Cavity wall and loft insulation can vastly improve energy efficiency performance and make huge savings on energy bills

(15/11/2007)

Of the 26 million properties in the UK, around nine million homes are without cavity wall insulation and 11 million homes without adequate loft insulation. But if everyone in the UK installed loft insulation up to 270mm thickness, the equivalent savings would pay the energy bills of 640,000 families in the UK.

The carbon savings to be made by simply installing cavity wall and loft insulation are massive. If everyone in the UK installed loft insulation up to 270mm thickness it would cut carbon emissions by 7 million tonnes – enough carbon dioxide to fill the new Wembley stadium 900 times over.

A new 'coldest homes' map of the UK published by the Department of Health to encourage vulnerable people to stay warm this winter identifies Liverpool as the UK's coldest place with 28.8% of people aged over 65 living in the city, being without any central heating. Leeds comes in 2nd in the table with 28.1% of its over 65s having no central heating in their homes and Barrow in Furness makes it a northern top three with a 26.5%.

But as we enter into the long winter months Leicester based MARK group are urging people not to sit and shiver in silence but take-up the financial opportunities available to make their homes warmer and more energy efficient. Millions of pounds of grants are available through local authorities and Government funding pots – in particular to the elderly and vulnerable – for insulation and heating systems, with the Mark Group on hand to help walk people through the process.

Bill Rumble, MARK Group Director, said: “This report identifies 10 different 'cold spots' in the UK but with grants and financial help available no one has to live in a 'cold spot' this winter. One significant way you can warm up your home is through installing cavity wall and loft insulation. It's an area that often gets neglected when looking at the energy efficiency of our homes. Yet for a relatively low outlay households could vastly improve their energy efficiency performance overnight and make huge savings on their energy bills. There are also grants available to help offset the cost of insulation and heating systems and we at the Mark Group can help people through the application process with our advice service.”

Related categories:  Energy Conservation   Heating controls   Insulation   Legislation and regulations   Residential applications 

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