In a joint project between 15 local councils and the Energy Saving Trust, planes will fly above Lancashire and detect the amount of heat escaping from local homes, in order to assess their energy efficiency.

Houses deemed to be amongst the least energy efficient will be told of their low efficiency rating, and given advice on how to improve it. The cabinet member for environment and planning at Lancashire Country Council, Councillor Tim Ashton said: “In the current economic climate anything we can do to help families and firms to cut costs is very welcome. By undertaking this high-tech approach, we will make sure that future work and grants are targeted effectively.”

Whilst it is not known how much this project will cost (the sky’s the limit), it is a further example of the lengths the government will go in order to increase the energy efficiency of homes in Britain, and reduce the amount of heat escaping through walls and roofs.

The government has already pumped millions into insulation grants to help home owners, landlords and tenants to insulate their homes and help retain valuable heat within their four walls. According to the Energy Saving Trust, the average UK home could save around £115 off their energy bill every year by insulating their walls.

To find out how much you could be eligible for, use the form at the top of this page.

(In case you were wondering, the carbon emmitted from these flights will be off-set by a donation to the Lancashire-Gulu Carbon Compensation Scheme).

Keep the heat off the street.

With the cost of energy so high, it’s not surprising that many people are looking to keep as much of their heat within their own four walls. It’s a worrying statistic that as much as 50% of heat could be escaping through your windows, doors, walls and loft – the equivalent of throwing hundreds of pounds out of your window every year.

In an interview in the Independent on Sunday, Mat Colmer, the head of housing and supply chain at the Energy Saving Trust, says that the most effective way to keep heat locked up inside is to insulate your walls. “You lose most of your heat out of your walls, 33 per cent in fact, so you can insulate on the outside, the middle and on the inside and make big savings straight away.”

The good news is that for houses built after 1920, insulating your walls should not be a problem. Generally, houses built after this time are constructed with a gap between the two layers that comprise the outer wall of the property, making them suitable to receive cavity wall insulation material.

Is my house suitable for cavity wall insulation?

As a (very) general rule if your outside wall measures 30cm thick, then chances are you have a cavity wall and can receive insulation. Anything less than this and it’s most than likely to be solid. Of course, the best way to check for sure is for a local insulation company to conduct a free survey of your property. They’ll then check to see if the conditions are suitable for insulation (vulnerability to wind and rain, location, previous cases of damp or frost damage) and if your property can physically receive the insulation.

Loft insulation

Your home could be losing up to a quarter of your its heat through the roof. Loft insulation can provide an instant reduction in heat loss and immediately create a warmer environment in your home.

Lofts are far easier to insulate than cavity walls. Even so, it is advised to get a free survey of your property to ensure the right insulation is fitted, and to the right depth. Mr Colmer continues “Insulating your loft is massively cost effective, we’d say absolutely definitely do it.” However, you’ve got to do it right. Loft insulation involves laying insulating quilts of mineral wool down between the horizontal beams that make up the floor of your attic. “You can’t squash the insulation in the loft,” says Mr Colmer.

The difference in price between self-installation and getting an insulation company to do it for you can be as little as a few pounds. And with grants available for up to 100% of the cost of loft insulation, it can be easier and cheaper to get a professional in to do the job.

Home insulation grants are available

As part of a package of £1 billion in grants, the Government announced in 2007 that it would be offering all households in the UK help towards the cost of home insulation.

For those most at risk of fuel poverty, including the elderly and those on certain benefits, the Government has promised to pay for cavity wall and loft insulation to reduce wasted energy and ensure that heat remains within the homes that need it most.

Everyone could benefit from insulation grants, and you don’t need to be on benefits to qualify. To find out exactly how much you could be due, find out you grant eligibility here.