We’re all looking for ways to reduce our energy bills but what are the best home improvements to lower your heating costs? Let’s take a look at the top strategies to make your home more energy efficient and save you money.
Insulation
Insulation is the most important part of reducing your heating bills. You can have a very effective central heating system but if your home is not properly insulated, you’re wasting your money. All of that heat will escape, through the walls, roof, windows, doors, floor, and via draughts from the chimney or letterbox. So, insulation is vital.
The current Building Regulations suggest a minimum of 270mm of loft insulation to retain the 25% of heat that would otherwise be lost through the roof. External and internal walls also need to be adequately insulated as almost 35% of heat is lost through uninsulated walls.
Insulation can be placed between floor joists or as a thin layer under different types of flooring to reduce the heat loss down into the ground. Windows and doors should be properly fitted to prevent draughts through gaps and be double or triple glazed.
Finally, chimneys and letterboxes can be fitted with proprietary draught excluders to reduce heat loss via these routes.
Double or triple glazing
Single glazed windows are not effective at retaining heat in your home so most modern properties have at least double glazing, if not triple glazing. However, the weather in the UK doesn’t really warrant whole home triple glazing unless they are used primarily to reduce noise pollution.
Having said that, if you have an east or north facing window, triple glazing in these parts of the house can be more effective at retaining heat.
Double glazing is the standard in the UK and has evolved over time to be more efficient, slimline and attractive. Almost 90% of homes in England are fitted with double glazing and as properties are renovated, this figure is likely to increase.
In addition, older double glazing is not as efficient as modern systems so if the windows in your home are more than 15 years old, they may benefit from an upgrade. You could see significant benefits in your heating bill.
Sustainable heating options
The UK government is committed to reaching its carbon net zero goal by 2050. As a result, it is encouraging homeowners to replace their existing heating systems with more sustainable options. This approach is also aimed at lowering household heating bills.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides a grant of up to £7,500 for homeowners who want to replace gas or oil boilers with greener options such as heat pumps. While still relatively new in the UK, the benefits of these more sustainable heating options are financial as well as environmental.
As the upfront costs for installing a heat pump are higher than a new gas boiler, the government has provided the incentive of the BUS. It is also the government’s aim that running costs for heat pumps are lower than fossil fuel burning options to encourage more people to switch.
There are a number of steps households can take to reduce their energy bills, from better insulation to double glazing and lower cost heating systems.
