Experts at Electric Radiators Direct give their advice on how to recognise if your home insulation needs improving, as well as which alternative solutions to consider if you can’t afford to get professional work done
One way to minimise your outgoings is through good insulation. This will not only retain heat well but will also help reduce bills. So, how do you know if your home is insulated enough and what should you do if it isn’t?
Stephen Hankinson, Managing Director at Electric Radiators Direct, gives his advice on the key signs of poor insulation. He also outlines the steps you can take if your home insulation needs improving and alternatives to professional methods if you’re not able to invest in them at the moment.
1. Check if your home is well insulated
There are several ways to recognise if your home needs better insulation.
For example, if your home gets cold immediately after you turn off the heating, this is a good indicator that warmth is escaping too quickly. As a result, your house or apartment may not be well insulated. This can differ across the home, as some rooms can be colder than others.
Keeping an eye on this could help you work out what type of insulation you may need. If you notice your top floor is extremely draughty, then you might benefit from loft insulation. Or if the colder rooms in your home are outward-facing, then you may want to look into wall insulation.
Always be on the lookout for any sign of damp on the walls as well. While this can come from various sources, damp might also be linked to poor insulation, as it’s a sign of moisture coming in from the outside.
2. Consider if you need professional insulation
If you live in an older building, updating insulation is particularly important. New builds generally come with good insulation levels as standard and is, therefore, able to retain heat better. However, older properties may be in need of an upgrade. Determining when your home was built is the first step to figuring out what kind of insulation solution you might need.
· Built before the 1920s: Homes built before the 1920s generally have solid walls, which very often let the heat escape due to the nature of the materials used to build them.
For this kind of property, you could opt for internal solid wall insulation, which is the cheaper option, or external solid wall insulation, which has a higher upfront cost but is generally more efficient. Typically, internal insulation will cost around £8,500, while external insulation can be around £12,000.
· Built after the 1920s: If your home was built after the 20s, it will probably have cavity walls, meaning the external walls of the building will have a gap in between one another. This could be a key issue for heat retention. If this is the case in your home, then you may want to look into cavity walls insulation to improve it. Typically, this is slightly cheaper than solid walls insulation at around £1,800 for a detached house.
· Built in the 1970s: Homes built around the 1970s may have cavity wall insulation already, but they tend to not have loft or roof insulation. For these jobs, quilt or mineral wool is lined between the joists, with another layer on top to add depth. This process generally costs around £630.
· Built in 2002 or later: More modern homes generally have double window glazing, which will usually have you covered in terms of insulation, and only needs attending to every 20-30 years. While the cost for these varies greatly depending on the materials and style, it is estimated that a set of good quality windows in a semi-detached house is around £7,500.
Of course, while professional insulation can really help with your energy bills, you’ll need the means to make a substantial investment upfront. Professional insulation can be costly, and the price can vary drastically depending on the age of your home.
3. Research alternative methods
If paying for professional insulation isn’t an option, or you have a newer build that’s already had the work done, there are still other ways you can improve efficiency in your home.
Some key examples include:
· Thermal insulated curtains: Thicker, heavier curtains trap cold air between them and the window, keeping room temperatures cosy.
· Draught excluders: You can buy draught excluder tape for windows, cushions to place under doors, and even inflatable ones for chimneys.
· Foil behind radiators: Traditional central heating radiators work at only about 50-70% efficiency. Placing silver foil behind them will reflect heat back into a room rather than letting it escape through the walls.
· Electric heating: Up to 50% of the heat produced by a gas boiler can be lost through the pipes, which means you may end up losing even more heat on top of what you lose to poor insulation. However, electric heating is 100% efficient at the point of use, meaning every watt of power taken from the wall is converted into usable heat so nothing is wasted.
· Infrared heating: this could be a good solution if your home is not perfectly insulated, as infrared heaters completely bypass the air, reducing the chance of warmth being lost to draughts. Instead, their heat travels in a direct wave, warming people and surfaces directly. These heaters cost between £200 and £500 per unit and are generally up to £675 to run collectively.
It’s always worth noting that costs for each solution can vary based on multiple factors such as the size and age of your home, so it’s always advisable to consult a professional before you make your final decision.
