Improve saleability

Jim Hustwit, the UK manager of MyHammer has commented that the value of older homes can be improved by adding new central heating. He also points out that bringing a house up to scratch in terms of its environmental credentials can impact on its saleability.

It suggests that wall cavity insulation and loft insulation as well as double glazing can make it easier to sell a home. He points out that these measures will also save the homeowner money on their heating bills, so it is a win win situation.

The MyHammer website suggests that in addition to loft and wall cavity insulation, homeowners can carry out radiator, pipe and tank insulation to bring their home up to a high level of energy efficiency.

Improved confidence

These comments come as research from Zoopla has shown that the arrival of spring has led to improved confidence in the housing market and that more people plan to carry out improvements on their homes in the next six months.

Last Winter saw some of the coldest temperatures on record in the UK, as snow and ice brought chaos to the country. As a result, homes were forced to turn up their thermostats and use energy-hungry appliances such as electric heaters to keep themselves warm. This, together with ever-increasing prices, led to a huge rise in energy bills, and many found it difficult to find the money to pay.

The survey also found that retired people are most worried about the winter months. Almost half of retirees said they would struggle to afford the extra cost of heating their home.

However, as part of the Government’s Carbon Emission Reduction Target, free cavity wall and loft insulation grants are available to those over 70 (or those on benefits) and for everyone else, a grant of between 40-70% can be received. Insulating a property’s cavity wall and loft can reduce the average annual energy bill by around £250, as well as keeping a home warmer in the winter months.

Applying for an insulation grant is straight-forward and can be done here. However, please be advised that as temperatures drop, demand for insulation grants will rise, and home owners are advised to apply now before the rush.

The loan would be linked to your property, rather than to you, and is designed to help spread the cost of energy saving improvements by allowing households to pay back the loan from the energy savings made each year.

The ‘save-as-you-pay’ initiative is part of the Governments plan to cut emissions from all 22 million UK households by 29% by 2020.

Installing solar panels can reduce energy bills by up to 80%, and can even earn money from selling energy back to the grid. But many are unable to fund the initial cost of installing such measures, which can amount to around £7000-£10,000.

Whilst this new scheme would help to reduce this initial investment, critics argue that new home owners could be forced to pay for the previous owners loans, and could lead to problems selling a home in the first place.

“I think it could have a detrimental effect on the housing market. Just the principle of attaching a loan to the property complicates things unnecessarily and it interferes with the free market value of the house,”  Gary Smith, President of the National Association of Estate Agents says.

However, Ed Miliband argues that the improvements made to the home, and therefore the energy savings, would far outweigh any loan attached to the property:  “You’ll find that the energy bills are significantly lower so, say, you’ll be having a few hundred pounds off your energy bills and offsetting that you’ll have a couple of hundred pounds in payments.”

The Conservatives argue that any loan paypack should be linked to household energy bill, allowing greater transparency: “It would not be a debt attached to the home, we would pay it off over time through the electricity bill,” Greg Clark, the Conservatives energy spokesman.

The Goverment is due to launch a new Feed in Tariff for solar panels and wind turbines in April, allowing homes to sell energy back to the grid in return for tax-free cash. This is coupled with existing grants available towards the cost of cavity wall and loft insulation.

Whatever your view, it seems evironmental policy, and specifically how to encourage households to cut emmissions, will be a popular point of discussion in the run up to this year’s general election.

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).

A combined £1.9 billion in extra fuel payments is expected, as the demand for gas and electricity continues to rise during the so-called Big Freeze.

It seems the rising demand has come as a surprise to companies such as the National Grid, who have reported a limited supply, causing prices to escalate even further.

Many argue that it is another example of poor planning and forecasting on behalf of the energy companies, and once again the public have no choice but to pay prices far in excess of most other European countries.

An increase of almost 50% on this months fuel bill is likely to hit those on lower incomes and benefits the hardest, many of whom are already struggling to afford to heat their homes.

Aside from winter fuel allowances, the Government could have issued advice on how to keep warm this winter. This information could have included tips on ensuring valuable heat stays inside your home.

With recent news that funding for insulation grants is coming to an end later in the year, the Government needs to do more to ensure that households in Britain are not forced into choosing between heating their home, or putting food on the table.

More information and advice on insulating your home is available, as well applying for insulation grants for your home.

Households in nine London boroughs will be offered energy saving light bulbs, stand-by switches, as well as free cavity wall and loft insulation to help contain heat within their home.

The campaign hopes to visit 1.2 million homes in London before 2015,  and it is hoped that by supplying energy saving equipment, as well as cavity wall and loft insulation, carbon emissions could be cut by around 1.5 million tonnes a year.

David Kenington, Head of Energy Saving Trust London, said ‘We are very pleased to see the introduction of this programme, in particular the focus on delivering cost effective carbon reduction measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation.

The Mayor has pumped an initial £9.5 into the campaign, with further investment expected. There are currently various different organisations working on the initiative, and the Mayor is developing a single scheme to encompass them all.

Those boroughs taking part in the scheme will receive a letter inviting a visit from a qualified energy assessor, who will assess what measures could be used to reduce their energy usage.

For non-Londoners, grants are available for cavity wall and loft insulation, but recent statistics suggest that many households are not taking advantage of the free grants available to them. You can calculate how much you could claim by using our free insulation grants calculator.

It says that 3.6 million homes are entitled to loft or wall insulation, which could save £150 off their annual energy bill, but so far only a fraction of the amount available has been claimed for.

Free insulation grants are available for cavity wall and loft insulation, preventing around 40% of heat from an average home escaping through walls and lofts.

Huge savings can be made by those households who take advantage of the insulation grants. And it is not just available for households on low incomes or the elderly – anyone can claim a grant of up to 50% of the cost of insulation.

Find out how much you are due using our free grant calculator.

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.