Winter's arrived in an energy efficient home, so what does this mean so far ?
Yes, it's December 2017 already and as reminded by the BBC weatherman, that's the beginning of 'meteorological winter' and it'll not be...
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Vriconian - Insulation
Insulation
Keeping the heat in, or out
Featured
Insulation, Insulation, Insulation
Introduction
So how many times have we heard or seen a phrase along the lines of 'The cheapest energy you will ever buy is that which you don't use' without fully understanding the meaning behind it?
Effectively, whether you're looking to keep hold of more of your own hard-earned money in times of ever-increasing energy prices, to increase comfort levels, to save the planet, or even a combination of all of these reasons, then put aside ideas for technical solutions such as replacing that relatively inefficient gas central heating or installing solar PV for now and just concentrate on the basic concept that keeping your heat in your home is more likely to achieve your goals with a lower investment and therefore a higher return than almost anything else you could do.
Typical Heat Loss Sources in UK homes
The typical UK domestic property leaks heat, and therefore energy which has been purchased, in the following proportions
Roof:25%, Walls:35%, Windows:15%, Draught:15%, Floor:10%.
Loft Insulation
The average poorly insulated home in the UK looses 25% of the heat provided by the householder through the roof. In statistical terms, 'poorly insulated' or 'uninsulated' would represent properties with less than 125mm (5") of loft insulation, therefore the majority of UK domestic properties built before 1990, when changes to building standards raised the minimum requirement to 150mm (6"), would likely benefit from addressing this form of heat-loss. Simply installing or topping-up loft insulation to meet current building standards (270mm) can result in significant reductions in energy bills and the property's carbon footprint.
National Statistics
Household Energy Efficiency
HM Government's Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) produce an annual report (published as part of National Statistics) which assesses domestic insulation levels in Great Britain and reports progress for existing energy schemes to the end of the previous calendar year.
The report provides geographical analysis of energy efficiency improvement schemes and estimated carbon and energy savings from measures installed, the supply chain. Estimates are made to assess the current overall position on home insulation levels with a view to understand the potential for further energy usage and carbon emission reductions .
Current and past copies of the annual report are available for download from Ofgem using this link - (Here).
The following report is the latest in the series (Published 23/03/2017) and provides information in respect to calendar year 2016.
Insulation
This Report is Crown copyright & licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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