The Energy Efficiency Products
Wall Insulation
Up to one third of heat lost in a home is through uninsulated walls, meaning that by insulating your walls, you can save energy and reduce your energy bills.
Normally, if your house was built after 1920 but before 1990 it would not have cavity wall insulation unless you or a previous owner have organised for it to be installed. Houses built before 1920 normally have solid walls.
If a house is cavity wall build and has no insulation, an insulation material can be injected into the cavity from the outside. This involves drilling holes, injecting insulation into them and then filling the holes with cement/mortar. The holes are filled and coloured so should not be too noticeable.
By installing cavity wall insulation, you could save between £100 and £250 a year on energy bills.
Solid wall insulation is also available to properties which do not have a cavity or those which are timber framed (meaning they’re unsuitable for cavity wall insulation) and can be applied either internally (internal wall insulation) or externally (external wall insulation).
Internal Wall Insulation (IWI) involves fitting insulant boards inside our home on the external walls or those adjacent to an unheated space. Fixtures and fittings need to be moved and reset including plugs, light switches and skirting boards. Any walls insulated would need to be redecorated once complete.
External Wall Insulation (EWI) involves fitting insulant boards to the outside of the house on all walls. Services such as electric cupboards and gas meters may need to be moved, satellite dishes and guttering will need to be taken down during installation and it is likely you will need scaffolding. Upon completion, you can expect the house to look neat, tidy and aesthetically pleasing as there is a range of finishes available.
Loft and Roof Insulation
Up to a quarter of a homes heat can be lost through an uninsulated roof. The recommended depth of loft insulation is 270mm and once achieve you can expect to save between £250 and £400 a year on your energy bills.
Usually, mineral wool insulation would be installed between the joists and then another layer is laid in the opposite direction up to 300mm. Loft insulation is easy to install and minimally disruptive.
If you do not have access to your loft, it is highly likely that the space will be completely uninsulated. Depending on the layout of the house and accessibility, a loft hatch can be installed, meaning the loft can be insulated.
Floor Insulation
If you have suspended floors or a cellar, floor insulation can be really beneficial in reducing the heat-loss, as can insulating the floor above any unheated spaces such as a room above a garage.
It is possible in some houses to access the floor space to install the insulation and it is usually necessary to temporarily lift carpet or flooring to secure safe access. Floor insulation saves between £30 and £100 a year and the draft proofing definitely makes a notable difference to the feel of the rooms in a lower floor.
Heating
Private owner-occupied homes with inefficient and broken gas boilers may be eligible for a gas boiler replacement, The installation of an A Rated gas boiler can reduce energy bills and help to ensure an ambient heat in the home at all times.
Homes heated by electric room heaters may be able to benefit from an installation of an economy 7 meter and high heat retention storage heaters. Electric room heaters are one of the most expensive and inefficient ways of heating a home and it is important that as many homes as possible have this kind of heating upgraded.
Around 5% of homes in England do not have any central heating at all. We need to ensure that first time central heating is installed in as many of these properties as quickly as possible to avoid further undue suffering.
Renewables
There is no doubt that as a country we need to make significant moves towards renewables as a means of heating homes and commercial buildings and powering cars.
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) can be installed onto the roof of a home and can generate electricity which the home can use. This will reduce the costs of electric bills and help to make the home more energy efficient.
Battery Storage can be installed into homes where Solar PV is installed, which means excess electricity generated from the PV can be stored for the house to be used later. This is a great way to reduce bills, save energy and improve the energy efficiency of a home.
Solar Thermal can benefit homes which have a hot water tank by gathering energy from the sun and using it to heat water.
Air Source and Ground Source Heat Pumps are a complex and innovative technology which draws heat from the air or ground to heat the home. ASHP are particularly effective where a property is heated by electric, bottled LPG or Oil.