Insulation – roof

Loft insulation is usually the simplest major improvement you can make.

We already had 100mm of insulation in our roof, which we immediately trebled to around 300mm, and it didn’t cost us a penny.

To find out what’s available in Hull now, try the council Warm Homes Team.

Natural options with lower embodied energy include Warmcel, from recycled newspaper. Sheep’s wool insulation is another alternative, but costs about 3 times as much.  Recycled plastic is now an option, that takes less energy to produce than mineral wool.  (Spinning mineral wool involves melting rock.)

If we had no insulation in our loft and installed just 100mm, it would have saved £300 a year. That means even if we bought the materials ourselves the cost would be paid back in bill savings in just a couple of months.

 

Loft Insulation increased from 100mm to 300mm

Product Mineral Wool
U-value improved from 0.31 to 0.11
Cost Free – funded by WarmZone
Cost if you pay £1.20 per square meter for mineral wool 100mm thick,
available at a subsidised price from diy stores
Saving £37 a year
Payback Time Immediate if funded.
If paid for: 4 years
Supplier WarmZone

 

Before - extension roof space with 100mm insulation. The extension is built on to the back of the house, so that end wall is the main house- the upstairs rear wall. It is solid brick and has no insulation.
Before – extension roof space with 100mm insulation.
The extension is built on to the back of the house, so that end wall is the main house- the upstairs rear wall. It is solid brick and has no insulation.
After - snug! 300mm of insulation. I also put a couple of layers (400mm) against the end wall, held in place with garden wire. An amazingly simple form of External Wall Insulation <> in a space that is cold, but weather tight and unused. The insulated black pipes top left are for the Solar Thermal <> hot water panels on the roof above, carrying the circulating fluid between the panel and the hot water tank. The silver ducting on the right provides ventilation to underneath the floor of the lounge below. This replaces the air bricks that were covered when the extension was built. <>
After – snug! 300mm of insulation.
I also put a couple of layers (400mm) against the end wall, held in place with garden wire. An amazingly simple form of External Wall Insulation in a space that is cold, but weather tight and unused.
The insulated black pipes top left are for the Solar Thermal hot water panels on the roof above, carrying the circulating fluid between the panel and the hot water tank.
The silver ducting on the right provides ventilation to underneath the floor of the lounge below. This replaces the air bricks that were covered when the extension was built.