Insulation Grant - Is it worth it?

samphe

I've had a few calls over recent months regarding grants that are offered for loft insulation. After the last call i agreed for them to send a surveyor out to check out our current insulation.

He's been out today and said that our current insulation is 6" thick and that it could be increased by a further 10" to 16". The cost to us would be £219. We have a 4 bed detached house and he reckons the additional insulation could save us over £200 per year in heating costs.

Does anyone know if the saving in heating costs is likely to be this high. Surely the saving per year would depend on our current annual cost which he didnt ask about.

Has anyone else had a government grant for insulation and is it all genuine?

Any advice welcome.

sheilavw

We had someone call last year. Our insulation was virtually non existent and it cost us £75 ( 3 bed semi) we noticed it was definitely warmer last winter. Previous winters everyone had white roofs whilst ours was clear cos all heat going up and out!

samphe

How many inches of insulation did you have put in? Bearing in mind that we've already got 6" im still unsure whether its worth it. Our price of £219 is considerably more than your price of £75. We've only got one bedroom more than you.

Thanks for your advice.

iamcornholio

The insulation only saves in heating costs if you have central heating, and it is properly controlled by a central and individual room thermostats and everything works properly. Savings are a guide, but will be between £100 and £200 not the exact figure you have been quoted.

The principle is that the heating comes on less because the house retains heat for longer, so actual savings are variable

st999

For you to save £200 in a year you would need to use 6666 kWh less gas in the approx 6 months that your heating is on if your gas cost approx 3p per kWh

serverdog

Depending on the area of your loft, that may be correct. Have a look at energysavingtrust.org.uk where you can get an idea of competitive quotes. Our loft insulation quote came out at £99 for a 2 bed end of terrace.

The other alternative is to DIY. Wickes are currently doing a "buy 1 get 2 free" up to 100 square metres on loft insulation. I've just added 170mm to our loft for £30 to take it up to 270mm using 3 rolls of 8 square metres. It took me 3 days on my own to do, but the majority of that time was cross joisting and boarding up the loft over the insulation so you could probably do it in less than a day assuming your loft is relatively clear.

SandC

So what is the grant actually worth in ££££s?

serverdog

The value of the grant depends on where you live, your house, your benefits situation and your age as far as I am aware.

ruatua

Although it is not well advertised M&S offer Free insulation if you are over 70 or on benefit. I think this is 'subject to survey' though? their number is hard to find on the website but I picked up leaflet in store 0800 0106106.

Gizmosmum_2

samphe wrote: »

He's been out today and said that our current insulation is 6" thick and that it could be increased by a further 10" to 16". The cost to us would be £219. We have a 4 bed detached house and he reckons the additional insulation could save us over £200 per year in heating costs.

He's lying through his teeth. There's no grant for any loft insulation existing over 100mm (4") and the most you'd save each year would be £50 ish. B & Q have a offer on this weekend - £3 for a combi roll that will do about 7m2. If you realy want to top it up, use that but don't expect massive savings. The big savings from loft insulation come if you've less than 60mm already in the loft.

Gizmosmum_2

Forgot to add - free insulation for over [EMAIL="70@s"]70's[/EMAIL] available from every contractor that installs insulation with Cert funding - there's loads about. All M&S do is use one of those.

You're only eligible if you have less than 60mm existing loft insulation or if you need cavity wall insulation.