Energy efficiency
Insulating your home
By fitting insulation to your home, you will stop heat escaping and make it feel warmer for longer and cheaper to heat.
The features of a home which lose the greatest amounts of heat are its roof and walls, floor and its door and windows.
Find out how much heat your property may be losing from its roof by looking at a Thermal map:see How energy efficient is your property?
Iif you are interested in getting a price for installing insulation, there are factsheets available to download and we have also included some draft specification documents that can be used with contractors. It should be noted that these may need to be amended depending on the structure and construction materials used in your property.
If you are interested in using the Council’s Home Improvement Service to design and manage the installation of any work through our approved contractors, contact the Housing Energy Action Team.
Attic room insulation
You may live in a property that has a ‘room in the roof’. These are very common in terraced housing where an extra bedroom has been created in the loft space. If these rooms are un-insulated they can lose a lot of heat during cold weather and be uncomfortable for their occupants during the extreme temperatures of winter and summer.
Interest free loans are available to qualifying low income households to spread the cost of this work. For details contact the Housing Energy Action Team.
Although these rooms are not suitable for loft fibre, other materials can be used including sprayed on urethane foam, phenolic foam, aerogel insulated plaster board, all for varying cost and performance levels. Costs can vary from £25m2 to £250m2 depending on the different types of material used.
Although the work involves some disruption as plaster boards have to be removed as part of the process, it can bring significant thermal comfort and health benefits to the people who sleep in the room. Fitting attic room insulation can also save heat loss from the property in the same way that loft insulation does making it warmer and cheaper to heat.
- Attic and Loft Insulation Factsheet [PDF file 140KB]|
- Attic Room Insulation Specification [PDF file 64KB]|:
a schedule of work you can give to any contractors from whom you wish to receive a quotation. It is a detailed technical document.
Cavity wall insulation
Fitting cavity wall insulation could save you up to £115 per year on your heating costs, based on current energy prices.
If your home has a cavity wall, that is clear of rubble and stone ties, it may be possible to fit cavity wall insulation.
There are various types of cavity wall insulation available depending on whether your house is made from brick, stone or other material. Each type of material varies in cost and performance. These include:
Cavity wall fibre – suitable for 50mm brick cavities and ‘dressed’ stone cavities wider than 50mm.
This is the cheapest type of cavity wall insulation. Certain households may qualify to have this work done free of charge, depending on their circumstances. For more details on the scheme see Calderdale Home Insulation Scheme
If you don’t qualify for free or discounted cavity wall fibre through the Council scheme, you may wish to contact your energy company to see if they have any free or discounted deals available.
Alternatively, for details of local installers you could contact for quotes visit the National Insulation Association |
. As a guide, prices for cavity wall fibre insulation can start from as low as £49 (price correct August 2011). However, it is recommended that you get other competitive quotes to check you are getting the best value.Expanded polystyrene bead (EPS) – suitable for brick cavities 40mm and wider and stone cavities that are at least 50mm in width.
This is the next cheapest form of cavity wall insulation which could save you up to £115 per year on your energy bills. It costs in the region of £7.50 per square meter.
EPS bead insulation is suitable for brick built houses with cavities greater than 40mm in width. It can also be used in stone houses with 50mm stone cavities.
If you receive health or income benefits, or have a household income less than £16,120 per year and receive working or child tax credits, or you are over 60 an interest free loan is available through Calderdale Credit Union to help pay for this work.
For details contact the Housing Energy Action Team.
Polyurethane foam – suitable for random stone cavities down to 20mm.
As well as having thermal insulating qualities, this material also has the other benefits of being a structural bonding agent and is impenetrable to water – making it useful for properties with unfilled cavities in flood risk areas.
The work is covered through a 25 year industry backed guarantee through the British Urethane Foam Contractors’ Association (BUFCA).
Savings in energy bills will vary depending upon the cavity width of the property. Random stone cavities can vary significantly in width anywhere between 20mm and over 100mm in places depending on the type of stone and construction method used.
Carbon subsidy is becoming available. The Council and its partners have developed a small pilot project that offers £300 discount per household, with the balance payable by the owner. Interest free loans are available to spread the cost for qualifying households.
If you are interested in applying to be part of the pilot programme, contact the Housing Energy Action Team.
Cavity wall insulation is easy to install from the outside of your property. No disruption is caused to internal decorations. The work should also come with an industry backed 25 year guarantee.
External and internal solid wall insulation
If your home does not have a cavity, it can still be insulated with an external wall insulation (EWI) system, or it could be internally ‘dry lined’.
Although this type of insulation could save more carbon, it is much more expensive. EWI changes the property’s appearance. Dry lining is disruptive as work is often needed to wiring, skirting boards, radiators and re-decoration.
A variety of different insulation materials can be used for dry lining ranging from aerogel plasterboard to phenolic foam. Costs, performance and thickness of the insulation can vary significantly depending on the type of material used.
Planning permission may also be required to carry out this work.
Loft insulation
Heat loss from an un-insulated roof could be as much as 25% from a property. This can be minimised by ensuring any loft insulation meets the current recommended depth of 270mm (11 inches).
On current prices, this could save up to £150 per year on your heating costs if you don’t have any loft insulation at present.
Certain households may qualify to have this work done free of charge, depending on their circumstances: for further information see Calderdale Home Insulation Scheme.
If you don’t qualify for free or discounted loft fibre through the Council scheme, you may wish to contact your energy company to see if they have any free or discounted deals available.
Alternatively, the National Insulation Association | has details of local installers that you could contact for quotes. As a guide, typical prices for loft fibre insulation currently start from as low as £99. However, it is recommended that you get some competitive quotes from different suppliers to check you are getting the best value.
Loft insulation is also available from DIY stores if you are able to competently install this insulation yourself. Keep your eye out for details of offers of low prices that are occasionally advertised.
