home
- Improve the energy efficiency of your home and reduce your carbon footprint
- Lower the chances of mould and damp becoming a problem
- Increase the overall value of your home
It’s clear to see that installing the correct insulation in your home can save you hundreds of pounds per year, as well as keep the whole family warm during the winter and cool in the summer.
Check out other related blogs including our how to inspect the existing insulation in your home guide and how to save energy with insulation too.
