Loft Insulation for your home

One of the most effective way to insulate your home is to insulate your loft. Many houses already have some loft insulation, but the energy savings will depend on how thick the insulation is.

The latest government guidelines recommend 200mm (8”) of insulation for domestic properties, while the EEC programme recommends a depth of 270.Homes with 150mm or less should be substantially topped up to 270mm for glass wool, 250mm for rock wool, or 220mm for cellulose - the requirement for new homes. Nine million homes are insulated to 100mm, a thickness which has not been considered adequate since the early 1980's.

Simply speaking, insulation your loft prevents heat loss in winter, also heat gain in summer, and reduces your energy consumption for heating resulting in:

• Lower heating bills
• Lower ‘wear and tear’ on your boiler
• Reduced Global Warming and Climate Change

Government literature states that 'as much as 20% of your energy bill can be saved by effective loft insulation.' Effective loft insulation means a British Standard product, ideally laid by a professional installer.

There are three types of British Standard material, all suitable for simple 'topping-up', leaving the existing insulation in place:

- Mineral wool quilt
- Blown mineral wool
- Blown cellulose fibre

Quilt is rolled out in the loft space, whilst blown materials are installed loose using a purpose-built insulation blowing machine - including into areas where access by the technician may be difficult.

Most loft insulation materials work by preventing the movement of heated air through the material. The fibres of matting insulation trap air within it, for the matting to be effective it should not be over stretched or compressed as the structure trapping the air may be destroyed.

Loft insulation is not an easy task and should be carried out by the professional Technicians, properly trained and experienced.

For instance, a high standard can only be achieved by insulating across the top of the ceiling joists as well as between them, to avoid cold-bridging and including the loft hatch. Pipes and tanks also need to be insulated to avoid freezing. Other key considerations include ventilation to avoid condensation in the loft, access, and the safety aspects of electrical wiring and fittings.