Spray foam your park home to reduce heating bills by up to 50 per cent

With energy prices set to soar over the next few years the elderly living in park homes are going to be particularly hard hit.

Those who moved when they retired to a new, comfortable and affordable place to live are finding their dream location is difficult to heat in cold weather as the average annual household energy bill has doubled over the last five years to £1,345.

This has not been helped by the methods of constructing the park homes which allow heat to escape through the walls, the roof and the floor much quicker than in conventional homes, say National Energy Action.

NEA, which is a national charity aiming to eradicate fuel poverty, have found that more than one in five households is “fuel poor” which is when more than 10 per cent of a home’s income goes on energy bills.

It is campaigning for greater investment in energy efficiency to help those who are poor and vulnerable, such as pensioners on a fixed income.

Over the last three years the NEA has been focussing on insulating the walls of these park homes.

But now they are looking at insulating the floors to improve the thermal efficiency and reduce the energy bills while improving the quality of life for people living there.

Ofgem, the Government regulator for the electricity and natural gas market, found floor temperatures in park homes rose by 12 degrees in Scotland when they had been spray foamed.

This research was backed up by Bob Stoker, a park home owner in the Midlands, who had his walls, floor and roof insulated with the Icynene Insulation System over two years ago.

“Heating bills have reduced by 60 per cent and the comfort level is far better than I expected,” said Bob, of Gamston Park, Nottingham.

“The floor in particular is much warmer now and I can walk round in my stocking feet. It is like having under-floor heating,” he added.

“I have monitored the floor temperature over the last 12 months and I found there was an improvement of up to 12 degrees.”

Midlands expert Ron Fox of Noreus Ltd said insulation was one way people could stop their energy bills soaring and reducing their CO2 emissions by up to 30 per cent.

He suggests spray foaming park homes with a system such as Icynene which forms an air-tight seal but still allows the building to breathe. It reduces heating bills by up to 50 per cent, saving the average home up to £600 a year every year.  

Ron added: “A static caravan or park home will be healthier, warmer and quieter when Icynene is applied.”
The environmentally friendly Icynene Insulation System is a non-toxic 100 per cent, water blown, soft spray insulation system which comes with a lifetime warranty (www.icynene.com).  

Although it costs up to £2,900 to have an average 60 square metres of  space spray foamed the good news is that the Government charges VAT at only 5 per cent compared to the normal 20 per cent.

For more details about energy-saving ideas call Ron on 01782 756995.