Why is it important to insulate your property?
Property insulation comes with many benefits, with a variety of ways in which you can better insulate your property.
Depending on factors such as whether you own the property, whether it is an apartment or a house and what local planning laws allow, getting the insulation your property needs and can benefit from is very much worthwhile. This is particularly the case with the UK government rolling out their Green Home Grants Scheme (read more) which covers the costs when you insulate your home, making it more energy efficient and better for the environment.
For many years however, insulating homes and properties has been something desirable for homeowners, tenants (where they are able to do so) and landlords with multiple portfolio properties. As a result of the largest benefits to be had when insulating properties, properties can be greener, more efficient and cheaper to run with regards to the energy, electric and gas bills.
How to insulate a property
There are many ways in which proper insulation can be acquired and installed. Although some of the practices will require sometimes substantial spending on the work and materials, there are always longer-term savings and benefits.
Roof and basement insulation – With heat rising, it is no surprise that a great deal of heat loss occurs through the roof, attic and loft of properties. Therefore, by properly insulating the upper-most portion of your property, the amount of heat lost can be greatly reduced. When many properties in the UK were built, there wasn’t terribly much attention paid to insulating the roof and so this is a great way in which to insulate your property.
With regards to basements, although many properties in the UK do not have basements, for those that do, it can be one of the coldest parts of the property and so insulating the basement of a property properly can have huge benefits, reducing the amount of energy needed to heat it.
Double glazing – One of the best ways in which to better insulate your property, installing double glazing can improve energy efficiency and heat retention, as well as improving the overall value of your property. such is the desirability of having double glazing, that prospective homebuyers will often pay that bit more for a property that has double glazing installed. Single-pane glass can also (if not properly cared for) lead to condensation, something double glazing hugely reduces the risks of.
Cavity wall insulation – Many properties in the UK that were built through the 1920s have a space [the cavity] between the inner and outer walls of the property. This was designed so that the elements outside could not penetrate the inner environment of the property. However, as a result of these cavity walls, there is increased air leakage and heat loss through the same cavity. Insulating these walls by filling the space between the two walls greatly improves the heat retention of the property.
Key benefits of insulating your property
There are various key benefits when it comes to having a properly and efficiently insulated property. In the case of double glazing, there is the additional benefit of increased security or your property too, with the frames and double-paned glass (as well as uPVC front doors) that are part and parcel of double glazing being more secure than single-glazed equivalents.
- Lower energy bills
- Better heat retention in the winter and cool air retention in the summer
- More desirable for prospective buyers and tenants
- Reduced chances of rising damp, condensation and mould
- Property will be more environmentally friendly
- Less strain placed upon your boiler (not needing to work as hard to heat the property)
Also, as per Part L of UK Building Regulations, new properties in the UK must meet minimum standards when it comes to air tightness. In practice, this refers to the ‘tightness’ of the property’s envelope [the barrier between the inside and outside environments]. The better the air tightness, the better the property’s ability to retain an effective barrier between the interior and exterior environments.
