Could your home benefit from cavity wall insulation?
COLD and damp are just some of the effects experienced in more than 5 million uninsulated homes with cavity walls across the country, a Government report has revealed.
The English Housing Survey is published every year and collects information about people’s housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of accommodation.
The report is produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and there is a two-year lag in data collected.
Although the 2015 study relates to information obtained in 2013, the survey shows that of the nearly 16 million homes in England with cavity walls, nearly a third of these were likely to be uninsulated.
Most houses have either solid walls or cavity walls. The latter is a wall made up of two layers with a gap, or cavity, in between and is more likely to have been used in properties built after the 1920s.
Around a third of heat lost in an uninsulated home escapes through the walls and The Energy Saving Trust, an independent organisation that provides advice about energy, estimates a homeowner could save up to £160 on heating bills if insulation is installed correctly.
Meanwhile, the DCLG also states that a staggering 70 per cent of homes in total could benefit from making improvements to energy efficiency measures.
The Department said: “In 2013, around 16.3 million homes could theoretically benefit from at least one energy improvement measure such as improving loft insulation or a boiler upgrade.”
We don’t think that the report’s findings are surprising. It isn’t uncommon to find a homeowner who thinks their home is insulated, but actually, on closer inspection, the cavity walls have no insulation at all.
There are numerous benefits to having your home properly checked and, where appropriate, to have insulation installed – not least is the reduction in your heating bills, but also increased warmth and overall comfort and a reduction in damp.
Even if your house was built after 1990, when most buildings included insulation during construction, we recommend conducting a thorough check.
To discover more about cavity wall insulation, contact us on 01782 756995 or go to our information page.
