Free and Cheap Insulation Official Discussion

rogerblack

2010 wrote: »

SueC,
There`s no catch, the energy companies have to spend such much money a year on insulating homes.<snip>

What happened was some minister went to a world conference on greenhouse gases and promised to cut them by X amount by whenever.
Now we all have to suffer higher costs to meet a target promised by someone who`s no longer in parliment.
Wind turbines are another added cost to us.

This is one government initiative I actually support - in some ways.
Not simply from a 'green' perspective, also from the perspective of increasing world energy costs, and in the not-so-distant future once chinas middle-class starts getting rich and sucking in oil - hideously rising energy costs.

I question some of the ways it's being done, but energy efficiency measures make us as a country better able to survive.

Every pound of oil and gas we do not import is a pound we do not have to export goods to offset.
The economy doesn't have to work so hard, or we have more 'spare' money for other things.

2010

While the energy companies, of whom I no fan, get the stick every time they put up prices, shouldn`t the government come clean and tell us exactly how much hidden costs there are because of their ill thought out policies, which we have to cough up for.

The energy companies get big fines if they don`t spend millions every year giving away free insulation but this fact seems to be kept a secret.
As for wind turbines, I have read it will take about 32 years before these "blots on the land/seascape" finally turn a profit.
The UK should remember it`s not "Great" anymore and stop trying to run/lead the world.
What we should be doing is looking after "our own" so old folk don`t starve/freeze in the winter and not every other citizen of the world.

DrowninginDebt

Hi all, I have had the survey done which was arranged within 2 weeks of my initial enquiry so quite impressed with that however the salesman showed me 2 types of cavity wall insulation - one was small white polystyrene pellets and the other was small grey carbon pellets. He shone the touch (?) through both and the carbon was more dense (or he switched off the torch - ok I'm being cynical !) and explained the carbon pellets, being more efficient, would cost me £99.

I did pay this as I wanted the insulation to be good but my questions are these - should I have paid anything? And is the insulation worth it as I have heard the horror stories of it leading to condensation problems, especially as I have a gas fire? When they do the insulation, what should I look for to know I am getting a good job done?
Grateful for any advice!!

2010

DrowninginDebt wrote: »

- should I have paid anything?

Not if it is free, as stated by edf.

I was cynical from the very start and thought it was basically a gimmick to get your name and number and then try to get money out of you with their spiel.

So much loft space and so much cavity area is "free insulation" but above their limits they try to charge you.

As I said in previous posts, if mine is not entirely free they can keep it (cwi).
Most of the houses around me had their`s done by Millar-Patison and I`ve not heard of any problems.
Although if any did occur they may take some time to show.
I`ve read articles about big problems of damp and condensation caused by CWI.
I`ll see if I can find a link.
Of course "interested parties" may respond and say there`s no problem with CWI, " but they would say that, wouldn`t they?".

It does seem odd that they use two different types of pellet

---

WHY?

denisiw

SueC wrote: »

• The only thing I get charged for is Vent Wedges (whatever they are) to prevent condensation, at £11.

The roof space has to be ventilated to prevent condensation forming and wetting the rafters etc leading to rot. These will stop the insulation from blocking airflow into the roof space. There are various ways of maintaining airflow, this is one of them.

In new-build, vents are incorporated into the soffits, on older houses, like mine, there are gaps between the soffits and the outside wall.

Denis

2010

DrowninginDebt wrote: »

I did pay this as I wanted the insulation to be good but my questions are these - should I have paid anything? And is the insulation worth it as I have heard the horror stories of it leading to condensation problems, especially as I have a gas fire? When they do the insulation, what should I look for to know I am getting a good job done?
Grateful for any advice!!

I would imagine having two types and saying one is better than the other is just to get more money from you.
Surely both types have to meet some sort of Britsh Standard.
You could pay extra for the grey carbon but how do you know that`s what they`ll actually use.

A bit more info for you to ponder:

http://www.ciga.co.uk/faq.pdf

Is the insulation ‘dense’?
No, as the insulation is contained within a masonry wall, it doesn’t need to be ‘dense’. For
insulation and other purposes, a light density is better. Before installation, the Technician will
undertake a quality test to ensure the insulation will go into the wall at the right density. He will
also note the amount of material used, to know that sufficient insulation has been installed.
Note: Drilling a hole in the outer wall and testing the cavity fill with a rod or pencil will not provide
any meaningful information.

http://www.askjeff.co.uk/cavity.html

Conclusion.There are many people who have had cavity wall insulation installed, who have experienced no problems with internal dampness or wall tie corrosion, and have experienced increased levels of comfort and lower fuel bills. Unfortunately there are also people who have suffered serious problems, and who have found it very difficult - or impossible - to get these problems recognised and rectified. The cavity insulation industry, and government agencies, do themselves no favours by pretending that these problems do not exist. My own opinion is that injecting insulation into an existing cavity wall is a bad idea, with the potential to create problems whose rectification costs will far outweigh any savings in fuel costs, or corresponding environmental benefits.

DrowninginDebt

A big thank you for all the advice and clarification on the CWI and Loft Insulation. Having applied through the EDF website, the surveyor, from Domestic & General, who came to my property last week, was from Birmingham - a mere 2 and a half hour drive as I am near Chester! I do hope a local contractor is used just in case there are any problems!

After reading all the posts, and following the links provided, I am now contemplating emailing Domestic & General to ask a few questions eg why the charge for the carbon beads as I have read they have very similar insulating properties!

Once again, many thanks x :j

ellielovesem

I've got someone coming round on Friday to do a survey for the EDF offer, can't remember off the top of my head the company name. Will come back to you all with an update once I've seen him.

kleapatra

I had a surveyor come round last night (for loft insulation only as I have CWI done last year which I paid for grrrrrrr) Aside from the fact that he was possibly the oddest man I've ever met, he stuck his head in the loft, comfirmed I only have 100mm of insulation when I should have 1000mm, filled in a form which I had to sign and off he went - he phoned me a few hours later as promised with a fitting date in the first week of January. I don't have to pay anything. Hopefully the fitting will be just as efficient! Oh by the way its the EDF offer and I'm not a customer either.

dmarks

British Gas would not do cavity wall insulation to our house because we are a semi and the house next door is too close for them to put their ladders up fully so it is a health and safety issue. He did say though that if we were paying it would be done!! Ridiculous!:mad: