Find an Insulation Installer you can trust in Downham Market.

Damp issues on a property are usually generated by a lot of factors such as a poor or broken guttering, condensation and lots more. The question arising here is what is the possibility of External Wall Insulation (EWI) preventing condensation? Not only is EWI a reliable way to reduce condensation-caused damp, but it’s also one of the major reasons property owners in solid wall homes consider thermally rendering or cladding their external walls.

Condensation arises as a result of warm moist internal air hitting a cold surface such as the steaming up of both windows and mirror when having a shower. What happens here is the condensation of the water vapour in the air from a gas to liquid in the process of touching the cold surface - one whose temperature is significantly reduced to reach the dew point. At the dew point, condensation is very rampant, and to tackle this issue you’ll have to heighten the wall temperature in order to convert the moisture to vapour and permit it to pass through the wall. And that’s exactly the job of an external wall insulation!

To get started you must ensure that the walls are clean and dry prior to fitting the external wall insulation. The month of May through to September when the weather tends to be dry and more stable are usually the best period to carry out the project. The external wall insulation will function just like a cosy blanket around the building. Ultimately, changing the feel and temperature of the inside of your home. As a result, the previously cold walls will no longer be cold which goes a long way to mitigate the effects of condensation. Furthermore, when an EWI is installed, the rooms of your home will automatically trap more thermal mass as the heat is saved in the walls’ fabric and released back when the temperature drops.

External wall insulation works to keep your home cosy and comfy while also helping to cut the energy bills. However with the great benefits also comes great costs, so it’s actually a logical decision to know whether there are grants out there which you’re eligible for to help you handle the cost of the external wall insulation.

There are grants available for external wall insulation, but rarely will you find one that covers the full installation cost. With the help of the government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, a couple of energy companies assist in making your home more energy efficient by offering grants or free insulation. In certain cases whereby you receive particular state benefits, you may as well qualify for a higher grant that’ll cover more of the insulation cost.

However, if your energy supplier doesn’t offer any grant, you need not worry as you can save as much on energy bill after installation. Here’s what insulation can help you save per year on energy bills:

• Floor insulation can help you save within a range of £30 to £75 each year.

• Cavity wall insulation can help you save about £85 to £280 a year.

• Loft Insulation (270mm) can help you save about £135 to £250 a year.

Generally, the amount you’ll be able to save on your energy bills depends mainly on the type and size of your property, as well as how energy efficient it already is without the insulation. In the long run, your external wall insulation will more than give you back your investment on the valuable project through your savings on energy bills. In other words, whether or not you’re eligible for a grant should never stop you from installing an external wall insulation.

Over the years there has been an increase in the recommended thickness of loft insulation by the government. Obviously, the reason behind this is pretty simply - the thicker the layer of your loft insulation the bigger your savings. The UK government is very keen to every house in the country to have loft insulation fitted where possible as it helps to minimize the heating demands of these properties. Households get to benefit from loft insulation in so many ways which includes reduced energy energy bills as well as having a home that stays at a more comfortable temperature for longer.

Generally, for the government energy efficiency is crucial as it implies that the highest demand ( which is usually the time of the day when gas or electricity use is at its peak ) reduces, since each building requires slightly less energy. Overall, that ultimately implies that new power plants don’t have to be built which is some nice cost savings for the government.

In the 1980’s, any thickness of loft insulation from 25 mm to 50 mm was considered the standard. But then, building regulations stated that homes should have as much as 100 mm of loft insulation. Over time, this gradually increased to 270mm for new builds and also recommended for other properties, although not essential. As a result of this, there’s always a need to check how much insulation you currently have in your loft before you decide to purchase more. You may discover that you already have something within the range of 20 mm to 200 mm up there and knowing this and the insulation values will assist in determining how much more you’ll need to purchase, if any at all. You should also note that some modern materials can offer the same thermal insulation whilst not being as thick.

Insulating a cavity wall should not affect the damp proofing of the wall. All insulation approved for use in cavity walls has been tested to ensure that it does not allow damp to pass through the wall. Some walls which receive a lot of wind driven rain are unsuitable for cavity wall insulation.

This depends on the amount of insulation already present in your property. However, adding insulation has been proven to improve the energy efficiency of your home and decrease your heating bills, this is more obvious in older properties or where single glazing is still in situ.

A lot of an uninsulated property’s heat is lost through the roof and that’s even more alarming, when you realize this figure is up to a quarter of the total heat of the house. Hence, the tremendous importance of preventing this heat loss through loft insulation which will go a long way to help you against spending unnecessary thousands of pounds on heating bill as well as energy loss.

Loft insulation is an effective method to achieve the desired result, however the question is, how exactly does it work? Well, it’s time to find out!

Using either a fireplace or central heating to heat up your home, a large quantity of that heat would be lost through the roof of your home. Generally, heat rises and when it does, there’s simply no way to prevent it - it’s just science. Escaping by both the conduction and convection methods via your roof, the heat escaping through your ceiling, into the loft space and out into the open air outside can only be significantly reduced by laying loft insulation.

Generally, the added layer of insulation works by trapping the heat inside the room below the loft so as to enable the air within your house to stay warmer for longer. What’s more? The layer of insulation also keeps cold air from the outside from entering your home. As a result, you don’t have to heat your home as much in order to achieve the same temperature for each individual room. Over time, just by doing this you can potentially save hundreds pounds. Getting it installed in your home may actually seem a bit expensive at first, but it’s something that’ll eventually pay off.

In recent times, more and more home and property owners are starting to come to terms with the large returns and little investment in cavity wall insulation provides. For a relatively little amount you can achieve a lot, from an increase in your home’s energy efficiency and reduction in heating bills to a huge boost in your property’s resale value and lots more. This makes you wonder how an ordinary insulation can help you achieve so much, right? Well, you’re definitely not alone! Several other potential investors are also eager to know exactly how the cavity wall insulation works to deliver all these juicy benefits. In this post, we’re going to go provide you with a detailed insight on how cavity wall insulation works. Let’s take a look!

Typically, cavity wall insulation works as acting as a shield which prevents the escape of heat from your home. It features a reflective surface which serves as a barrier to reflect heat from one side of the panel, effectively minimizing the amount of heat conduction that escapes through. This protection of your home from heat penetration comes with a couple of benefits with the obvious one being an incredible thermal efficiency. An insulated home or property is able to maintain a much more balanced temperature throughout the year – staying a lot cooler during the summer months and retain the heat generated during the winter months. However, a less talked about benefit is the fact that when an insulation is done during the construction of a house, the whole development phase can be completed a lot quicker. This is mainly because insulation offers total protection against weather conditions which enables internal trades to continue without the need to wait for brickwork or cladding to be completed.

How long it takes to install insulation will depend on the size of your property. In general, loft and cavity wall insulation can be installed in a day or two. External wall insulation will usually take longer to install. The rep or installer will be able to advise you when quoting for the job how long this will be.