The Importance Of Insulation
The UK’s housing stock is the oldest and draughtiest in Europe. As a nation we are far, far behind most of our neighbours when it comes to energy efficiency in our homes.
There has been a lot of press recently regarding funding for heat pumps and moving away from gas and going all electric, but what’s the sense with sticking in these efficient technologies if the energy produced is leaking through cracks and crevices, roofs and walls of our ageing homes? We need to sensibly seal and insulate our homes, first and foremost, if we have any chance in meeting the UK’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The vision of our homes all being heated by electric, and the banning of gas heating is idyllic but what about grid capacity?
It is estimated that the peak thermal load currently demanded by our homes and delivered by gas is 170GW, currently the electrical grid capacity is 60GW and even by 2050 looks only to 100GW. So, if we don’t get our energy demand down before the nation completely moves to decarbonised electricity the whole vision will collapse!
How far do we need to go in insulating our housing stock? Numerous studies have shown that even to get close to meeting net zero targets, we need to reduce the energy demand of our homes down from an average 130 kWh/m2/ year down to about 50 kWh/m2/year. These metrics may not make much sense to your average Joe, but if we put that into a percentage, it works out to a whopping 60% reduction in the amount of energy we use at home.
The targets are ambitious, so how does that translate into real measures? Installing wall insulation depends on the type of wall--if there are cavity walls then cavity wall insulation is a straightforward option. With solid walls it is trickier and the choice of external or internal insulations depends on what constraints there are. Insulating lofts is often very simple though it has to be done properly, and floors should also be included where possible. When we insulate we have to also consider draughtproofing and controlled ventilation so we create a cosy, breathable envelope around our homes bringing our energy demand to a minimum…. then the next step is to look at how we are going to heat them.
Using the right insulation in the right application.
Over the last thirty years, home insulation has had a bit of a bad press with nightmare stories of damp and mould after cavity wall insulation instals or lofts sweating after being topped up.
The insulation industry in its infancy was never governed as it should have been. There were mass projects funded by the government in the form of grants and subsidies but without robust auditing or monitoring work post-installation. This led to companies getting away with substandard work and often there was little recourse for homeowners. And it wasn’t just poor work quality-- Insulation measures were installed into properties without considering the existing condition of the building, the suitability of the system for the building or the weather exposure.
With the introduction of PAS2035, the industry is now governed by a very robust standard which considers all of this and more. In further blogs we will talk about the standard in detail and also look at pros and cons of specific methods of insulating your home,
