Modern homes are well-insulated, but older homes are often cold in winter, and lose a third of bills to outside walls. Insulating your walls, loft and floors can save hundreds of pounds each year in bills, and also cut annual carbon emissions.
Apply for government grants if on low incomes. You may also get help if your home is in certain council tax bands or has an energy performance certificate. This applies for homeowners, landlords and tenants (you’ll need the owner’s permission).
There are many types of insulation ranging from cavity and solid walls to loft insulation, along with underfloor insulation.
Radflek is easily installed, to help reflect heat back into the room, lasting 60 years thanks to a laminate coating. Easy to install, just clean with a damp cloth now and then, and use sticky hooks to fasten in tricky places.
Read faq for safety/installation. Oil-powered radiators are safer than convector heaters (that can overheat old people and dogs).
The Green Party and Lib Dems want all homes nationwide insulated for free (which would provide lots of jobs over years), as along with energy-efficient boilers, this is the best way to help reduce household bills.
Turning down the thermostat is not usually good advice, as it could cause hypothermia in vulnerable people and pets.
What is Home Insulation?
In simple terms, home insulation is material used to resist heat flow. This helps maintain the temperature in your house, whether it’s warmth in winter or coolness in summer.
Hempsan is made from hemp (only slightly related to cannabis, it won’t make you high!) This organic plant is good for the planet and gives wonderful insulation properties. Quick and easy to install, it replaces the need for glass, polystyrene or mineral wool and is ideal for external, thermal or acoustic insulation.
Thermofloc is made from recycled newspaper. Sold in 12kg bags, this loose-fill insulation is combined with mineral fire retardant as a cost-effective way to insulate horizontal surfaces like floors and lofts. It absorbs nearly a third of its weight in moisture, and stays dry to touch, and also does not produce suitable habitats for rodents.
Building with Straw Bales is by England’s top expert (a woman!) showing how to build these naturally-insulated and very cheap homes. It covers the benefits of building with straw bales, lime & clay plasters, along with planning regulations.
A Glazing Alternative for Heritage Homes
CosyGlazing is an affordable lightweight alternative to glass , which is easy to remove and approved for most sash windows, to reduce heat loss by 70%. It adds a second layer, but you can still open the windows as usual.
Approved for Grade 1 and 2 listed buildings, it can be removed for cleaning, as it’s fixed with high-tech magnetic strips and be made to match colours. Plexiglass is shatterproof, and seven times more insulating than glass.
The company cofounder Mukti Mitchell has a website Carbon Savvy that you can work through to massively reduce heating loss, using the free carbon calculator. Here’s what he thinks about energy and old buildings:
A third of UK emissions are from heating draughty buildings. Britain has 27 million homes, so if we knocked them all down and built new ones, it would take 270 years. Old buildings are an important part of our national heritage.
Retrofitting insulation gives people jobs, is far less expensive and uses fewer new materials. Can you imagine how many trees it would take, to rebuild 270 million windows? Insulation can save owners of older homes over £1000 a year.
This company would like to insulate Buckingham Palace, National Trust buildings and churches, that all spend a fortune on energy bills. Many listed buildings have thatched roofs, which use a skilled method that 40 years with good maintenance (also a good insulator).
Pretty safe if you follow fire prevention advice – do regular chimney checks, mend cracked bricks and follow log-burner fire safety advice. Never light bonfires or release fire lanterns nearby (read tips to prevent thatched roof fires).
Radiator Boosters to Reduce Bills
Radflek is up there with ‘England’s best invention’ and it’s a mystery why energy companies and the media don’t promote it more.
If using portable radiators, choose oil-powered ones that heat up slower but are more comfortable and safer than fast-blowing fan heaters (which can cause heatstroke for people & pets and cost a fortune to run).
For around £25 for a pack of three, these modern alternatives to sticking aluminium foil behind your radiator can reflect 95% of wasted heat energy that often simply goes out the wall and into the fresh air. No DIY skills are needed to reduce heat loss by almost half, and therefore your bills too.
Designed to last years, these are made with laminated aluminium foil and pays for itself within a year, but is designed to last at least 5 years. The booster simply hangs from the wall brackets, for radiators that have a gap between the radiator and the wall.
If you have unique radiators (like brackets that sit higher) their FAQ page has answers for best fitting. The company can also supply for commercial use (say for hospitals, hospices and care homes).
Got Birds Nesting in Your Roof or Chimney?
Don’t install insulation until you’re sure birds have moved on. Crows like to nest in chimneys, and can fall or die of heat (it’s illegal to light fires if you know crows are nesting, so use a qualified sweep at summer’s end).
Experts recommend chimney cowls & caps which also help prevent smoke blowing back into homes. Install correctly so oxygen can circulate.
Signs of nesting crows in chimneys include twigs, grass, leaves and hair falling into fire grates. Use gloves, if removing bird droppings.
To deter unwelcome crows from gardens (stealing eggs, making a noise) know this is nature. If you don’t want them (say you have cats), keep food & rubbish sealed, and keep feline friends indoors at dawn and dusk.
Observe lone baby crows or ravens up to an hour, as parents are likely still nearby and feeding chicks. If not, place in a high tree, and observe. If the bird is injured or parents don’t return (or if the bird has few/no feathers so is too young to stay in tree), call local wildlife rescue.
