By identifying problem areas in your home’s insulation, you can save money on your heating bills and improve energy efficiency in your home this winter. And the best part? It doesn’t have to cost a fortune!
In our guide, we’ll give you the best areas to target, how to save the most money on your heating bills, aand take a look at how much you could save per year by taking on some of our tips.
- Poor insulation will cost you money
- Identifying your home's problem areas
- Cheap ways to keep your house warm
- Long-term insulation solutions
Poor insulation will cost you money
According to the Energy Saving Trust, an uninsulated house will lose about 58% of its heat through its walls and roof. To keep warm this winter (and avoid a big bill for heating) you'll need to make sure your home has an effective heat loss solution.
It's estimated that hald a million UK households are paying an extra £280 for their heating each year - all because of poor insulation.
Solving your insulation problems will make your home warmer and more energy efficient - and will help you save money on your heating bills.
Improving your home's energy efficiency is also a way of increasing the potential sale value of your home. In fact, research from Morningstar suggests you could add around 4% to the value of your home by boosting its Energy Performance Certificate (or EPC) rating.
Identifying your home's problem areas
To get started, you'll need to look for signs that your insulation isn't working as it should. Signs you've got a 'problem area' could include:
- Some rooms feeling colder than others
- Feeling draughts near walls, doors and windows
- Condensation and damp
- Uneven frost patterns on your roof.
For a more insightful inspection, your local authority may offer thermal imaging reports. This report can quickly highlight which areas are leaking heat.
Armed with this information, you can create a targeted plan to reduce your heating bills and save money.
Cheap ways to keep your house warm
Draught-proof your home
Once you’ve identified problem areas, start draught-proofing. On average, draught-proofing saves £85 per year on your heating bills.
Fill areas where pipe work leads outside, gaps around electrical fittings, the loft hatch, and ceiling to wall joins. Then, consider draught excluders for doors. They’re fairly cheap to buy, but you could make some with old clothes or fabric, plastic bags, and sand.
You’ll need to make sure you don’t block any window or wall vents while draught-proofing. This could lead to damp or mould problems.
Insulate your pipework
Another common problem area is the heating system. Heat can leak from pipes and tanks before it's even circulated around your home.
First, cover pipes with insulation. Pipe lagging or pipe insulation is cheap and readily available in DIY stores, making it a simple way to save money. Simply cut it to the desired length and wrap around the pipe, covering the joins in tape. Make sure the pipe lagging depth is sufficient for the size of the pipe: the smaller the pipe, the thicker the depth of the lagging should be.
If you have a warm water tank, make sure it's covered in a heatproof jacket. You can increase your radiator efficiency by installing reflectors behind them, too.
Invest in a smart thermostat
Smart thermostats are a cost-effective way of keeping your home warm as they allow you to set the temperature in a room.
They're particularly handy as they can connect to your smartphone, meaning you can control your heating from a distance, or set timers even when you're out and about. This could save you from having the heating switched on all the time over winter, which is more cost-effective.
Change your curtains or blinds
Another effective way of heating your house is by updating your curtains or blinds to thermal ones to help keep the heat in the room. Swapping out window dressings is a quick and easy method to help your house stay warm.
Close your curtains and blinds as it begins to get dark to help stop heat escaping. If your front door is draughty, you could even consider installing a full-length curtain behind it. Close it at night to stop the worst of the chills coming in.
Fit carpets with underlay
This option is relatively low cost and is one of the best ways to improve floor insulation. Moving in to a new house? Or renovating your home? You might want to consider installing thermal insulation in the floors.
For an even lower cost option, plug any draughty holes in the floor and invest in some rugs.
Move your furniture around
Having furniture against radiators stops warm air from circulating,making your heating less efficient.
Move furniture and other objects away from radiators so the hot air can move around the room freely. You'll fell like you're getting more for your money and the warmth will be more noticeable.
Long-term insulation solutions
Sometimes to save money, we have to spend it. These solutions tend to be more expensive, but you'll generally save money on your heating bills at a much higher rate. And when winter comes, you'll notice the difference.
Increase your roof and loft insulation
Poor roof and loft insulation can lead to a quarter of your home’s heat being lost through the roof. But how you rectify this will depend on whether you have a sloping roof, flat roof, or dormer roof - and what insulation you’ve already got.
As a rule, rock wool or another fiberglass insulation with a depth of 270mm will be more energy efficient. The cost of adding loft insulation can vary depending on where you live and how big your home is. You may need to invest around £1000 to make sure you’re as toasty as possible. But there are government-backed schemes, like the Great British Insulation Scheme (or GBIS) that could help you upgrade your insulation to make your home more energy efficient.
With a flat roof, mineral wool, or polyurethane layers can be installed to keep the heat in. If you don’t have a loft, sloping roofs can be insulated using polyurethane spray foams. Because it's applied as a spray, polyurethane spray foams are also excellent for a dormer roof, although wool or fiberglass insulation can be cut to size and used instead. Whatever you’re fitting, remember to avoid gaps for a warm loft.
Install better floor insulation
Up to 20% of your home’s heat could be lost through the floor. That’s why it’s a key area to think about insulating.
Old houses with suspended floors are most at risk, as the heat escapes into the empty space below the floor. You can combat this by lifting the floorboards and laying mineral wool insulation or blanket style insulation, supported by netting. This could save between £70-£120 each year on your energy bills, and cost around £105 per square meter (plus labour) to install.
In more modern homes with concrete floors, solid floor insulation can be installed for around £80 per square meter (plus labour) to install.
Consider wall insulation
Wall insulation can also save money and maximise energy efficiency. The type you choose will depend on whether you have a cavity or solid wall.
Cavity walls are cheaper to insulate. An average semi-detached house will cost about £2,700 to insulate, leading to annual energy savings of about £240.
Solid wall insulation saves around £330 each year for an average semi-detached home – but you’ll pay much more to have it installed. According to Checkatrade, you may be looking at £8,000-£10,000 for solid wall insulation.
Replace your windows with double glazing
A lot of heat escapes through glass. While expensive initially, investing in double glazing will help save money on heating in the long run. Double glazing is filled with an inert gas, or has a vacuum between the two glass panes to reduce heat transfer.
A considerably lower-cost option is secondary glazing. This is a temporary alternative to double glazing. It’s a pane of glass or plastic fitted parallel to the window. It’s not as efficient as double glazing, but will help to reduce heat loss until you upgrade to double glazing.
Upgrade your boiler
Boilers older than 10 years old tend to be less efficient than modern boilers. Upgrading to a new condensing boiler can prevent the waste of fuel, saving you a considerable amount in energy costs.
New boilers can be expensive to install, but there are usually finance options, and you'll end up saving money in the long-run.
