How to Keep Home Energy Improvements on the Budget
Just Insulate – It is Worth it!
Although there is a lot being said about the need for energy efficiency and environmental preservation in the recent years, people will still not make the decision to improve the energy efficiency of their home through proper insulation and some other useful tricks, mostly due to the fact that it all just seem too expensive. What people usually forget is the fact that these improvements can make considerable savings on the long run and basically pay themselves in time. So, one should never ask whether to insulate but just determine how to keep home energy improvements on the budget. It is important to understand that, although you need to invest some money at first, there are still some ways to be both energy and cost efficient.
The Energy Efficiency Facts
What are usually identified as the most vulnerable part of our home that need energy efficiency improvements and insulation the most are walls, empty lofts and roof spaces. The reason is that these parts of the building structure are under the direct influence of the external conditions and need protection regardless of the weather, since we use energy both during summer and winter with only different purposes. There is still a need of insulating around 3 million cavity walls and even seven million lofts in the UK.
Now, although you will have to form a budget for improving energy efficiency within your home, this does not necessarily mean that you will have to save for years or even give up some other financial plans. Basically there are some ways to implement measures that are very efficient but not necessarily too expensive but can cost up to £2-3.000 but can help you save significantly more over the years.
The Energy Efficiency Measures
Once you have made a definite decision about installing some energy efficiency and insulation measures, it is important to know where to start, so just follow the next few advice:
- If you want to start with some less complicated (and less expensive) measures, then you should consider some double glazing for your windows. This could be a perfect solution if you are living in a listed building where you are not able to change the windows with new ones and we all know that windows tend to be a very sensitive issue in older buildings. Although this improvement can cost around £700 but can lower your energy consumption (and thus your energy bills) for around 40%,
- Another very useful energy efficiency improvement refers to old boiler replacement with new, improved one. Experts suggest opting for condensing one, since this can help you save around £200 per year. Apart from the energy and money savings, this will also lower the carbon footprint for 1.7 tones.
- Probably the most important but also the most expensive energy efficiency measure refers to adding insulation to your home. Here, as aforementioned, you are best off with adding insulation to your walls and loft or alternatively roof space. Roof insulation is among the most efficient insulation measures since it can reduce heat loss for around 20% and will pay itself of for only a few years. if you are in the process of converting your loft then it would be best to use the opportunity and add some insulation to your loft space (best some specially designed mineral/glass wool rolls). The same goes for roof insulation which is added in case you have no loft under the roof (or you are at least not using it) so if you are in the process of repairing the roof tiles or the roof covering, that would be the perfect chance to add some rigid or alternatively reflective foil insulation.
- Finally, the good news is that in case you have insulation material leftover from insulating your loft or a wall, you might be able to use it for another energy efficient improvement referring to water tanks and pipes insulation. Namely, not can these present a great source of heat loss or gain during both seasons, they also need to be properly protected in order of preventing pipes from breaking when the temperatures are extremely low, for example. Here, instead of buying specially designed pipe insulation wraps, why not make your own from some rock or glass wool leftovers, by just wrapping the material around the pipes and secure it with some adhesive tape.
Insulation Shop offers a wide range of energy efficient insulation products for your insulation project. Send your quote enquiries to info@insulationshop.co or order directly from our insulation online shop.