Find out how much loft insulation costs

For a cost-effective way of keeping your house warm you should seriously consider lost insulation – find out how much it costs to install here.

Loft insulation can cut your fuel bills

Why should I insulate my loft?

Mainly because it will save you money and energy, a well insulated house keeps the warmth indoors where it is needed, and in turn requires less energy. Insulating your loft will heat your house more effectively; using less carbon dioxide and saving you money.

How does loft insulation work?

Heat naturally flows from a warm area to a cold one, so the colder it is outside the faster heat from your home will escape into the cooler outside air. However, imagine a barrier which traps the escaping heat and there you have insulation. Insulation also has lots of little air pockets built into it, which trap the heat and keep it indoors, this cuts what is known as the U-Value of the loft. The U-Value determines how quickly your home loses heat, so the lower the U-Value, the less energy you need to keep your house heated. Loft insulation will reduce you loft’s U-Value from around 2.3 – 0.16 W/m2K, or more simply, a reduction of about 95%. When researching loft insulation you may also come across an R-Value, this is a measure of thermal resistance and is the inverse of a U-Value. So, the higher the R-Value the better. The R-Value is normally noted on the packaging of insulation, so consider that before purchasing.

How much will loft insulation cost and what will I save?

The following costs are based on a gas heated three-bedroom semi detached house that has gone from no loft insulation to 270mm loft insulation. These costs are only approximate, for more specific quotes contact companies in your local area.

Annual Saving: £150
Installed Cost: £250
DIY Cost: £50 - £350
Annual CO2 Saving: 730kg

So, if you install loft insulation your ‘payback’ time would be around two years and DIY payback could be up to three years. Bear in mind that loft insulation is effective for around 40 years, so it will pay for itself and save you a lot of money. Think of it this way, the better insulated your home, the less energy is required to keep it heated which means you will save money on energy bills.

Will loft insulation work in my home?

As long as you have a loft that is accessible and free of damp/condensation problems. Even if your loft is hard to access do not rule loft insulation out, blown insulation can be used (although this must be done by an installer).

The Energy Saving Trust

An interesting fact that the Energy Saving Trust have found out is that if everyone in the UK installed 270mm of loft insulation, collectively we could save around £520 million and nearly 3 million tonnes of CO2 every year. That’s enough to fill Wembley Stadium nearly 380 times over!

How do you insulate a loft?

Insulating a loft with insulation blankets can be a relatively easy job, however it must complete to a very high standard to make it worth your while and avoid unnecessary wastage. It is advisable to hire an installer to get the best job done. Also if you have a hard to reach loft you will need to use blown insulation which must be installed by a professional insulation installer. This process should only take a few hours; the installer will use specialist equipment to blow loose insulation material into the loft.