Insulation is something that every home should have. It can save you money and keep your home as warm as possible when it’s cold outside. Here’s a guide to the different kinds of insulation your home needs.
Walls
There are a couple of different types of wall insulation, and which one you choose will largely depend on the type of walls your home has. Firstly, let’s talk about cavity walls. Cavity walls are walls that have a gap between the internal wall and the external wall. To insulate these types of wall, the insulation has to be placed in that gap to keep as much of the heat in the property as possible.
Installing cavity wall insulation isn’t something that you can do by yourself, so don’t be tempted to try it. It requires a professional with prior experience to get the job done correctly. If you have solid walls, as opposed to cavity walls, there are a couple of options open to you. Internal insulation is the first and easiest option – it’s something you can do yourself. But if you choose the other option, external insulation, the task is much greater as it covers the entire facade of the property, so DIY won’t be an option.
Loft
Heat rises, so the amount of heat lost through an uninsulated loft can be huge. This means you’ll be wasting a lot of money via your heating bills. To get the most out of your heating system, you need to properly insulate the loft. Luckily, it’s not difficult to insulate your loft. In fact, it’s pretty easy. There are two options for you to choose between: a cold loft or a warm loft. A cold loft is when you insulate the floor of the loft, leaving the loft itself cold. And a warm loft is when you insulate directly under the roof so that the loft is warm.
The cold loft option is the cheapest, and you can install this kind of insulation easily by yourself. You’ll need to source the insulation material and industrial adhesives to make sure it stays where you want it to. There are lots of online tutorials that will talk you through the process of laying it step by step.
Doors and Windows
You may not realize it, but the doors and windows in your house play a big part in insulating it. It makes sense if you think about it. It’s been found that homes with single-glazed windows can lose roughly 20% of the home’s heat through them. That’s a lot of heat, and you are, of course, paying to generate that heat. So, by having poor quality windows, you could actually be wasting a lot of money needlessly.
This emphasizes the importance of having double-glazed windows installed wherever possible. It might cost money in the short-term, but in the long-term, you’ll save yourself a lot of money.
The same can be said for your doors. You don’t want to be letting heat out through gaps in the door, so have them upgraded if they’re in poor shape. The newest doors and windows are designed to make sure they keep heat in and insulate your home.
