Insulating An Old House Can Improve Energy Efficiency

Insulation can be the most important step you can take to improve energy efficiency and reduce your bills.  However, when you have an old house, this can be easier said than done. When it comes to insulating an old house, it’s vital to ensure it is insulated properly so that your investments makes the differences that you are looking for.

Why insulate your old house?

There are several reasons why insulating your older house is going to be beneficial to you:

• Improving the energy efficiency of the property
• You can save on your energy bills
• The house will hold heat for longer
• Your home will be warmer during the winter months
• Reduce your carbon footprint
• Increase the value of your home

Energy efficiency and reduced bills go hand in hand. When you make your home more energy efficient, it wastes less heat and makes your home feel warmer, resulting in lower bills.

Where to insulate your home to improve energy efficiency?

The difficulty of insulating an older house will vary depending on its structure. There are two key areas to consider here:

• Solid walls – These are one of the more difficult parts of old homes to insulate and are more expensive.  The cheaper option is internal insulation, but external insulation is more effective.

• Open loft area – These are fairly cheap and easy to insulate, but complications can arise when you take into account whether there are livable rooms in the loft and whether they have a solid ground floor (which makes it much harder).

Ways to insulate your home?

The bottom line is that effectively insulating an old house is possible, but it requires special considerations compared to new builds.

It is very important to note that older homes need to have good ventilation so that moisture can escape. Old houses tend to have more issues relating to condensation and mould. This can result in uncontrolled ventilation like draughts, and the state of the insulation in the property. 

This means that your home needs to have ventilation, but the right kind of ventilation. This is referred to as controlled ventilation, deliberately placed in specific locations to prevent condensation and maintain the energy efficiency of the house.

ECO4 Scheme

Insulating an old house can be a big and expensive undertaking, but you might be eligible for help. 

Under the Government’s ECO4 grant, those in low-income households are eligible for several kinds of insulation replacement that can be done entirely for free if you are eligible.  If you are a homeowner or private tenant receiving benefits, then you should be eligible for this scheme.